I

truly believe it will turn out for our good.

I have been able to see folks who have maybe worn a red hat before, right? Show up to meetings and have conversations about what we do have in common because gas prices are too high, right? The cost of farming is continuing to exponentially grow.

And so everyone is feeling this oppressive squeeze from the ultra wealthy, right? 0.001%.

And that is causing folks to start to question what is actually the best thing for us to move forward economically? Who is the best person to represent that? And I think my brother does an incredible job at representing because he listens and that face-to-face, conversations that he has.

That's the way we started.

And that is what's going to continue to allow folks to feel more comfortable and confident, but also just seen as humans.

Tell me how the people felt and, you know, kind of what happened to that meeting and what people were feeling or saying afterwards.

When all of that happened down there and all of the noise started getting louder down there, what did you think?

Yeah, I mean, one thing is true.

We cannot ignore the racial and economic dynamics that are at play in the narrative around data centers and the pushback.

It was not until Whitehaven got a dose of this and South Haven got a dose of this that we saw an acceleration of people's pushback.

And unfortunately, when it's in a sacrifice zone, quote unquote, to quote Mustafa Santiago Ali, it is ignored.

When it is a community that was built in box town by the scraps of boxcars by enslaved people, it wasn't the same level of energy and support.

But when it did cross the state line, when there was an involvement of folks who were at a different economic level and who racially fit a different profile, then there was more involvement.

Does it surprise you that so many people now, and this is becoming a nationwide sort of a protest, if you will?

Colossus? Um, talk about that process, how Colossus showed up, what it was like immediately for the environment in Memphis, and how it's expanded.

Yeah.

Wow.

So first, let me, uh, finish one point on the Tennessee Valley Authority.

When they were considering, uh, how to power t- uh, when the Tennessee Valley Authority was considering how to generate more power, they, they literally listed only two options.

Either they were not gonna bring any additional power, or they were gonna bring six methane gas turbines.

So we are in a situation where the Tennessee Valley Authority is not even considering clean air, clean energy, um, or any other solution that we know, uh, could bring cleaner air for us.

Um, [sighs] lastly, can you talk about the role of disenfranchising Black voters in the South in, in, i- that, and that ha- the role that that plays in th- this, uh, expressly environmentally racist kind of infrastructure, um, putting your community on the front lines?

you all are pointing to a point source of where this happened in memphis tennessee right uh you know i've read that in in boxtown cancer rates are four times the national average in memphis overall uh it's been named an asthma capital like why are why should there be places that are asthma capitals of the richest country in the for people who might say oh you know i don't data centers aren't relevant to me i'm not as specifically interested in environmental issues or something like that kashan can you speak a little bit to like why this is relevant to everyone especially in the fight in memphis

One thousand percent.

First of all, numbers mean things as well.

Right.

And so when we look at the rate of Americans who are breathing in toxic or air that is not of good quality, you're looking at over 75 percent of people.

And that only increases as your status changes, whether you are a minority, whether you are a woman or identify as a woman or a black person.

the numbers continue to get even worse.

Kashan, could you tell us about how these huge companies who are like leasing the compute or whatever are playing into your opposition and how you're thinking about those products being served from this side of the equation?

I wanna know how these projects are affecting you, how they're affecting your community.

In Southwest Memphis, we have the highest concentration of toxic release chemical facilities, right? We have been overburdened for decades because of redlining.

Redlining allowed the zoning around where the concentration of Black families were able to buy property and to live their lives to be encircled by polluters and industry.

So today we have a steel mill, we have an oil refinery, we have the Tennessee Valley Authority and their methane gas turbines, and now we also have the methane gas turbines from XAI and the XAI complex on the other side of South Memphis.

What is happening is we are continuously being strangled by air pollution, and that continues to show up in the 4.1 times the national average cancer rate that we have.

It shows up in the fact that our children experience more respiratory illnesses that send them to the ER more than anyone else in the state of Tennessee.

The University of Tennessee produced, uh, a report that showed 79% increase in our peak nitrogen dioxide levels since A- XAI arrived.

Tell me more about that effort.

I wanna know how these projects are affecting you, how they're affecting your community.

In Southwest Memphis, we have the highest concentration of toxic release chemical facilities, right? We have been overburdened for decades because of redlining.

Redlining allowed the zoning around where the concentration of Black families were able to buy property and to live their lives to be encircled by polluters and industry.

So today we have a steel mill, we have an oil refinery, we have the Tennessee Valley Authority and their methane gas turbines.

And now we also have the methane gas turbines from XAI and the XAI complex on the other side of South Memphis.

What is happening is we are continuously being strangled by air pollution, and that continues to show up in the 4.1 times the national average cancer rate that we have.

It shows up in the fact that our children experience more respiratory illnesses that send them to the ER more than anyone else in the state of Tennessee.

Tell me more about that effort.

So if you could go back to the day before XAI was announced and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?

One thing would be extremely difficult.

Right.

If I had infinite resources.

Right.

What I would do is get together the decision makers.

I would get together the mayors in Memphis.

Can you talk about grassroots strategies that can support and impact state and federal policy?