On this episode, we speak with LaTricea Adams, MAT, EdS (she/her/hers)—Founder, CEO, and President of Young, Gifted & Green—about the growing fight against data centers as a form of environmental racism, with a focus on frontline communities like Boxtown, Tennessee.
As the tech and AI economy rapidly expands, large-scale data centers are increasingly being built in Black and low-income neighborhoods, bringing with them serious environmental and public health consequences. Recent reporting and community-led research have raised alarms about constant noise pollution, toxic air emissions, water stress, and massive energy demands that disproportionately burden nearby residents. Health experts warn that prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides—common byproducts of this infrastructure—can increase risks of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and other long-term health impacts.
Adams discusses MCAP’s grassroots organizing in Boxtown, including community-led air monitoring, data collection, and legal and regulatory advocacy that has successfully pressured operators to remove polluting gas turbines and shift portions of their operations to grid power. Her work offers a powerful example of how frontline communities are challenging the unchecked expansion of polluting infrastructure tied to Big Tech and AI.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.