Black residents in rural Alabama demand sanitation equity, saying 'it's a right'

Gladys Maull lives in the rural community of Hicks Hill, Ala. on land that's been in her family for generations. The on-site septic system is collapsing, and she can't afford a new one. (Debbie Elliiott/NPR)

WHITE HALL, Ala. — As Ruby Rudolph walks around to the back of her brick ranch house, there's a noticeable stench.

"You smell that?" she asks. "I don't even come back here no more."