"Stop Toxic Data Centers": Justin Pearson on Elon Musk, AI & Winning Dem. House Primary in Memphis (democracynow.org)

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show looking at the Democratic primary win of state Representative Justin Pearson, who’s running to represent part of Memphis in the recently redrawn 9th Congressional District of Tennessee. Pearson won the Democratic House primary after running a campaign focused in part on opposing the unchecked growth of AI infrastructure, particularly Elon Musk’s massive supercomputer data centers known as Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, in the Memphis area. Justin Pearson is known for his work as an environmental justice organizer and advocate. He gained national prominence three years ago when he was expelled from the Tennessee House for protesting Republicans’ inaction on gun control. He was then voted back in. For decades, Memphis, the most populous city in Shelby County, formed the base of its own congressional district. Now the county is split among three districts that extend outward from the city. The majority-Black city was so-called cracked by Republican officials following a Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act. Pearson’s victory happened to fall on the 61st anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. Justin Pearson’s district is currently represented by a Democrat, Steve Cohen, who’s retiring,...