NASHVILLE — A demonstration opposing a proposed data center took place at the gates of Fisk University. The university plans a campus Innovation Center that would include a 30-megawatt data center.

The proposed facility has an estimated cost of $400 million and covers 100,000 square feet. It is part of Fisk's $1 billion Quantum Leap campus master plan. The proposed site is located near public housing, a high school, and university student dormitories.

Tennessee State Representative Justin Jones attended the demonstration and called for Fisk to release additional information. Jones, a Fisk graduate, said, "We're here to get in the way of a project that we know will be detrimental not only to our Fisk campus, but to the surrounding community." He added, "If this project was so amazing, as they said, for universities, it would be at Vanderbilt. But instead they're coming to Fisk University, using this tactic of extraction and preying on our HBCU."

Winston Wellington Wright helped launch an online petition opposing the data center project, which gathered more than 6,000 signatures. He said, "We are standing in a zip code that consistently ranks within the top three for the highest rates of asthma prevalence in emergency department-related visits across the city. Data centers built for AI are threats to our public health and quality of life."

Timothy Hughes, president of the Nashville NAACP, stated, "These conversations are not anti-technology. They are about ensuring the growth that occurs responsibly, transparently, and with meaningful public participation." Event organizers requested a town hall meeting, disclosure of corporate partners, and a community benefits agreement before Fisk proceeds with construction.