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An educational podcast about community organization and infrastructure reform.
Hello and welcome. Hi. I'm Kelsey Huse, City Planning Master's student.
Trinity Chism:I'm Trinity Chism, Applied Anthropology Master's student.
Kelsey Huse:What is the name of our podcast? We didn't think that far. We didn't think that far. Maybe we should discuss why we're doing this though. Yeah.
Kelsey Huse:I mean, I think it
Trinity Chism:was your idea, so I think you should.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. We were in a digital storytelling class at University of Memphis together. And one of our classes was about podcasting. And we teamed up to, like, learn how to do the software. And we had this fun conversation.
Kelsey Huse:I was like, we should keep doing this. This is fun. It was that was just a silly
Trinity Chism:little conversation, but I think it could turn into something.
Kelsey Huse:It could. And there's a lot to discuss in Memphis as it pertains to city planning and anthropology. So let's get into it. What do you
Trinity Chism:wanna talk about today? I think we wanna talk about that meeting that you went to. Monday.
Kelsey Huse:Yes. So Monday was the hearing at University of Memphis. It was with the Shelby County lawyers, SELC, which is Southern Environmental something or other lawyers and the air control board for Shelby County about the permit that XAI has to run turbines, which is essentially like a small power plant in South Memphis.
Trinity Chism:South Memphis. Such an interesting location.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. What describe South Memphis.
Trinity Chism:So South Memphis is predominantly a a a black neighborhood with with with black people. And and and so I think it's interesting that that that was the land that was chosen for these for these turbines and that the city gave them the permit for these turbines within this black neighborhood. And you know anything about Memphis? Memphis has a lot of pockets of different areas, and South Memphis is is one that has historically been disenfranchised, not a lot of money put into it. So this, you know, this AI situation is really interesting that they chose this particular environment and not another, I guess, wealthy neighborhood in Memphis.
Trinity Chism:I think it's interesting, but that's just my opinion .
Kelsey Huse:And I think what the city would say, what Mayor Paul Young would say is that they made a smart business decision. They went somewhere that has this huge abandoned factory and they didn't need permission from the city actually. So that land was vacant. The land is zoned for industrial use. Okay.
Kelsey Huse:And that's interesting because city planning wise, what areas do you think are zoned for industrial use in Memphis?
Trinity Chism:Why? No.
Kelsey Huse:North Memphis where there's a lot of factories and pollutants. South Memphis, there's lot of factories. It's like kind of all along the outskirts, but then who lives near these places?
Trinity Chism:Yeah. It's areas near black Memphians . Exactly. Exactly.
Kelsey Huse:So they didn't need permission from the city to do anything. They needed permission from the Shelby County Health Department to run turbines for more than three sixty four days. So they were given that permit and the hearing was about revoking that permit because they lied about the pollutants and basically, that's what happened. No, they lied. Yeah, they lied.
Kelsey Huse:But a lot of the meeting was like, okay, yeah, we lied. There were temporary turbines there, but now they're gone. So it's kind of a moot point to try to revoke the permit because the temporary ones aren't there anymore.
Trinity Chism:So what is there?
Kelsey Huse:They got a permit for 15 permanent turbines. So those ones are there. So you moved two, right? They remembers, I think 20.
Trinity Chism:And then you just put 15 back?
Kelsey Huse:No, they kept 15 there. And they moved 20. But what they didn't talk about is really they moved them down the road to Mississippi where the second Colossus is gonna be. Moving down the Mississippi does makes really no difference. Mean I know.
Kelsey Huse:But then it's like Shelby County is like, well, that's out of our purview, even though it's like right across the border.
Trinity Chism:Now we know
Kelsey Huse:It's our air. Right. It's our air Right. Air has no, like, borderline. Exactly.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. So that was a big discussion point too is because the Air Quality Control Board was trying to decide, do we even hear about this? Because the lawyers were saying you have to prove unique damage has been done to a person. Not general damage, but unique damage done to a person. Have they not
Trinity Chism:I mean, they haven't been here long enough to really prove that.
Kelsey Huse:Right. And then let's say you have a child who has asthma, you have to go to the hospital. Can you prove your child has asthma because of XAI when there's all of these other industries surrounding XAI, you can't really pinned out who it is.
Trinity Chism:That's such a loophole type of like, you have to prove it.
Kelsey Huse:Right. Like, how do you do that? How do you do that? That's insane. Let's watch one of these testimonies.
Kelsey Huse:I filmed all of them.
Trinity Chism:Okay.
Kelsey Huse:This one is related to a mother whose child has asthma. Okay. Good morning, Hewel. You read?
Isabel González Whitaker:Don't start the clock yet, please. My name is Isabel González Whitaker, and I live near Downtown Memphis, just a
Kelsey Huse:few miles from
Isabel González Whitaker:Colossus as the crow flies. I am the associate vice president of Monsklee Air Force. We represent 1,600,000 moms around the country fighting for clean air on behalf of our children's health. My family moved here a few years ago from New York City for opportunity, cleaner air and the natural beauty that the city provides. This year, my son ended up in urgent care multiple times because he needed a nebulizer to help him breathe.
Isabel González Whitaker:This was the first time he's ever struggled with asthma, and he's not alone. On one trip to the doctor, all five children of the way you were there for wheezing and one had to be rushed to the ER. I couldn't help but wonder if XAI had something to do with what we were experiencing. If the doctors wondered, too. I'm going to read super fast.
Isabel González Whitaker:We knew that XAI has been operating large scale gas turbines for months. It is unclear if the permits for operation were issued correctly by the Shelby County Health Department. As the Shelby County Health Department knows, gas turbines create nitrogen oxide pollution, can cause asthma in children whose developing lungs are more vulnerable to pollution. There's also lung infections, heart attacks and premature death. It gets worse.
Isabel González Whitaker:The turbines at Colossus also release cancer causing formaldehyde. I say that it's released into our air because air pollution is ambient. It doesn't stay in one place, depending on the wind and weather air by excise air we breathe here. Shelby County needs to be doing a better job in a city where Memphis already gets an F in air quality. And that was before XAI started operating.
Isabel González Whitaker:So that's half hours half. For anybody listening and as moms know, this isn't a Memphis problem. One big 6,000,000 of us know that supercomputer facilities are being built across the country. We are not against business. We are not against economic prosperity.
Kelsey Huse:The beep was the two minute timer, and then they cut the mic right at two minutes. So that's when that was. Okay.
Trinity Chism:Wow. Any thoughts? So I'm I'm thinking about what you were saying about how they have to like prove Right. That that there's an issue. And and and this mom was saying, well, I was in the hospital with what she said, like, four other kids, and they were all having asthmatic Right.
Trinity Chism:Reactions. Like, that's that's not coincidental.
Kelsey Huse:I don't I agree. I don't think that they
Trinity Chism:want to be good at all. That this, you know, pollutant shows up, and then a kid that has not had any asthmatic reactions all of a sudden is. I mean and I had no idea Memphis had an F in air quality.
Kelsey Huse:F in air quality. Yep. Like, I feel
Trinity Chism:like I need to walk outside and hold my breath now. Like, who? Like, It's it's it's it's funny because, you know, I'm I'm from here. Right? And so you don't grow up hearing, oh, yeah.
Trinity Chism:That, like, you know, Memphis air quality. Like, we hear about crime and violence, like these violences that are, like, really, really quick. We don't hear about, well, in anthropology, call it slow violence. So like these environmental injustices that slowly debilitate communities, specifically communities of color, that's exactly what is happening. Right.
Trinity Chism:It's it's it's it's called slow violence because it happens over time. And a lot of times with these slow violences, cities want you to prove it. Yes. Like, that's within the
Kelsey Huse:They case want you to prove it. And it's like, how do you how do you
Trinity Chism:prove something that happens over time? Other than going to these meetings and being like, this happened. Right. Does that not prove? Is that not evidential?
Trinity Chism:I I don't know.
Kelsey Huse:And in the meantime, people are getting cancer. Because there is the what was the factory that got shut down? It's like a medical supply recycle plant that was in South Memphis. And they were able to prove that that factory was causing cancer.
Trinity Chism:After people The
Kelsey Huse:cancer or the fat. Exactly. Exactly. But the f in air quality is given by the American Lung Association. And we've known about that for a while.
Kelsey Huse:And what's interesting to me is that it seems like Memphis politicians are all hands on deck in terms of getting businesses in Memphis and economic development. That is what the chamber cares about. I mean, that's their job. Why are we not all hands on deck to fix the air quality issue? Why are we not on all hands on deck for people's health?
Trinity Chism:I would I would I would think, I mean, the people in your city are what creates economic development essentially. And if if we're experiencing slow violences and and we can't breathe and we're having to pay bills because we're having to to the hospital over asthma that we didn't know that we had. I mean, shouldn't that matter more? You would think.
Kelsey Huse:You would say, you would think. Because we're still gonna be paying the costs of that economically for hospital visits, for what kids skipping school, parents skipping work, having to take What their kids to the
Trinity Chism:are the other externalities? There's so many. I mean, this this just it makes you realize what matters to to people. It's that green.
Kelsey Huse:Is that money? The money.
Trinity Chism:The money matters. And then and it's it's it's just it's it's really interesting because in anthropology, you read about this all the time. Like- What do you read about? Like these toxic spaces that are created with the idea that, oh, well, this is gonna bring money. Right.
Trinity Chism:Like the whole Blue Oval situation, right? In like- still in Tennessee, right? Yeah. In like Stanton, Tennessee and that- in those areas. Right.
Trinity Chism:And oh, this is gonna bring money. This is gonna bring economic development. Okay, but what are the lasting impacts to the people that are like living around these areas or that are residents in these areas? And it it you know, I I was reading something that I wrote about in class before. And I'm just gonna read this like this small quote about demonstrate the silent killers of affected communities by stating communities who have been designed expendable are allowed to suffer the attritional violence of environmental pollution often through the violence in action of regulating authorities.
Trinity Chism:So the people in power are saying, well, yeah, this is going to bring money into the economy, like residents, you should be happy. Like, this is good for us. And then the effects of these businesses, like they're hurting us as individuals. And it makes you really realize that people are not, people are missing the point of what would really bring money into Memphis. Don't even get me started that.
Trinity Chism:It's Elon Musk's company. That's that.
Kelsey Huse:I think that's just like the cherry on top. I know. Know. And, you know, people say if it was anyone except Elon Musk, y'all wouldn't care this much.
Trinity Chism:What do
Kelsey Huse:you say to that? Like, I don't think it it
Isabel González Whitaker:matters. But but but at the end of
Trinity Chism:the day, it's polluting our air. Like, that's really what matters. And I think people like to focus on, like, these micro things. They're like, oh, it's it's Musk, so that's
Kelsey Huse:what matters. No. No. No. No.
Kelsey Huse:Like like, if if someone if someone shoots you,
Trinity Chism:it doesn't matter who the killer was. The killer was was white or black. Yeah. They killed you. Like, I think I think I think people are trying to say other things to get the topic off of.
Kelsey Huse:Oh, yeah. They're trying to switch up the narrative. Oh, and discredit people who are against it.
Trinity Chism:I can see people writing about this year years later, and they're like, well, this let's just try their child, just let me go get Kelsey's video.
Kelsey Huse:What do you think the solution is to these slow violence problems? Because they are really pit really difficult to pin on the perpetrators.
Trinity Chism:Mhmm.
Kelsey Huse:So for example, cities can be in nonobtainment for air quality in accordance with the air quality act that actually I just learned that Richard Nixon is the one who introduced that. And I was like, wow, Republicans used to care about the environment? Shocking. Anyway because they were breathing the air at that time. Yeah.
Kelsey Huse:At the time. At the time.
Trinity Chism:It's recycled, but it's not as good now.
Kelsey Huse:So a city can have bad air quality, but you're not technically in non attainment until you've reached a bad average level for three years. So that goes back to the slowness. And I think the idea is, well, you need to prove that this is like a prevalent thing. Like, it's not just an uptick for like a day. Like, it's actually raised pollution for a long time.
Trinity Chism:I I hate that. I hate it too. It's reactionary. Like, why are we not being preventative? Right.
Trinity Chism:Like, I- I understand that, you know, money goes into it and it takes time, whatever, whatever. But if- if people are- are coming, right, and saying, no, this is an issue now, why not eat preventative and try to prevent cancer and asthmatic react? Like that makes no sense
Kelsey Huse:to I agree.
Trinity Chism:To me, but I'm not a politician. I agree. So
Kelsey Huse:I don't know. I'm just wondering what would the future look like if we really prioritized health?
Trinity Chism:Gosh. I mean, there's there's so many priorities Mhmm. As far as health is specifically for Memphis. I mean, let's start off with the fact that, you know, you were saying like the transportation thing. I didn't know that Memphis had like the worst, what was it?
Trinity Chism:As far as- Worse air quality? No. Like as far as transportation is concerned.
Kelsey Huse:Oh, the worst traffic fatalities.
Trinity Chism:Like, there are so many things in Memphis specifically where we have reached
Kelsey Huse:an F. Correct. We're number wide on a lot of flips. Like, that's ridiculous to me.
Trinity Chism:It's really sad. And I think in a lot of ways, it's kind of like if if if you have someone that's already beat up, it's like, okay, well, if you add another bad thing to it, it's like, it's it's not that bad because there's a lot of other things to
Kelsey Huse:crack. Yeah.
Trinity Chism:Yeah. And and I I feel like that's how a lot of businesses look at Memphis. Yeah. This is just like, there's they're focused on a lot
Kelsey Huse:of other things.
Trinity Chism:Oh, yeah. It's not gonna matter.
Kelsey Huse:What's one more polluter? It's already polluted. Like it's So what's one more? Like And and it's it's it's not funny,
Trinity Chism:but it's like funny in
Kelsey Huse:a way that's like, okay. Like y'all Yeah. It's not funny because it's real people's lives, but it's funny watching the leadership justify it. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Trinity Chism:And and, you know, we we read about this thing called necropolitics. Yes. Tell me about this. Negropolitics is basically when city officials, government, people in power, the fores, sovereigns, whatever, when they say who has the right to live and who has the right to die. Mhmm.
Trinity Chism:And it's not in a sense that they're, you know, going to your door knocking and saying pulling you out of your house and saying, you know, you're you're, you know, it's time for you to go. It's more so they disenfranchise neighborhoods. They don't put money into neighborhoods. They bring poll pollution and polluters into black neighborhoods, food deserts, like all of these things that lead to detrimental and very extensive health outcomes and they don't do anything about it because they're saying, like, you die. Okay.
Trinity Chism:And it's a very, very, very, very real thing. The fact that highways go in the middle of some black neighborhoods and, you know, that there's less trees in some neighborhoods. Like, all of these things add together to produce environments of carceral risk. And it's just it's really interesting to see this in real time, especially with the, you know, the XAI plant and how the neighborhoods that that they're in are black neighborhoods. These these industrial buildings are in black neighborhoods.
Trinity Chism:Exactly. That's who's being affected. And you can't help but wonder, is that the reason that they're not? What do listen to me? I don't know.
Trinity Chism:I don't wanna be a conspiracy theorist, but, I mean, that's that's what it that's what it feels like whenever these problems arise in Memphis. They're in these predominantly black neighborhoods that are already experiencing disinvestment. Exactly. And where is the plan to change that?
Kelsey Huse:Because what I'm hearing is, well, that area is already zoned for industrial. Mhmm. Like, we have no way to change that, but we do. We could invent a different plan for Memphis where people can thrive, where industrial jobs can still exist because they are valuable. Absolutely.
Kelsey Huse:But how do we make it so that people are as healthy as possible while making a living for themselves? Mhmm.
Trinity Chism:Yeah. I mean, is that something that you guys talk about in city planning?
Kelsey Huse:Absolutely. Yeah. Because planning historically has been a tool to disenfranchise these neighborhoods and to inflict pain on certain neighborhoods and certain demographics. Mhmm. And I think that nowadays, at least my experience at the University of Memphis, we are trying to right the wrongs of the past.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. Unfortunately, so many people have been harmed in the past that it's hard to trust city planners now because they are the ones who caused all this pain. Right.
Trinity Chism:So it's like, how do you how do you come and say, no. I'm different. Know what to speak.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. That's a whole other conversation. We should do another episode about that.
Trinity Chism:No. Because I and I mean, anthropologists experience the same thing. We come in, we, you know, there's the idea of the lone anthropologist comes in and does their qualitative research, does your interviews, you know, how do you feel about your air pollution? You know, you get your data and you write your articles and you publish. And that's kinda like the idea.
Trinity Chism:So I'm thankful at least that the Memphis program focuses on applied work where we have to, like, actually do something. Mhmm. Because it's it's it's it's scary how many people know about it and don't do anything about it.
Kelsey Huse:So true. Yeah. Would you have you seen Erin Brockovich, the movie?
Trinity Chism:No. Oh, okay. Well, I think
Kelsey Huse:you should watch this movie. Think it's Julia Roberts. Okay. And it's a real case in California where this community was experiencing pollution
Trinity Chism:Uh-huh.
Kelsey Huse:And then experiencing some very bad health effects. But she essentially did all of the research to expose it and get a lot of money for these families who experienced a lot of hospital bills and pain. And I'm curious what you would think about that as an anthropologist. There's a word for that.
Trinity Chism:What? It's called disaster capitalism. Say more. So think like Katrina. Right?
Trinity Chism:So all these people after Hurricane Katrina happened, you went to went to New Orleans, did their,
Kelsey Huse:you know, videos. There's like 50 to 50,000 documentaries on Hurricane Katrina. Right?
Trinity Chism:Correct. And then they win all these awards. Uh-huh. And so it's when they capitalize capitalism. They capitalize on disaster.
Trinity Chism:And they go back and they do all their reporting, and then they come back and they show it. And then it's like,
Kelsey Huse:oh, and that's all they do? They document. I document it. They report on it.
Trinity Chism:And sometimes I I fear that what happens in Memphis a lot, like people come in and they do their like little documentaries and, you know, they say they make these promises. Oh, we're getting the word out. You know? And they make money off of it.
Kelsey Huse:Right. I think that's the key is they make money off of it. Because the first thing that came to mind for Memphis was the Byhalia Pipeline. And from my understanding, that was a local fight. And once they had a national firm come in and make a documentary, that did rise it in the national spotlight and they were able to stop it.
Kelsey Huse:So I'm curious what you think about that. Like, would that be disaster capitalism or is that something else? I
Trinity Chism:think
Kelsey Huse:I think it has a lot
Trinity Chism:to do with intention. So I think if the the intention was like to to raise like awareness for the purpose of it, like to be stopped or to people have conversations about it, think- I think that's okay. I- I think the really the intention is like, I'm going in, I'm failing this because I know that it'll, you know, put fear and fearmonger the people that already live there, then, you know, make my make my money off of it and leave. But I think, you know, the reality is it can have positive, you know, positive impacts like with that case, but I don't know, I've always felt iffy about going into communities and almost kind of exploiting them, like showing them in a vulnerable state or, you know, them experiencing something like that and videoing it and being like, look, everyone, this is what's happening. Right.
Trinity Chism:So, you
Kelsey Huse:know But it sounds like I don't know which firm came in and did the Bihalya pipeline video, but it sounds like they were trying to elevate the grassroots movement. Yeah. Okay. So that might be the difference.
Trinity Chism:It's it's disaster capitalism is is normally people in power, like, saying, like, okay, let's let's bring in a team or, you know, like, you like, your big news platforms, I guess, coming on and doing that. Yeah.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. I I wonder how much, like, the the narrative they're trying to tell matters. So are they highlighting the systemic reasons for why things are the way they are? Are they just trying to show like, oh, look at this poor person that exists? You know, whenever I see
Trinity Chism:reporting on certain issues in this, there's there's lack of focus on, like, systemic and structural issues. It's almost like coincidental.
Kelsey Huse:Like, coincidentally, this violence happened in this neighborhood that has had these violence has happened
Trinity Chism:since for 20 you know, it's very like, no, let's get to the ring of it. Why is it happening here?
Kelsey Huse:On that note, one of my winter break tasks is coming up with a guide for reporters and journalists on how to report about car crashes. Because it's the exact same thing. Like they'll report about a crash on Union Avenue. But the bigger context is that Union Avenue is the most dangerous street in the city. This many number of crashes have happened in the last year is something that they should say.
Kelsey Huse:They should talk about how it's a state owned highway. And so the state is responsible to kind of tell that bigger story. And I know reporters have such a hard job right now because they're short staffed and like they're running from story to story. Mhmm. And I'm curious about how we can help them as citizens make their jobs more expansive.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. I think context matters a lot. I think that's what misses from a lot
Trinity Chism:of these narratives. Like, it's focused like a very micro issue. Like, two people got into a crash. No. It's it's bigger than that.
Trinity Chism:It's a macro issue. Union is terrible. Right. It's always been terrible. So when a crash happens, is it the drivers or is it the fact that Union is terrible?
Trinity Chism:Yeah. There's no
Kelsey Huse:turning lane. And that context is missing from these stories.
Trinity Chism:And and that's why people don't don't focus on the fact that it needs to be fixed. They focus on, oh, no, Memphis just has terrible drivers.
Kelsey Huse:Which, to get Yeah. Yeah. But but But then that's even a bigger systemic issue because they don't have drivers out of school. And then the public transit is terrible. So, like, that's not a viable option for people unless they're really desperate.
Kelsey Huse:I'm gonna be honest. So yeah, there's for sure so many systemic issues. And back to the XA, I think we are missing the context in a lot of these conversations.
Trinity Chism:Yeah, I think context matters. I think the fact that it's in South Memphis matters. I think even going into these meetings, seeing who's there matters, like who's speaking up. So young people, white people, black people, like I think a lot of these things about it. I think even the fact that is what was it?
Trinity Chism:Was it a hearing? Yeah. Yeah. Like the fact that it was at a university and not like within like a community space. I think a lot of these things are done purposely.
Trinity Chism:Absolutely. It was it was done on a Monday in the morning. Yes. People at work? People at work.
Trinity Chism:When people that have nine to five jobs, when people that cannot get off work to go to a hearing, the people that are actually affected by it cannot go and speak there. So, I mean, it's kind of like, yeah, no, like this is all very strategic.
Kelsey Huse:Absolutely. And I gotta give props to Memphis community Communities Against Pollution and Young, Gifted, and Green because they organized a shuttle from Boxtown Westwood to the University of Memphis campus. So at least one Boxtown resident got to speak. There might've been two. What was interesting is that, yes, this was a public hearing.
Kelsey Huse:And so you could submit a comment card. Well, when I signed in, they didn't tell me that I could submit a comment card. So I sat down and then I overheard people talking about it. And I'll be honest, I did not try to look my best that day. So I was like, I'm not gonna give a comment, but I'm glad I did it.
Kelsey Huse:I'm glad I did it because they started the meeting. They said, okay, it's the law that we have to try to hear both sides equally. Side representing ex AI or sorry, the side representing like the activists, the community, were the only ones who submitted comment cards. Okay. And there were a lot of them.
Kelsey Huse:So they were in a box. The XAI side, apparently no one submitted comment cards. So he said they requested six speakers from that side. And then they drew six speakers from the comment cards that we had submitted. So what that means is our side was random.
Kelsey Huse:Their side was hand selected speakers. Strategic. And then guess what? How did all those speakers have a speech written out on their phone? Because they already knew.
Kelsey Huse:So this was one of the xAI speakers. And actually, they keep referring to CTC. So CTC is like the parent company over XAI that applied for the permit. Anyway. Good
Briana Hamilton:morning. My name is Briana Hamilton and I'm the HSE manager at XAI. I joined the company in June 2024, coming straight from a career as a firefighter paramedic with the Memphis Fire Department. Today though, I'm not just skating as an XAI Goy, but as a proud citizen of Memphis and a member of this community. To me, xAI truly embodies the work opportunity.
Briana Hamilton:The fact that I'm standing here speaking freely and completely unscripted about what this company needs to be already says so much got its trust in its culture. XAI took a chance on me when they hired me and now I'm in a position to pay for, take chances up, checks on others and checks on other raft and minfians to help build her own future. Since xai arrived, we've been in a real Monument. We've been in real momentum in our city, surrounding in the area. Hospitality and the tourism have grown steadily and the ripple effect of our work in digital innovation are driving economic development at a pace in which
Trinity Chism:we never thought possible. Every
Briana Hamilton:day, NCI dares to tackle the unequal setting standards that are truly unmatched. I've never been prouder to be a part of something so cold. On a personal level, this company has given me platform to give back to the community that I love, whether it's through organized efforts or small acts of kindness, I truly do it whatever I can. Those moments matter, and they do bad up. I wouldn't be in a position to make that kind of difference without the support of my incredible team and the opportunity XAI was provided.
Briana Hamilton:In closing, as a Memphis, I genuinely am grateful that XAI has chose Memphis as its home. This company has changed my life for the better in ways I wouldn't have imagined in just a short time ago. I'm excited to keep pushing forward with my colleagues as we work to understand the universe and build something meaningful. We'll keep doing the right thing even when no one is watching and we'll continue raising.
Kelsey Huse:Your thoughts?
Trinity Chism:So for context, the hearing was for
Kelsey Huse:to revoke the air permit that allows them to run air polluting turbines.
Trinity Chism:Okay. Okay. You know, I'm an I'm an empathetic individual by nature. And so I understand that people work here. Is their life.
Trinity Chism:Right. So they make money. But on the other hand, it's- it's very- it's very difficult to- to hear, I don't know, people speak about one particular perspective when there's something much larger here. And so I just, I don't think that was unscripted,
Kelsey Huse:but- She was reading from her phone. Yeah. That's not think she what she probably meant to say is that she wrote it herself. They didn't write it for her. Right.
Trinity Chism:Yeah. Yeah. I just I Yeah.
Kelsey Huse:What I found interesting is that, like I just said, this is about air quality. What
Melody Freeman:did she mention about air quality? She didn't. That's what I'm trying to
Trinity Chism:That's and that's why I'm like, yeah, like, get it. Like, this is your
Kelsey Huse:job, but You're breathing the air too. Right. And it's insinuating that it's okay to pollute because I have a nice job. And they're they've helped me. But she made golf a break.
Kelsey Huse:Her like, she's She
Trinity Chism:was a firefighter. I know. So you were you were helping
Kelsey Huse:all this with her. Detention, sir. Right. And then And like people show up the right to quit whatever job they want to eat. Absolutely.
Kelsey Huse:But and that's why I'm like, okay.
Trinity Chism:You know, you're eating, man. You're making you're making your money, but
Kelsey Huse:for the day it's Firefighters, I don't think anyone would disagree are such an important part of our society and necessary. And the way she talked about xAI changing the world. What have they done? I would like to know. I would like to know how are you benefiting society?
Kelsey Huse:Because what I know is that your little chat bot on Twitter called itself Mecca Hitler and was saying anti Semitic things. Really? Yes. In their last update, I think it was this summer. It went off the rails and it only did for about twenty four hours and they reeled it back in.
Kelsey Huse:But people are saying that Grok, which is created by XAI, is basically Elon Musk's personality in a chatbot, which I don't think the world needs that. This is sickening.
Trinity Chism:It's almost like a utopian film. Like, you can't Oh, absolutely. Even look at it and be
Kelsey Huse:like, oh, this is this is real. It feels unreal. Absolutely. It feels unreal.
Trinity Chism:Yeah.
Kelsey Huse:Okay. Do you wanna listen to another speech or you had a Tennessee holler video. Right? You can't pull it up? No.
Kelsey Huse:I wanna listen to at least one more because the two that I showed you, I just realized are both white people. Do you want one that's for or against x a I?
Trinity Chism:I wanna hear another for one.
Kelsey Huse:I'm just interested. For x a I? Okay. Guess I'm gonna get the Westwood part. Are those future best?
Trinity Chism:The people that did speak for, Were they all like workers of like, say hi? Or they were just like
Kelsey Huse:No. We have the Boys and Girls Club Executive of Memphis. We have the Westwood Baptist church pastor. We have, I think, some economic development people.
Trinity Chism:I wonder where they like chosen him or how did that process. I had build all the So then they're all gonna speak. Right. They had to happen. Because I know only six people didn't just show up and have something ready on hand.
Trinity Chism:I
Kelsey Huse:don't know. I will say it felt it felt like when you go to a wedding at the church and the bride side is on one side and the groom side is on one side. Because all of the anti XAI people were on the left and the Memphis chamber and XAI people were on the right. And I saw two city council people there. And who do you think they were buddy buddy with?
Kelsey Huse:The
Melody Freeman:chamber.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. And I'm gonna call them out by name, Spinosa and Jerri Green. And guess what? Guess who's running for governor as a Democrat? Oh.
Kelsey Huse:Jerri Green. Okay, let's listen to this one. I can't remember what this lady's job is, but we'll find out. This is a black woman.
Trinity Chism:I like her hat. Good
Melody Freeman:morning. My name is Melody Freeman, and I'm here in my capacity as Executive Director of the Greater Memphis Global Workforce Development Board. My role is to ensure residents across our region had access to high quality living wage jobs and that employers invest in here to rely on a prepared, reliable, talent pipeline. My remarks today focus on the community impact we've seen throughout collaboration with Next dot ai. We hosted a higher event for Next ai that drew a strong pool of candidates interested in digital and technical career.
Melody Freeman:What stood out was how that single event opened up additional compensations across the region. It created opportunities for broader collaboration with other employers as well as community and faith based partners who are now engaging with us to build pathways for their participants. In expanding how we think about workforce readiness across the Mid South. At the same time, it continues strengthening worker readiness by subsidizing OSHA-ten and NFPA 70E certifications for candidates in the Beecher Bayels of Aitmeier. These industry recognized credentials increase safety, competitiveness, and long term earnings potential.
Melody Freeman:While many of these trainings emerged through coordination with XAI, they are also being made available through the American Job Center for Workers who need to skill up or earn additional certifications. All of this aligns with the Digital Delta strategy focused on preparing residents across Shelby, Tiptoe, Fayette, and Lauderdale for high demand careers tied to industry growth and ensuring our citizens have early and equitable access to those opportunities. The momentum created through these collaborations is helping us deepen our impact and continue delivering high quality employment pathways across the region. And I'm proud to seek a community benefit from that work with the support of the employee partners like XAI. Thank you.
Trinity Chism:Yeah. It's like two having two different conversations. Correct. Like, I I I think people that are against x AI are not against the fact that people are getting jobs. Agreed.
Trinity Chism:And that people are having the ability to make money to afford things for their family. I genuinely don't believe that's the conversation. No. The conversation is the fact that you put this building or this building that was already there, you put this business there that is going to pollute the the air in predominantly black neighborhoods in a in the largest majority black city in The United States. And it's
Kelsey Huse:done
Trinity Chism:by Elon Musk. That's just the cherry on top. Right. That's the conversation of, let's go to the left.
Kelsey Huse:Let's just go to the left.
Trinity Chism:Okay, that's the conversation.
Kelsey Huse:The left side of the room. The left side of the room.
Trinity Chism:So it's like two different conversations. Right. Which is really, really interesting because both of those, the first speaker and the second speaker both spoke to the point of,
Kelsey Huse:oh, you know, just create jobs. Right. And that's cool.
Trinity Chism:But like, we're missing the
Kelsey Huse:like we're having chatty room conversation. I would argue that they should have been thrown out because they're not on topic at all. Your comment needs to be on the topic at hand, which is the air permit. Yeah. It has nothing to do with no.
Kelsey Huse:Have you ever been to a Memphis City Council Meeting or any City Council Meeting really? I used I used to
Trinity Chism:be a a a Memphis City Council Member. So Okay. Yes.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. Okay. So of all the items on the agenda, if you're going to speak, you have to sign up for that agenda item and you have to speak on that agenda item. And if you don't, once you start talking, they're like, excuse me, this is not the topic. You can bring this to new business.
Kelsey Huse:Yes. Like, this is yeah. And you will you will be cut off. And these people about to talk about something completely unrelated. All the stories.
Kelsey Huse:All the videos are two minutes. The Boys and Girls Club guy for Memphis. He talked about how they lost ARPA funds, which are the funds in COVID that really helped a lot of local businesses stay going. Those are expiring. And he basically said, we wouldn't be able to stay open, but XAI donated money for us to stay open.
Kelsey Huse:And it's like the point, all money is not good money. And we should not have to rely on these corporations to stay open. That's why systemic problems.
Trinity Chism:That's why you should, as a local business, local organization, to be able to go to your city officials and make demands as residents and be like, hey, like, we need money
Kelsey Huse:Like, from
Trinity Chism:we are doing something good for your community When you ran, you know, and and your platform was not gonna help nonprofits. I'm gonna help people.
Kelsey Huse:Okay. Let's make our demand. Right. We shouldn't have to go to Muskie and and his folks exactly to ask for money. Why is the city buying a hotel, but Musk is paying the girls and boys club?
Trinity Chism:Like, actually, might, he might be on to something.
Kelsey Huse:Like, Musk shouldn't be in the right for this particular instance, like helping no. That's more like
Trinity Chism:That's a good strategy.
Kelsey Huse:It's a good It's a good strategy. I think there's a term for that. We made a learning that one. Oh, absolutely. It's like the corporations that are doing harm, get headlines about how they're helping the community.
Kelsey Huse:So it cancels it out. It's very strategic. Oh, absolutely. It's very strategic.
Trinity Chism:Any last thoughts about this topic? I just, I really, you know, on the one hand, I understand that these organizations and businesses bring money to individual people. I'm always gonna be on the side of Memphians. Like whether or not it brings money to like the city as a whole, okay. I'm focused on the fact that, okay, there are Memphians that want to provide for their families.
Trinity Chism:Full stop. Okay. But I think when people are kind of manipulated, I'm gonna call them manipulation, to believe that money should be above the health. Health is wealth of the entire city. Right.
Trinity Chism:And I think it would not be an it would not be as big of an issue if like we were saying it, the city was the one that was like giving money to these organizations. You wouldn't need to outsource and take money from the devil. Right. If, you know, if your city was doing what it was supposed to be doing. And I think that's what's disheartening to me the most, that you have these really reputable organizations and people that are speaking on behalf of a business that's polluting your own air.
Trinity Chism:You're working there, but girl, what's coming to life's effects? Yeah. Yeah. I think that's yeah.
Kelsey Huse:The last thing I wanna say is about the fact that they're polluting the air because I think that's contentious. So the city did their own little air quality monitor study. It was only two days. They placed it placed these monitors like underneath different physical structures where they're supposed to be out in the open. The two days that they did this study, the wind was blowing a certain way.
Kelsey Huse:And so two days of data is not a study. And they didn't, And they didn't, measure the pollutants that cause ozone pollution, which is what we have in FN and also is what these turbines emit. So it's basically a bogus study, but this is what their side will point to over and over. So then what is the data we can really look at? And I think the best study that's came out was in a article by Time Magazine.
Kelsey Huse:And researchers at University of Tennessee, Knoxville did a study based on public satellite data from NASA. And they found nitrogen dioxide had increased 3% between June 2024 and afterwards. So that's when they started using the turbines. And then they found peak nitrogen dioxide levels increased by 79 from pre XAI levels immediately surrounding the data center and by 9% in nearby Boxtown. And no one mentioned this during the hearing at all.
Kelsey Huse:No one. And then they interviewed a physician in South Memphis, Austin Dahlgo. And he said that these thoughts were alarming and they significantly increased the risks to residents' health, particularly in vulnerable residents, which are children, the elderly and people that have asthma and COPD.
Trinity Chism:I wonder what it would look like if like health physicians and like doctors, Doctor. Deborah and Mike said like this is bad don't know. I don't know if that
Kelsey Huse:I think it matters so much. And it seems like doctors have to work so much and so hard that they're just exhausted.
Trinity Chism:Yeah.
Kelsey Huse:And I think there's a lot of them that do care. But again, were they working Monday at 09:30AM? Probably. And they cannot get off.
Trinity Chism:I hope, you know.
Kelsey Huse:Yeah. We need them where they are. Well, it's a great question. Like, could they write a letter or something? Would
Trinity Chism:that would that be evidence or proof?
Kelsey Huse:Right. Right. Well, this was fun. Yeah. Should we do it again?
Kelsey Huse:I don't know. Should we?
Trinity Chism:Guess we can think of a name first.
Kelsey Huse:We can put this out into the world and see how people perceive Yeah.
Trinity Chism:Put this into the air.
Kelsey Huse:Oh, into the air. We'll see. Yeah, we'll see. Yeah, we'll put this out and see what people think and come up with our name. So if you made it this far, thank you.
Kelsey Huse:Doodles.