A Data Center Promises Jobs in This Black Town, but Residents Aren’t Convinced

Aalliyah Wright, CapitalB

At the center of the debate in Clarksdale, Mississippi, one question lingers: What’s the right development for a dying town?

CLARKSDALE, Mississippi — Rumors of a potential data center had loomed over Voneshay Walker like a cloud for months. She’d heard the whispers and seen reports of other centers popping up in small towns across the South. 

She didn’t expect it to hit so close to home.

Walker is a native of Tutwiler, Mississippi, a small town of 2,000. Years ago, she moved to Clarksdale for economic opportunity. Unfortunately, the promise of more jobs, an influx of investment, and food options disappeared. But the city’s latest solution to its problems — a data center — has her troubled. 

While there’s currently no agreement in place to build a data center in Clarksdale, the city projects a hyperscale data center could bring in millions in local tax revenue. Such a project could take up to six years to complete, but could create 1,000 temporary jobs and between 200 to 300 permanent positions.

Still, Walker said she’s worried a data center would strain Clarksdale’s water, electricity, add pollution, and further burden a community whose resources are already stretched thin. Moreover, her home is only 3 miles away from the proposed development site, and she’s concerned about the impact it could have on her family, including her children.

Read more.

Discover Black history.

Follow more stories involving the impact of technology on the Black community in our breaking news.