E.N. West and Vernice Miller-Travis live among the data center capital of the world. In West’s local area of Northern Virginia, more than 150 data centers dominate the land.
As if those weren’t enough, across the bridge in Maryland, Miller-Travis’s predominantly Black community of Prince George’s County is fighting the construction of yet another facility.
According to West: Vernice’s life is a love story to place. From Harlem, New York to Nassau, Bahamas to Prince George’s County, Maryland, she’s been on the forefront of building an environmental justice movement rooted in love of the land and its people. That legacy continues in her fight, alongside her neighbors in Southern Maryland, against a new data center development in Landover.
“There’s a lot more work we need to do as environmentalists, and people who care about this issue, to make that conversation more relatable for the average person. Because everyone is paying the price,” said Miller-Travis.
“The top 10%, they are making money hand over fist. The rest of us are catching hell.”
P.S. Though we didn’t receive a Webby Award this year, we were in the fight at the highest level — a top 5 nominee out of 13,000 entries. As a small, independent, nonprofit organization led by women of color, we tell frontline stories that challenge narratives peddled by corporate media. That is exactly why your support matters. Donate
The Latest at Counterstream
Don’t miss Peace & Riot contributors Julia Luz Betancourt and Amirio Freeman in Brooklyn on May 8!
AI is everywhere: surveilling our communities, controlling our media, and fracking our minds. How can we reclaim our attention toward environmental justice?
Join Assistant Editor Julia Luz Betancourt, Peace & Riot Contributor Amirio Freeman, Educator Capri LaRocca, and Academic Dean Henry Kramer in a special panel on AI, Attention Activism, and Environmental Justice on May 8 in Brooklyn, New York. Hosted by the School of Radical Attention and Counterstream. Register here
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ICE wants to build a children’s detention center atop a former military facility contaminated with PFAS
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to hold children and their families at the England air force base in Louisiana, where toxic chemicals have been found in the groundwater. Read more
The USDA terminated $300 million in grants that were supposed to be given to Native organizations to support agricultural development
“This wasn’t just a grant. This was a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity to rebuild our food system,” said Desi Rodriguez‑Lonebear, CEO of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute on the Blackfeet Reservation. Read more
The U.S. got more electricity from renewables than it did from natural gas last month
For the first time, renewable energy provided more electricity to the country than natural gas during the month of March. Natural gas is typically the second-largest source of energy on the U.S. electrical grid. Read more
Worth Revisiting
The People vs. the Billionaires
Elon Musk’s xAI data center and federal agents came to Memphis. Residents showed how to fight back.