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Application: Rural Data Center Resistance Cohort

We are recruiting 30 "Rural Defenders"--  rural and small-town organizers across the country -- to join a data center resistance cohort for learning and community-building. We are looking for people from small-town places with big courage to build collective people power & stand up to authoritarian forces and tech billionaires; people who refuse to be steamrolled by AI data center projects.

You'll get training and coaching from top-notch organizers to strengthen your skills, a $1500 award to support your work back home, and a community of support to fight back against Big Tech. Apply by 9/22!

We are looking for people who are willing to commit to this 6-session virtual training series (and hopefully to stay engaged with the community beyond that). No non-profit status or formal certification is required.

Your hosts: This program is sponsored by RuralOrganizing.org and Future Currents. The data center cohort is hosted by The Hum, a podcast on AI data center resistance, and the Center for Nonviolent Conflict Research, a think tank doing research and training on peaceful protest - with support from more than two dozen rural and small-town organizers and allied organizations.

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About the program: The data center resistance cohort of the Rural Defenders Union will include -- 

  * Six on-line trainings with topics including: Organizing Tactics for Data Center Resistance, Lessons from Organizers Who Have Won, Passing Legislation, Building a Ladder of Engagement to Grow Volunteer Power, and more

  * Access to one-on-one coaching and office hours provided by other experienced organizers

  * An award of $2000 to support your work and participation

  * A community of other "defenders" to lean on, and learn from

Spots are limited, but we hope you will apply even if you aren't 100% sure if this program is right for you. We are looking for inspired people who want to hustle and win, not a perfect resume or job title. By completing the application, you'll help us 1) learn more about what crises folks are facing and 2) start building a community of people who want to fight back -- so we can share future opportunities.

The deadline to apply is September 22nd. Program will run online on Tuesdays in October (10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27) 6:30-8pm Eastern/3:30-5 Pacific, with a few additional trainings at other times. Please apply only if you are able to attend all 4 Tuesday evening sessions.

We welcome applications from anyone in rural or small-town America who is interested in strengthening their organizing against AI data centers in their community. We especially want to hear from people and communities who are directly under threat -- racial minority leaders and organizers, the LGBTQ+ community, people who use drugs, people with criminal records, Indigenous and tribal members, and members of unions or worker centers. (Established organizations and paid organizers are welcome to apply, but we will prioritize accepting folks who are doing this work without a salary.)

We are looking for folks who want to win at home and ultimately be a part of something bigger than their own fight. The threats and challenges our communities face are escalating by the day. One thing we'll discuss is how to keep supporting each other, and other rural leaders, in the months and years to come.

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Why: Massive AI companies are increasingly targeting small-town and rural communities for harmful hyperscale data center projects. This new threat to land, water, energy, and privacy is coming on top of 40+ years of painful struggle and decline in rural communities. Family farms have been decimated, factories and rural schools shut down, rural hospitals defunded, and both capital and young people have fled town. So many of our neighbors have fallen into resignation, despair, and substance use, unable to envision a future for themselves and their hometowns. 

Others have been enticed into authoritarian mindsets and fed lies by corporate media, leading to the scapegoating of immigrants, people of color, and LGBTQ people for what has happened to their communities. This dangerous and false explanation for the state of small-town America has spread more and more rapidly as our communities have become increasingly isolated. We’ve lost local newspapers, basic civic infrastructure, and third spaces where people come together across their differences toward achieving shared goals. Addictive social media, creepy surveillance, and AI replacing jobs have only made this worse.

But from the Mine Wars to Selma to Standing Rock, we know that real change is possible when those who are targeted rise up, especially in the places where our opponents are most powerful.

The organic rise of data center protest and resistance is the latest example of people standing up to protect the places we call home, and we are ready to grow that movement together.

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