Hillary Clinton met with Flint, Michigan, leaders last week, including Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (right). | AP Photo Clinton captures Flint endorsements

Last week, with just hours to go before the New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton popped out of the state to visit Flint, Michigan, a largely African-American city in crisis because of lead-contaminated water that has affected at least 8,000 children under the age of 6.

That break from the campaign trail is now paying off as Clinton focuses on shoring up the African-American vote ahead of the South Carolina primary. The Revs. Hubert Miller and Al Harris, and Bishop Rogers L. Jones Sr., three black religious leaders in Flint, endorsed Clinton on Sunday, citing the fact that she is the only presidential candidate to visit the ailing city and the first to bring national attention to the crisis that has been raging for two years.


“Secretary Clinton has certainly aided us in bringing added political attention to our plight in the city of Flint,” Miller said in a statement released by the campaign, “causing other politicians to move legislation on this subject, and vowing to do everything within her power to assist Flint in recovering from this sinful social experiment we call the Flint Water Crisis.”

Harris added that Clinton did not use the water crisis as a “platform to further her political agenda,” but rather brought her own spotlight to shine light on the problem. “Her voice was more than that of a politician,” he said, “it was the voice of a humanitarian.”

During her visit to Flint last week, speaking at the House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church, Clinton called on Congress to pass an emergency funding bill to replace and rebuild the water pipes in Flint. “This has to be a national priority,” she said there. “What happened in Flint is immoral.”

In announcing the endorsements, the campaign also said Clinton is asking campaign volunteers to join the Red Cross and United Way to distribute water to residents of Flint, rather than canvass for votes. Clinton is also calling on President Barack Obama to issue a Medicaid waiver to Michigan so that Flint residents under the age of 21 will receive universal Medicaid coverage.