Young, Gifted & Green

06/11/2026

🏗️ As the demand for AI and data centers continues to grow, communities across the country are asking an important question:

Who benefits, and who bears the cost?

In Flint, residents and community leaders are pushing for a pause on new data center development until the city can fully examine the potential impacts on water, energy, land use, and neighborhood quality of life. Supporters say communities deserve a seat at the table before major decisions are made.

Environmental justice means ensuring that residents are informed, heard, and protected—not after decisions are made, but before.

Read more:
https://www.flintbeat.com/flint-city-hall/our-people-dont-want-this-data-center-moratorium-moves-forward-for-flint-city-council-approval-5dab32f5

Flint leaders advance a one-year halt on data center projects, seeking time to plan protections as residents voice concerns and the city joins a growing nationa...

06/09/2026

🌎 Where you live should not determine the air you breathe.

A new report found that minority and lower-income communities across the Northeast are disproportionately located in the path of harmful emissions from fossil fuel power plants, raising serious concerns about environmental justice and public health.

Clean air is not a privilege. It is a basic right.

As we continue the transition to a cleaner energy future, we must ensure that communities that have carried the greatest environmental burdens are not left behind once again.

Read more:
https://baystatebanner.com/2026/06/03/minority-lower-income-communities-in-the-northeast-most-likely-to-be-in-the-path-of-harmful-power-plant-emissions/

Most fossil fuel power plants in the Northeast are located near environmental justice communities, a new report has found.

06/09/2026

GenZ to Save the World! We are so proud of our bestie Mari Copeny for speaking truth to power tonight at the Flint City Council Meeting, where a 12 month moratorium on data centers passed🙌🏿🙏🏿

06/07/2026

Flint Council votes on June 8, 2026 on a 12-month data center moratorium (pause). Data centers drain and foul water: Memphis loses 800,000+ gallons a day to one, and a Georgia town's taps ran brown. Flint's water cannot be put at risk again.

📅 When: June 8, 2026
🕑 Time: 5:30 PM ET
📍Where: Flint City Hall |1101 S. Saginaw St., Flint, MI 48502

How you can help:
🗣 Show up and sign up to speak. A public comment takes about one minute. Download talking points at bit.ly/NoDataCentersFlint

Cannot make it in person?
📧 Email all nine Council members before the meeting.
📞 Call the Council Office at (810) 766-7418.

Bring a friend, bring your story, and bring your voice. Flint has been through too much to be rushed and ignored again.

06/07/2026

Communities across Illinois are one step closer to having a stronger voice in decisions that impact their health and environment.

A newly passed environmental justice bill would give state regulators greater authority to consider cumulative pollution impacts when reviewing permits in communities that have historically borne the greatest environmental burdens.

This is what community organizing looks like. Residents, advocates, and local leaders spent years pushing for a system that recognizes that pollution does not exist in isolation and that every community deserves clean air, clean water, and a healthy future.

Read more: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03062026/illinois-environmental-justice-legislation/

Environmental justice is not just about the environment. It is about health, equity, and ensuring that no community is treated as disposable.

A bill, newly passed by legislators, will expand the state’s capacity to enforce limits on health-harming emissions in overburdened communities.

06/06/2026

✊🏾 Lead Free South Memphis starts with community action.

Join Young, Gifted & Green and environmental justice leaders from across Memphis as we canvass homes impacted by lead exposure and connect residents with opportunities for FREE lead paint and water testing.

📅 June 27, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Memphis Rox Climbing + Community
879 E. McLemore Ave.

Together, we can help protect families, raise awareness about lead exposure, and ensure residents have access to the resources they need for healthier homes and communities.

Whether you're an advocate, organizer, student, or community member, your support can make a difference.

🔗 Get involved: bit.ly/canvassmem

06/06/2026

Memphis & the Mid-South📢 Join Young, Gifted & Green with Color Of Change + 350.org for "Let Memphis Breathe: A Data Center Resistance Teach-On" during the 2026 Juneteenth Week of Action:
📅 June 18, 2026
🕑 6PM-9PM CT
📍Cadre Building
🔗bit.ly/LETmemphisBreathe

Free food & beverages will be served.

Join Young Gifted & Green, Color Of Change, and 350.org for Let Memphis Breathe: A Community Data Center Resistance Teach-in, Thursday, June 18, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. As AI data center development rapidly expands across the country, Memphians are left to deal with the environmental, economic,....

06/05/2026

🗳️ Democracy works best when voters are informed.

As election season approaches, resources like the 2026 Voter Guide help break down the issues, explain voting requirements, highlight key races, and provide the information residents need to make their voices heard at the ballot box. An informed voter is an empowered voter.

Whether you're voting for the first time or have participated in every election for years, now is the time to learn about the candidates, understand what's on the ballot, and make a plan to vote.

Your vote is your voice. Use it.

View the guide:
https://www.washingtoninformer.com/2026-dc-primary-voter-guide/