We speak with Tennessee lawmaker Justin J. Pearson, who just won the Democratic primary to represent part of Memphis in the state’s 9th Congressional District. Pearson’s campaign focused in part on opposing large artificial intelligence data centers, particularly Elon Musk’s Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, which are in the Memphis area.
“People don’t want toxic data centers polluting the air that they breathe,” says Pearson. “It’s not a fight of right versus left; it’s a fight of those who are at the top and the rest of us.”
Pearson is a longtime environmental justice organizer and advocate who first gained national prominence three years ago, when he was expelled from Tennessee’s House of Representatives for protesting Republicans’ inaction on gun violence. He is now running in a congressional district that was recently gerrymandered to dilute Black voting power in the state following a Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act. His opponent in November is Republican state Senator Brent Taylor, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2026-08-14T12:15:42+00:00) “Stop Toxic Data Centers”: Justin Pearson on Elon Musk, AI & Winning Dem. House Primary in Memphis. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/08/14/stop-toxic-data-centers-justin-pearson-on-elon-musk-ai-winning-dem-house-primary-in-memphis/
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