Corporate Bullying by Design
When Corporations Bully Communities: Memphis and the Weight of AI Data Centers
I’ve been thinking a lot about what bullying really looks like. We usually picture it as something that happens on the playground, a bigger kid pushing a smaller one around. But the truth is bullying grows up. It gets suits, logos, and billion-dollar contracts. It shows up as corporations who put profit over people, power over community, and extraction over care.
And right now, in Memphis, we’re witnessing corporate bullying on full display.
The Silent Weight of AI
AI is marketed to us like magic, it is promoted as endless possibility, innovation, and convenience. But behind the glossy headlines and viral apps, there are massive data centers that keep the machine running. These centers are greedy for power and water. They consume more electricity than entire neighborhoods and drain water supplies that communities depend on.
In Memphis, a city already scarred by environmental racism, the arrival of AI data centers is not a neutral thing. It is an invasion. It is taking without asking. It is bullying.
Corporate Bullying by Design
Let’s call a thing a thing. These corporations are making backroom deals to set up shop in majority-Black and Brown communities, banking on the fact that these neighborhoods have been historically ignored, underfunded, and undervalued. They build their data centers where land is cheap and political resistance is low, then sell the story of “progress” while leaving residents with higher utility costs, toxic air, and dwindling water.
That’s not innovation. That’s exploitation dressed up as opportunity.
Why This Matters
Memphis is not just another city; it is sacred ground. A city that has carried the weight of slavery, Jim Crow, and economic disinvestment, while still birthing some of the culture, music, and resistance that shapes the world. To place data centers here without community consent is to echo the same systems of extraction that have always treated Black lives and Black land as expendable.
And make no mistake this isn’t just about Memphis. This is a warning sign for all of us. AI cannot be “the future” if it comes at the cost of clean water, breathable air, and the health of our children.
Sign the petition on Change.org - Efforts to “push” the Supercomputer out of Memphis.
Resisting the Bully
Bullies thrive in silence. They count on us to stay quiet, to feel powerless. But Memphis has never been silent. From sanitation workers striking for dignity in 1968 to organizers today fighting environmental racism, Memphis knows how to resist.
We resist by telling the truth. By naming corporate greed for what it is. By organizing, demanding accountability, and reminding these companies that communities are not collateral damage in their race for innovation.
Too Dope To Bully
The Too Dope To Bully movement is about more than what happens in schools it’s about reshaping how we see power, dignity, and protection in every space. And right now, it means standing with Memphis. It means saying that no corporation, no matter how big, has the right to poison our water or strip our resources for profit.
Because we are not victims. We are not collateral.
We are powerful.
We are resilient.
And we are far too dope to be bullied.
Touched Apparel is preparing for October, bullying awareness month. Join them by taking the pledge to be Too Dope To Bully! -> PLEDGE
For more information
Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP)
State Rep. Justin J. Pearson
https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/legislatorinfo/member.aspx?district=H86
Southern Environmental Law Center
Memphis NAACP