An xAI employee wearing a hat with the company logo stands for a photo during the Dec. 15 public meeting considering an appeal for gas turbine permits at the University of Memphis. Photos by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America . 

Residents of Boxtown and Westwood neighborhoods helped to fill the seats of a theater at the University of Memphis. They arrived for a public hearing regarding xAI’s permit to use its gas turbines. They carried their decades of fighting for the community into a process measured in minutes and motions.

Looking at the crowd felt like seeing not just two sides, but two futures. One supporting xAI’s interests and the other standing firmly in opposition, splitting the room like railroad tracks. The residents’ voices who spoke during the hearing were steady and defiant.

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After nearly seven hours, the Memphis and Shelby County Pollution Control Board voted 6–1 to dismiss the appeal filed by The Southern Environmental Law Center.

The vote may have ended the hearing, but the fight continues for Boxtown and Westwood. Although some arrived with optimism, they went home carrying the heavy toll that comes with caring for Memphis’ air. 

Security policies, such as clear bag rules, and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputies on the scene heightened tensions at the public meeting.
A Memphis resident sits in the audience during the hearing. 
Memphis and Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board Chair Randy Womack walks off the stage after the hearing ended. 
Boxtown resident Batsell Booker speaks at the hearing. “I have been dumped on a lot by the city. But we remain a resilient bunch.”
Long-time environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw was also at the hearing. Bradshaw and her family have been fighting against environmental racism, specifically against the Defense Depot superfund site, for decades. 
A sign reading “You’re killing us” (center) was among those held by residents in the audience.
Kermit Moore, Memphis NAACP president, speaks to the media after the hearing. 
KeShaun Pearson, director of Memphis Community Against Pollution, is seen during a public hearing for an appeal of xAI’s usage of gas turbines in Southwest Memphis held at the University of Memphis on Monday.
The public hearing is seen as an attendee walks toward the exit. 

Kevin Wurm, a MLK50: Justice Through Journalism visual journalist, is a Report for America corps member and a CatchLight Local fellow. Email him at kevin.wurm@mlk50.com

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