On August 11, a storm ripped through Gary, Indiana, knocking out power for tens of thousands of people.
For two weeks, they were left to make due in a blackout. The food in their fridges spoiled. Supermarkets were forced to close. Some sat in their car, running the air conditioning, for relief from the heat.
Gary is a majority Black city and has faced decades of disinvestment, redlining, and racial segregation. More than one third of its residents live below the poverty line. And as the climate crisis worsens, it is a stark reminder of who is more likely to shoulder the energy burden.
Black communities are more likely to suffer power outages in the United States
Black households are twice as likely to face a power outage lasting longer than 24 hours than white households. When Gary’s energy provider, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), released a schedule for restoring power to the state, Gary was initially not listed.
Meanwhile, NIPSCO is signing contracts with Big Tech companies to build more data centers under the guise of lowering electricity bills for residents.
Energy in the U.S. isn’t democratic
Energy justice in Gary won’t come from an updated grid alone. The communities there deserve to be in charge of their power, decide where their resources go, and build an energy system that doesn’t leave them and their families behind.
Despite more U.S. adults paying for energy than are registered to vote, they do not have a say in how their energy is implemented, how much it costs, or where it is sourced from. Candice Fortin, U.S. Campaigns Manager at 350, gets at the heart of this in her story for Peace & Riot.
Months ago, Fortin traveled to Memphis to learn how local residents are being impacted by data centers, rising utility costs, and a lack of a say in their energy system. Just like Gary, Memphis is a majority Black city. And a recent storm also stripped thousands living there of electricity.
Yet their stories reveal how they are being denied the opportunity to build a new energy system that works by and for their communities.
“When we talk about issues of energy affordability, it’s not just your utility bill. It’s also about the boom in data centers, and their impact on the health and wellbeing of both our planet and people,” writes Fortin.
So what would the world look like if energy was simply treated as a human right?
Movement News
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People of all political backgrounds are uniting against data centers
People in the U.S. are becoming increasingly aware of Big Tech and why it’s dangerous. Read more
Trump fast-tracks environmental review for 800-mile oil pipeline in Alaska
“Alaska is facing massive climate disruption, but Trump wants to give the oil companies carte blanche to continue business as usual for the next three decades,” said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Read more
Worth Revisiting
21 Years Since Hurricane Katrina
What can the Gulf South teach us about community power and climate justice? Revisit these stories from our Disaster Resilience issue of Peace & Riot.