Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones Speaks Out About Data Center That’s Part Of Fisk University’s Estimated $1B Project

Fisk University is receiving some pushback regarding its “Quantum Leap” project.

According to a press release, the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Nashville, TN, unveiled a $1 billion project that will include a data and technology center (Innovation Center) with plans to update classroom space, ensure children have access to quantum-level technology, and strengthen its talent pipeline.

As for more details on the Innovation Center, which will cost $400 million, it will be a 100,000-square-foot facility with a 30,000-square-foot academic space and a 70,000-square-foot technology center, which the university says will be located on an undeveloped five acres of its campus. It says the center will provide workforce development opportunities for the campus and the greater Nashville area as well as drive new and existing curriculum and tech-forward interdisciplinary study.

The university adds that the project will reduce energy and water consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and prioritize sustainability.

The project is expected to launch in the next decade or more, and construction is already underway.

“For more than 160 years, Fisk University has played a leading role in shaping some of the nation’s brightest minds, cultivating leaders, expanding access to education and stewarding American history,” Dr. Agenia W. Clark, president of Fisk University, said in a press release. “Quantum Leap represents our commitment to building upon our storied legacy while paving the way for sustained growth to ensure Fisk continues to empower its students, faculty, and community. Through our campus master plan, the institution is poised to emerge as a leader in higher education and innovation.”

However, the “Quantum Leap” project has raised concerns. HBCU Game Day reports that Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones has spoken out against the project. Jones, who was once a professor at the university, was teaching a course on environmental racism. He claimed that Dr. Clark had asked him if the course would conflict with a data center on campus, and his class was canceled within a week of discussing the “dangers of AI.”

Regarding the Innovation Center, Jones noted that white counties have also raised agricultural concerns over projects with similar intentions. He said he believes North Nashville’s concerns should also be taken seriously.

“If it’s not good for a white community, it’s not good for a black community,” Jones said, according to HBCU Game Day.

“What they’re doing is they are preying on North Nashville, a community that has already been exploited, extracted from, treated as second class,” he later added, per the outlet. “And what we’re here to say is we will not let that happen without resistance.”

Fisk University has issued a statement regarding community concerns.

“Fisk University understands and appreciates the community’s response to and interest in Quantum Leap and the Innovation Center,” the university said, according to HBCU Game Day. “Fisk’s 160-year legacy in 37208 has always been defined by excellence, and our North Nashville neighbors have played a critical role in that history but also remain essential to our future. We would never cause harm here.”

The post Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones Speaks Out About Data Center That’s Part Of Fisk University’s Estimated $1B Project appeared first on AfroTech.

The post Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones Speaks Out About Data Center That’s Part Of Fisk University’s Estimated $1B Project appeared first on AfroTech.