Episode 01: AI, Data Centers, and the New Frontline of Racial Justice Organizing with Abre' Conner

On the season six premiere of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast, Leah Obias, Director of Policy and Strategy at Race Forward, speaks with Abre' Conner, Director of the Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at the NAACP, to examine how the rapid expansion of AI data centers is reshaping conversations around racial justice, environmental justice, governance, and democracy. Together, they unpack the growing resistance emerging in communities across the country, from local organizing efforts and town hall confrontations to broader legal and policy battles over the future of AI infrastructure.

In their conversation, Leah and Abre’ explore how AI infrastructure is increasingly being framed not simply as a technology issue, but as a defining racial justice issue of the present moment. They discuss how communities are organizing against opaque development practices, the role of government and corporate power in accelerating AI expansion, and how frameworks like the Frontline Framework are helping communities advocate for accountability and community-centered development. The episode also examines what more equitable AI infrastructure could look like moving forward, and what it will take to ensure that the future of AI does not replicate longstanding patterns of environmental harm and exclusion.

Resources:

Abre’ Conner
https://naacp.org/people/abre-conner

Digital Colonialism Series (Via Non-Profit Quarterly & Media Justice)
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/series/digital-colonialism/

How the NAACP Is Stopping Dirty Data (via the NAACP)
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/how-the-naacp-is-stopping-dirty-data/

Stop Dirty Data Centers Campaign (via the NAACP)
https://naacp.org/campaigns/stop-dirty-data-centers

Environmental and Climate Justice (via the NAACP)
https://naacp.org/know-issues/environmental-climate-justice

The People's Report - Data Centers in Prince George's County, MD (via the NAACP)
https://naacp.org/resources/peoples-report-data-centers-prince-georges-county-md

Executive Producers: Hendel Leiva, Cheryl Blakemore
Associate Producer: Iris Crawford