A Presentation on the Coal Run Road Case was Held at the Gant House

 A fight that will go down in history as one of the biggest racial discriminating lawsuits ever filed was presented at the Gant House Saturday morning.

In 2002, residents of Coal Run Rd. filed a lawsuit claiming Muskingum County and the City of Zanesville discriminated against them due to race when it came to water services.

The lawsuit claimed that the mostly black residents in the Coal Run Rd. area were denied public water for 50 years due to the color of their skin. In 2008, the verdict was reached and a jury in the U.S District Court in Columbus awarded $10.9 million to 68 residents in the Coal Run Rd. area.

"I did not look at this as making history I did not look at this as being vicious with a lawsuit. I looked at this as a journey. I like to see water come to this area. We had four widows in that area that were in there 80’s some in their 90’s and one of my personal feelings was that I would like to see them have water and they received water before they left this earth," said Cynthia Hale Hairston, Spokesperson for Coal Run case.

Cynthia described her initial reaction to the first moment she received water in her home.

"I cried. I cried because, Ms. Helen was probably 90 then and I called her up on the phone and I said, I know your down there soaking in that bath tub and she just giggled. And I cried and like I said that was my mother and when she turned her water on she cried. It’s just was heart feeling. I was fulfilled, I felt like we had done the right thing," said Cynthia Hale Hairston.

Cynthia said it was a long and overwhelming process but, in the end she felt her journey was complete.