Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) is a left-of-center environmentalist advocacy organization that organizes protests and other activities in opposition to various industrial projects in the Memphis, Tennessee area. The group has targeted Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer data center in Memphis and previously has opposed pipeline projects and celebrated the closure of manufacturing facilities in the area. The group is tied to other small local environmentalist groups in the area including Protect Our Aquifer and Young Gift and Green, and is closely linked to the Southern Environmental Law Center. ^{1 2 3 4}

Background and Activities

Memphis Community Against Pollution began its activity in 2021 by opposing a proposed 49-mile underground oil pipeline connecting a refinery in Memphis to an existing pipeline in Mississippi. The Byhalia Connection pipeline was accused by MCAP of “environmental racism” due to its proposed route along the Memphis aquifer near Boxtown, a predominantly African-American community. The group was initially known as Memphis Community Against the Pipeline and changed its name to Memphis Community Against Pollution to continue activity against other industries and facilities after the pipeline campaign. ^{5 6}

Among the founders of MCAP is Justin Pearson, a Democratic Tennessee State Representative most notable for being briefly expelled from office in 2023 after leading a protest on the House floor in support of gun control policies. The protest involved thousands of protesters flooding the Tennessee Capitol Building while Pearson and two other Democratic House members “approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn, and joined the protesters’ chants and cries for action.” Pearson was later reappointed to his seat by local officials and won reelection to the seat in 2024. ⁷

Speaking on behalf of MCAP in 2021, before his election to the state legislature, Pearson invoked heated racial rhetoric in opposition to industrial facilities in the area, stating, ““They’re trying to lynch us in a different way—one that can just as much take our breath away.” ⁷

A protest organized by the group against the Byhalia pipeline in 2021 featured former Vice President Al Gore and activist William Barber, and received positive coverage from the far-left Southern Environmental Law Center. ⁷

MCAP, along with the Southern Environmental Law Center, also supported the closure of the Sterilization Services of Tennessee, a company that sterilized medical equipment with ethylene oxide, which had been under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and was subject to a class action lawsuit. ⁸

Opposition to xAI Facility

Most of Memphis Community Against Pollution’s activity since 2024 has focused on leading opposition to an xAI supercomputer facility in Memphis opened by Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) to provide processing capabilities for X’s Grok Artificial Intelligence. ^{9 10}

The facility was described by Musk as the “most powerful AI training cluster in the world” and has been criticized by MCAP for its use of natural gas power and treated city wastewater for cooling. ¹¹

In 2024, MCAP along with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), asked the Shelby County Health Department to investigate the xAI facility for its use of natural gas turbines, with MCAP president KeShaun Pearson stating “What are the ramifications of the air pollution that has been exposed into our air and what is to come if they are to continue to use these generators for another 300 plus days?,” and Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney with the SELC, stating “We know southwest Memphis has high rates of asthma, we know they have high rates of cancer and a shortened life expectancy so ozone pollution is really a public health issue that needs to be addressed by the health department.” ¹²

1. “Environmental Activists Address Community Concerns Over xAI Expansion.” Action News 5. February 18, 2025. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.actionnews5.com/2025/02/18/environmental-activists-address-community-concerns-xai-expansion/
2. “Groups Rally for Environmental Justice in Southwest Memphis.” WREG. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://wreg.com/news/local/groups-rally-for-environmental-justice-in-southwest-memphis/
3. Stewart, Noah. “Musk’s xAI Colossus Supercomputer Brings Protests to Memphis’ Boxtown.” NBC News. May 3, 2025. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/musk-xai-colossus-supercomputer-boxtown-memphis-tennessee-rcna206242
4. “About MCAP.” Memphis Community Against Pollution. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.memphiscap.org/aboutmcap
5. “Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP).” Intersectional Environmentalist. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://intersectionalenvironmentalist.com/ie-database/memphis-community-against-pollution-mcap
6. Thorbecke, Catherine. “Environmental Racism: Black Community in Memphis Resists Proposed Crude Oil Pipeline.” ABC News. April 27, 2021. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/US/environmental-racism-black-community-memphis-resists-proposed-crude/story?id=76628841
7. “Unjust Patterns.” Southern Environmental Law Center. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.selc.org/news/unjust-patters/
8. “Sterilization Services of Tennessee to Close Ethylene Oxide Polluting Facility in South Memphis.” Southern Environmental Law Center. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.selc.org/press-release/sterilization-services-of-tennessee-to-close-ethylene-oxide-polluting-facility-in-south-memphis/
9. “xAI’s Memphis Supercluster Goes Live with up to 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs.” Data Center Dynamics. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/xais-memphis-supercluster-has-gone-live-with-up-to-100000-nvidia-h100-gpus/
10. “MCAP Press.” Memphis Community Against Pollution. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.memphiscap.org/mcappress
11. Shamasunder, Bhavna. “Memphis Residents Push Back Against Musk’s New Supercomputer Project.” Environmental Health News. May 7, 2025. Accessed May 28, 2025. https://www.ehn.org/memphis-residents-push-back-against-musks-new-supercomputer-project
12. Solomon, Kayla. “National, Local Leaders Ask Health Department to Investigate Xai Facility.” FOX13 Memphis, August 27, 2024. https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/national-local-leaders-ask-health-department-to-investigate-xai-facility/article_c723edda-64c4-11ef-b092-875a8f5a3a58.html.