--- title: President Obama Plans to Visit Flint description: A letter from an 8-year-old convinced the president to make the trip canonical: https://time.com/4309664/obama-flint-water-crisis-copeny-email/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-27T15:59:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:04:58.414Z article:section: U.S. og:title: President Obama Plans to Visit Flint og:description: A letter from an 8-year-old convinced the president to make the trip og:url: https://time.com/4309664/obama-flint-water-crisis-copeny-email/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95016767ba7a82cf/69888fcea988ca8f4b6b77ca/barack-obama4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Plans to Visit Flint twitter:description: A letter from an 8-year-old convinced the president to make the trip twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95016767ba7a82cf/69888fcea988ca8f4b6b77ca/barack-obama4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Plans to Visit Flint by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Apr 27, 2016 3:59 PM CUT  Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 13, 2016. Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 13, 2016.Jacquelyn Martin—AP by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Apr 27, 2016 3:59 PM CUT President Barack Obama is [set to visit Flint](http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/04/27/obama-visit-flint-spotlight-water-crisis/83590046/ "undefined"), Michigan on May 4 after reading an email from a child there. Obama will travel to the city where a [lead-contaminated water supply](http://time.com/4300465/michigan-attorney-general-flint-water-crisis-criminal-charges/ "undefined") has left some 100,000 residents in crisis to “hear first-hand from Flint residents about the public health crisis, receive an in-person briefing on the federal efforts in place to help respond to the needs of the people of Flint, and deliver remarks to community members,” says a White House official, according to a report by the Detroit _News_. Obama [called a state of emergency there in January](http://time.com/4185596/flint-obama-mayor-water-lead/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") and held a meeting with Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, but has yet to visit the city — until reading an email from an 8-year-old resident who asked to meet with the President. “I am one of the children that is \[affected\] by this water and I’ve been doing my best to march in protest and to speak out for all the kids that live here in Flint,” wrote Amariyanna Copeny, according to a copy of the email that was obtained by the Detroit _News_. Copeny requested meeting with the president while she was in Washington last month attending congressional hearings on the city’s water crisis. Obama replied, letting her know that he would be paying a visit to Flint. “I am so proud of you for using your voice to speak out on behalf of the children of Flint. That’s why I want you to be the first to know that I’m coming to visit Flint on May 4th,” Obama wrote. “I want to make sure people like you and your family are receiving the help you need and deserve. Like you, I’ll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4309664/obama-flint-water-crisis-copeny-email/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4309664/obama-flint-water-crisis-copeny-email/"},"headline":"President Obama Plans to Visit Flint","datePublished":"2016-04-27T15:59:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:04:58.414Z","description":"A letter from an 8-year-old convinced the president to make the trip","url":"https://time.com/4309664/obama-flint-water-crisis-copeny-email/","keywords":["Barack Obama","Michigan","White House","Flint","Flint Water Crisis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95016767ba7a82cf/69888fcea988ca8f4b6b77ca/barack-obama4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt95016767ba7a82cf/69888fcea988ca8f4b6b77ca/barack-obama4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama","caption":"Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 13, 2016.","creditText":"Jacquelyn Martin—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4309664/obama-flint-water-crisis-copeny-email/","name":"President Obama Plans to Visit Flint"}}]}] ```