Memphis vs. Musk, with Rep. Justin J. Pearson | A People's Climate

Host Shilpi Chhotray is joined by Tennessee State Representative Justin J. Pearson, a fierce advocate taking on corporate power — from Big Oil to Big Tech. You may know him as one of the two Black representatives who was expelled for demanding gun reform on the House floor after The Covenant school shooting in Nashville. But long before becoming one of the youngest members of the Tennessee legislature, Rep. Pearson was on the frontlines in South Memphis, organizing against a crude oil pipeline that threatened his hometown.

Now, in Rep. Pearson’s district, Elon Musk’s xAI project is expanding its empire with massive, unregulated data centers that pollute the air, threaten their water, and undermine hard-won environmental protections. This conversation is about fighting against entrenched corruption, unchecked corporate and political power, and billionaires who put profit over people’s health and future.

Key Topics Covered:

• Defeating the Valero / Plains All American Byhalia Pipeline
• The rise of Elon Musk’s xAI data center in Memphis and the environmental toll of artificial intelligence
• Money in politics: How corporate lobbying and billionaires shape elections and policy
• Civil disobedience: The role of protest, direct action, and speaking truth to power
• Keeping people power alive in the face of corruption and broken systems
• Proximity to the fight: Understanding your local representatives, connecting local struggles to federal policies, and focusing energy where it can make the most impact

Resources

• Memphis Community Against Pollution
• Rep. Justin J. Pearson’s Speech on the House floor before being expelled
• “How Long, Not Long” Martin Luther King Jr. speech after marching from Selma to Montgomery
• NAACP and Advocacy Groups Appeal Permit for xAI’s South Memphis Data Center

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