Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom for Black Americans. It carries more significance in the South. President Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery by executive order. But enslaved people in parts of the South in and near Texas didn’t know they were free until June 19, 1865. That’s why we celebrate Juneteenth on June 19th every year.
We know racial injustice didn’t stop with the end of slavery. Segregation continued until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Jim Crow laws in the South persisted despite more protections from the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Fast forward to today, and the legacy of that harm continues. Even now, the 13th amendment still allows slavery as punishment for crimes. And mass incarceration practices take advantage of that exception. Black Americans in the South still face health inequality and environmental racism. And those issues are getting worse with the demand for biomass energy and AI.
Wood pellet facilities & environmental racism
Wood pellet facilities are twice as likely to be in or near Black communities. These plants have a long history of polluting the areas they come to. Wood pellet plants emit dangerous chemicals and dust into the air. Black households near plants run by companies like Enviva experience daily dust. The dust causes health problems like asthma and cancer. Community members have to reduce their time outside to avoid the dust and chemicals.
Enviva wood pellet facilities
These companies often ignore regulations. They also try to get permission to pollute more and more. Enviva is the biggest wood pellet producer in the world. They have a wood pellet facility in Northampton, North Carolina. It’s less than a mile from people’s homes. The plant is trying to expand and increase its emissions by 65%.
Drax wood pellet facilities
Drax is another bad corporate actor. They’re the second largest biomass producer in the world. Drax has violated US health and environment regulations 11,000 times. The community of Gloster, Mississippi banded together to fight Drax. The company wanted to pollute even more, but the community won a stunning victory. The Drax permit was denied. Unfortunately, Drax isn’t taking no for an answer, so the community’s fight isn’t over.
Wood pellets & jobs
When these companies come to communities they claim to bring jobs. This also proves to be false. Tulane University conducted a study on chemical plants in Louisiana. It showed that they offered high-paying jobs to white people who live farther away. People living near the plants are only offered low-paying jobs, if any at all. Many have had to leave their generational homes as these plants expand and pollute.
AI & environmental racism
The demand for AI is making all these issues much worse at an alarming rate.
AI data centers are spreading across the South. Many of them are close to or in Black communities. These centers use more energy and water than the people in communities they’re built in. Even worse, they pollute the air with gases that cause respiratory illness. The gases also warm our climate. This makes storms like hurricanes more destructive in the South.
In Memphis, Elon Musk’s AI data center powers the Grok AI on X/Twitter. It uses over 30 methane gas-powered engines to run. This gas and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are getting into the air. This causes community residents to have trouble breathing. It can even trigger dangerous asthma attacks.
These centers also strain power grids and deplete water. In South Carolina, residents living near data centers have higher power bills. This creates an economic burden on Black households that struggle to make ends meet. Some energy bills are increasing by 70% or more. Data center water usage is also creating a crisis in drought-prone states like Texas.
Juneteenth & true freedom
In 2021, after the George Floyd protests, Juneteenth became a federal holiday. The United States Capitol Historical Society describes Juneteenth as:
“a holiday for formerly enslaved Black Americans and their descendants to celebrate their freedom.”
But communities in the South are still fighting for it. True freedom means Black people in the South living safely without pollution. Our communities need more protection. The lack of federal regulations on AI and biomass pollution makes us all less safe.
Take action: Demand that the EPA reinstate Environmental Justice staffers today.