Peace & Riot Issue No. 5
Cover Story
The Data Center Down the Street, and the Activist Next Door
E.N. West in conversation with
Vernice Miller-Travis
Spring 2026
Issue 05
Letter from Peace & Riot
Who pays the price when powering the digital world? By Frankie Orona.
The Data Center Down the Street, and the Activist Next Door
In Maryland, organizing against dirty data centers is an act of community power. E.N. West in conversation with Vernice Miller-Travis.
Jamming the AI Hype Machine
Cutting through the myths, marketing, and manufactured inevitability of AI. Amirio Freeman in conversation with Jai Dulani.
In Atlanta, Cop City Swaps Shade for Surveillance in a Black Community
In America’s most surveilled city, a Black neighborhood loses forest and gains a network of AI-enabled cameras. By Adam Mahoney and Madeline Thigpen.
Policing the Planet
How ICE and AI-powered surveillance threaten people and movements everywhere. By Julia Luz Betancourt.
How Ai Fracks Our Minds
AI is an attention and environmental disaster. By D. Graham Burnett & Peter Schmidt.
AI’s Fossil Fuel Future
In the Gulf South, AI’s growth is being built on the same fossil fuel and petrochemical infrastructure that has long defined Cancer Alley. By Shilpi Chhotray.
TOOLS & TACTICS FOR DATA DEFENSE
By Katya Abazajian & Emelia Williams of The People’s Data Project.
Artmaking as Resistance and Reclamation
Yessenia Funes and Kumi Naidoo on art, activism, and attention.
Youth Organizers in Texas are Pushing Back Against AI Data Centers
Alexia Leclercq on fighting resource abuse and environmental injustice in her home community. By Aina Marzia.
Peace & Riot Picks
Resources to help strengthen skills that AI undermines, like critical thinking and contemplation.
The Camera as a Tool for Empowerment
Arielle Bobb-Willis is this issue’s featured photographer.
Spring 2026 - Issue 05
CrEDITS
This issue was made possible with support from
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:
Mindy Ramaker
EDITOR:
Kate Weiner
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:
Shilpi Chhotray
Contributors
Katya Abazajian
Arielle Bobb-Willis
D. Graham Burnett
Shilpi Chhotray
Abre’ Conner
Jai Dulani
Amirio Freeman
Yessenia Funes
Alexia Leclercq
Davante Lewis
Julia Luz Betancourt
Adam Mahoney
Aina Marzia
Vernice Miller-Travis
Kumi Naidoo
Marianella Nuñez
Frankie Orona
Peter Schmidt
Patrice Simms
Kelsey L. Smoot
Madeline Thigpen
E.N. West
Emelia Williams
FALL/WINTER 2025
Issue 04
SPRING/SUMMER 2025
Issue 03
Subscribe to our newsletter.
Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates from Peace & Riot.