January 11, 2021 By Jon King / jking@whmi.com
An online event later this month will feature a discussion with the pediatrician many people credit with helping expose the Flint water crisis.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attishaâs âWhat the Eyes Donât See,â is an account of her discovery that Flintâs children were being poisoned by lead from the cityâs drinking water. She was one of the first to question if lead was leaching from the cityâs water pipes after an emergency manager switched the cityâs water supply to the Flint River in 2014. The book was selected as Michigan Humanitiesâ choice for the 2019-20 Great Michigan Read, which aims to bridge communities around a common conversation. Area residents will have two opportunities to participate in the Great Michigan Read through the Howell Carnegie District Library.
Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, FAAP is founder and director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, an innovative and model public health program in Flint, Michigan. A pediatrician, scientist, activist and author, Dr. Hanna-Attisha has testified three times before the United States Congress, awarded the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN America, named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, and most recently recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century for her role in uncovering the Flint water crisis and leading recovery efforts. A frequent contributor to national outlets including the New York Times and Washington Post, she has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, BBC and countless other media outlets championing the cause of children in Flint and beyond. She is the founding donor of the Flint Child Health and Development Fund (flintkids.org). A Covid-19 survivor, Dr. Hanna-Attisha has don