The race to build data centers is on. As corporations seek more computing power for AI and cryptocurrency, these massive centers are springing up across the U.S., consuming energy and water resources while emitting pollution. Too often, data centers are built in Black and fenceline communities that already bear more than their fair share of polluting facilities. Boxtown, on the south side of Memphis, is a prime example.
Boxtown was founded by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War; it got its name from the boxcars its first residents used to build their homes. As in many Black communities, the powers that be decided Boxtown was the place to build all the things white neighborhoods didn’t want: a power plant, an oil refinery, a wastewater treatment plant, and a steel factory. Today, Boxtown hosts 18 facilities that release deadly toxins into the air and water.
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As a result, Boxtown’s cancer rate is four times the national average. The surrounding area ranks second in the nation for asthma-related ER visits and seventh in asthma-related deaths.
Then Elon Musk came to town. Last year, his company, xAI, built “the largest AI datacenter on the planet” in Boxtown’s backyard. Through cozy deals with local officials, Musk was able to ram the project through in 122 days. Now he’s planning to build an even bigger data center a few miles away.
The local utility couldn’t supply enough electricity for his power-hungry data center, so Musk brought in dozens of methane-fueled turbines without proper permitting. The air in Boxtown went from bad to worse: researchers at a local university found that peak levels of nitrogen dioxide — a major cause of asthma — rose by 79% in the area near the data center, and by 9% in Boxtown.
Research shows that environmental factors, such as living in areas with poor air quality, are directly linked to higher rates of asthma, respiratory disease, and other chronic health conditions. Communities located near major sources of pollution, including highways, industrial facilities, and data centers, often face disproportionate exposure, leading to long-term health disparities and reduced quality of life.
The building of data centers in Black neighborhoods follows a long and ugly history. Because of redlining and other racist policies, Black Americans are 75% more likely than others to live near facilities that produce hazardous waste. Across all regions and income levels, people of color breathe more particulate air pollution. Children living in high-pollution areas are more likely to suffer from asthma and miss school days—creating cascading effects on family income, economic stability, and opportunity.
The people of Boxtown are fighting back. A local group, Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP), is organizing and conducting research in partnership with the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health INpowering Communities (CEEJH INC) to monitor air pollution in Boxtown. The data and metrics gleaned from CEEJH’s air monitoring tool will be used to take legal action to reduce the harms from xAI’s data center and halt construction of the next one. The good news – MCAP has had some success: several gas turbines were removed, and part of the facility’s operations were shifted to grid power. But there is still much to be done to stop these harmful facilities from being built in other Black communities.
For decades, the environmental justice (EJ) movement has fought these egregious harms. EJ activists have fought landfills, sewage treatment facilities, plastics plants, and more. That long history — and our battle in Boxtown — illuminates some lessons for those who may need to fight data centers in their neighborhoods:
1. Find out if your neighborhood is next.
In July, the Trump administration launched an AI Action Plan that speeds the construction of data centers by relaxing environmental protections. Already, plans are underway to build data centers in Black neighborhoods, including in Bessemer, Alabama, and Prince George’s County, Maryland. (Though the Maryland plans were recently put on hold after residents protested.) Data centers are also giving polluting power plants a new lease on life: in North Omaha, Nebraska, plans to close a filthy 1950s-era coal plant were halted when Google and Meta announced plans to build data centers nearby.
2. Don’t take the bribe.
Cash-starved local governments may be so eager to boost their revenue with property taxes from data centers that they fail to consider how these centers will impact the people they represent. In Memphis, the flow of cash has essentially turned the mayor and Chamber of Commerce into spokespeople for xAI. Urge your elected officials to refuse the bribe. No amount of money is worth accepting pollution that sickens and kills our families.
3. Do your own research.
Once local officials have been captured by these harmful corporations, they can’t be trusted to conduct impartial research on health impacts. Nor is Trump’s EPA coming to the rescue. That’s why MCAP and CEEJH have come together to train residents to install and monitor air-quality sensors, empowering the community to advocate for a healthier future. You can research pollution in your community by reaching out to CEEJH INC for further guidance.
4. Make contact with your elected officials.
Musk rammed his xAI data center near Boxtown without any due process. Know that there may be plans to do the same where you live. So, now is the time to reach out to your city council, county commission, and state representatives to make sure nothing gets built in your neighborhood without your consent. Know your zoning codes. Study approval processes. Work with nonprofit researchers to understand your community’s existing burden of pollution. And get your neighbors organized for the fights to come.
Justin J. Pearson is the State Representative for District 86 in the Tennessee General Assembly, and a candidate for U.S. Congress. Pearson was one of the “Tennessee Three” legislators who were expelled from Congress by their Republican colleagues in 2023 for participating in a protest calling for gun control.
Sacoby M. Wilson is the Executive Director of the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health INpowering Communities (CEEJH INC).