President Obama is visiting Flint, Michigan in early May. As you may recall, Flint is the town afflicted by a catastrophic water crisis. The president decided to make his visit after an eight-year-old girl asked him for a meeting.
According to the White House’s Medium account, Mari Copeny, a child who is active in bringing attention to the Flint water crisis, wrote him a letter asking him for a meeting. She’s known around town as “Little Miss Flint.”
Her letter reads, in part:
This Thursday I will be riding a bus to Washington, D.C. to watch the congressional hearings of our Governor Rick Snyder. I know this is probably an odd request but I would love for a chance to meet you or your wife. My mom said chances are you will be too busy with more important things, but there is a lot of people coming on these buses and even just a meeting from you or your wife would really lift people’s spirits.
The president wrote her back and did her one better. He’s going to visit Flint on May 4th. Why? “I want to make sure people like you and your family are receiving the help you need and deserve,” he writes. “Like you, I’ll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community.”
No doubt Little Miss Flint and her community are thrilled right now.
(Via White House on Medium)