Atlanta

Two Perspectives On Defend The Atlanta Forest

February 17, 2022 It's Going Down. Resist! #StopCopCity, Atlanta, Militarization, Police

They say Atlanta is a city in a forest. What happens when cops, developers, and Hollywood team up to decimate some of the very woods the city claims to treasure? In the last year, a widespread and diverse movement has sprung up to Defend the Atlanta Forest from a secretive proposal to build a police training facility, flanked by a movie soundstage, in a wooded parcel in southeast Atlanta. In this interview from January 30, just days after a major action ending in a handful of arrests, we speak with two participants in the movement about its origins, tactics, and insurgent vision. Their story is of getting ahead of the media, outsmarting the cops, and coming to know the woods through the struggle.

Activists Protest ‘Cop City’ In Atlanta

February 16, 2022 Sukainah Abid-Kons, The Georgia Voice. Resist! #StopCopCity, Atlanta, Militarization, Police

In September 2021, the Atlanta City Council voted to approve the new police training facility for the Atlanta Police Department. The Atlanta Police Foundations, who are largely sponsoring the $90 million dollar project, have referred to the planned facility as a new “Public Safety Training Center.” Activists in the Atlanta area have dubbed it “Cop City” and have been protesting for months to stop the project. On Saturday (February 12), the small area of the Intrenchment Creek trailhead was filled with protestors, there to express their opposition to Cop City. The project — which has the support of Governor Brian Kemp, former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and new mayor Andre Dickens — is planned to be built where the Old Prison Farm now sits and will require deforestation to make room for the facility.

Resistance To ‘Cop City’ Heats Up As Construction Is Halted, Trees Occupied

January 23, 2022 It's Going Down. Resist! Atlanta, Cop City, Police, Treesit

On Tuesday, January 18th, tree-cutting was reported on social media in the Atlanta Forest, an area of highly contested green-space where both a movie studio and the local police are attempting to clear-cut trees to build expanded studio lots and a state of the art police training facility, which will include a “mock city for first responders to train in.” Over the past year, resistance to the project has taken many forms, from militant marches, community forums and BBQs, protests against those funding and helping to carry out the project, to a campaign to pressure local politicians to block the devastation of the forest. The campaign has brought together a wide variety of movements, groups, and communities, each fighting to save the forest and stop an encroaching arm of the expanding police state, known in Atlanta, as “Cop City.”

#StopCopCity Resistance Continues As Bulldozing Ensues

January 19, 2022 Aja Arnold, The Mainline. Resist! #StopCopCity, Atlanta, Environment, Police

Atlanta, GA — On Tues., Jan. 18, around 2 p.m., The Mainline received community reports of heavy machinery and tree cutting taking place in the Old Atlanta Prison Farm land located in the South River Forest. The land was originally inhabited by Muscogee (Creek) indigenous peoples before their forced removal in the 1800s. Tribal leaders and members, now based in Eastern Oklahoma, joined with Atlanta organizers in the #StopCopCity coalition in a historic migration and stomp dance ceremony in the forest last November. Local residents gathered in the forest in response to the apparent bulldozing. The construction continues in the face of ongoing dissent against the city’s plans to build a massive $90 police militarization facility known as “Cop City.”

Why Atlantans Are Pushing To Stop ‘Cop City’

December 30, 2021 Aja Arnold, The Appeal. Resist! Atlanta, Police

On Sept. 8, the Atlanta City Council gathered after listening to nearly 17 hours of comments from over 1,100 constituents across the city. The flood of messages concerned one thing: a proposed $90 million police militarization training facility known among locals as “Cop City.” The renderings of the facility include a mock city for officers to train in, as well as a helicopter landing base, new shooting ranges, burn tower sites, and more. Its development is being spearheaded by the Atlanta Police Foundation and two-thirds of the funding comes from “philanthropic” and corporate donors, kicking the remainder of the bill to the public. The project’s supporters, who include Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, have described the facility as a vital tool for improving police morale and fighting crime.

Lessons From The National Union Of The Homeless

October 12, 2021 Loretta Graceffo, Waging Nonviolence. Organize! Atlanta, Homeless, Housing, Unions

This July, unhoused leaders set up tents in front of Atlanta City Hall to demand a meeting with city officials. They were met by nearly 60 armed police officers who gave them 15 minutes to disperse. Only moments later, 10 of the activists — members of the newly-formed Atlanta Homeless Union — were arrested. The group had four demands: permanent housing, health care, access to water and sanitation, and a “seat at the table” to negotiate with city officials regarding housing policy. “Nobody else that’s not walking in our shoes gonna tell us what to do,” the unhoused leaders announced in their first press release. “Teach us how to fish, and we’ll eat forever. The homeless have unionized, and we’re here for what we deserve.” The Atlanta Homeless Union came into being at a critical moment for the nearly 600,000 people experiencing homelessness across the nation — a number that is likely much higher since data on homelessness hasn’t been gathered since before the pandemic.

Defund The Police Groups, Atlanta Officials Are Still Miles Apart

July 31, 2021 Anjali Huynh, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Organize! Atlanta, Defund the police, Police

City Council meetings were dominated by residents’ and civil rights activists’ calls for police accountability. A year later, these activists say their relationships with City Council remain strained. Those hoping to redistribute police investment said they’re unsatisfied with the government’s response. Some City Council members say they understand the calls for change, but that change takes time.

On Contact: Deep American Roots Of The Atlanta Shootings

March 28, 2021 Chris Hedges, RT. Resistance Report Asian Americans, Atlanta, Racism, Violence

On the show this week, Chris Hedges discusses with journalist and writer May Jeong the deep American roots of the Atlanta shootings. May Jeong’s op-ed, ‘The Deep American Roots of the Atlanta Shootings - The Victims Lived at the Nexus of Race, Gender and Class’, was published in the New York Times on March 19, 2021. Jeong is a writer at Vanity Fair and an Alicia Patterson fellow. She is working on a book about sex work.

Atlanta Murders Reporting Relied On Law Enforcement Narratives

March 28, 2021 Diana Lu, Michelle Pham and Kim De La Cruz, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. Educate! Atlanta, Gun violence, Media, Police

Gunman Rob Aaron Long opened fire in three Asian-owned spas in the Atlanta, Georgia area on March 16, 2021, killing Yong Ae Yue, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, Delaina Ashley Yuan, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng and Paul Andre Michels.* Six of the eight victims were Asian women. At local and national levels, the initial media response focused primarily on the gunman’s story and police statements. Reports linked the targeted businesses to sex work with insubstantial documentation, but struggled to identify if and how race and gender motivated the gunman.

Atlanta Jail Task Force Recommends Razing Building, Creating Equity Center

June 22, 2020 By Raisa Habersham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Create! Atlanta, Decarceration, Equity, Jail

Nearly a year after its creation, the Atlanta City Jail task force has recommended closing the jail, demolishing the building and replacing it with a Center for Equity that would support Atlantans’ needs. The 26-page report was delivered to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on June 12, giving suggestions on how the city can change the institution and convert it into a space to serve Atlanta residents, particularly those from communities most affected by the criminal justice system. The report described a center “that will advance racial and economic equity, promote restorative justice, and invest in the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.” The 52-member task force suggested any changes to the 11-story facility that can hold up to 1,300 inmates include addressing ongoing justice reform and the city’s employment and housing concerns.

APD Disbands Narcotics Unit To Focus On Violent Crime

January 11, 2020 Staff, Wsbtv.com Create! Atlanta, Crime, Georgia, Police

Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne confirmed the change on Tuesday, with the department telling him that those officers will be getting reassigned to other units. Atlanta police officials suggested the move is not abandoning the drug fight but about reducing violent crime. “Absolutely, it’s a risky move,” a veteran APD narcotics officer told Winne, asking not to be identified. “I’m sure there was a lot of thought put into it. I don’t have all the numbers that the higher-ups in APD have, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Civil Rights Groups To Hold Social Justice Rally In Atlanta Before The Super Bowl

February 2, 2019 Kimberley Richards, Huffingtonpost.com Resist! Atlanta, Civil Rights, Protests, Social Justice, Super Bowl

Organizers will stage a rally to call for the removal of Confederate monuments and symbols on the eve of the big game. A group of civil rights organizations is planning to hold a rally in Atlanta to denounce white supremacy, among other themes, ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl 2019. On Saturday, organizations, community members and activists will take advantage of the Super Bowl’s spotlight on Georgia’s capital to launch a movement calling for the removal of Confederate monuments and symbols in the state. Demonstrators at the “United We Shall Stand Rally,” set for noon at Piedmont Park, will also address voter suppression and police brutality, according to Richard Rose...

City Takes Major Step To Reform Oppressive And Inhumane Bail System

February 10, 2018 By Mehreen Kasana / AlterNet.org Create! Atlanta, Bail, Cities, Reform

Atlanta's City Council just unanimously voted and adopted a move to reform Atlanta’s cash bail system, which frequently targets, jails and ultimately upends the lives of its poorest citizens for some of the most minor and non-violent misdemeanors. The decision took a heated six hours to reach a 13-0 vote, and has become the latest protest in a growing number of concerted efforts against the American justice system's notorious bail scam. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed the proposal that stipulated people guilty of nuisance offenses should not be jailed for unnecessarily lengthy durations—think in terms of days, weeks and months—simply because they do not have the financial power to pay fines starting at $100 and going up to $500 and more.

Cities, Volunteers Clash Over Feeding Homeless In Public

December 26, 2017 Kate Brumback, Theolympian.com Create! Atlanta, Cities, Homelessness

When Adele MacLean joined others in an Atlanta park to feed the hungry the Sunday before Thanksgiving, she left with a citation and a summons to appear in court. The case was dropped when she showed up in court earlier this month, but she and her lawyers say the citation for serving food without a permit was improper and demonstrates callousness toward the homeless. The city and some advocates say feeding people on the streets can hinder long-term solutions and raises sanitation concerns. "I'm still outraged this is happening," MacLean said after her court appearance Dec. 14. "I'm concerned that the city, whenever they want to crack down on the homeless, they're going to go after anyone that tries to help them."

Arrested For Feeding Homeless Without Permit Before Thanksgiving

December 1, 2017 Aaron Kesel, activistpost.com Create! Activists, Atlanta, Homelessness, Protesters Arrested, Thanksgiving

By Aaron Kesel for Activist Post - The Sunday before Thanksgiving Atlanta police handed out tickets to activists feeding the homeless in a clear display of disregard for its hungry citizens simply because activists didn’t have a food distribution permit. Atlanta, which is in Fulton County, has long had a policy requiring organizers of such efforts to obtain a permit. Local authorities have in the past turned a blind eye to the ordinance, though, according to the activist groups including Food Not Bombs that feed the homeless. But last week that changed, of all times right before the American holiday where you are supposed to give thanks and share. Instead, those giving to others in need were arrested for not having a measly piece of paper that authorizes them to hold the food drives and pay the state to do so. These permits are often costly and are an outrage in that they violently coerce groups into applying for charity toward fellow citizens so they don’t starve to death. But, alas, the state has always used and abused the color of law to be sure they get their cut of whatever they deem to be “illegal.” When it comes to food, however, it is a practice that is particularly inhumane and insane to punish people’s natural inclination to help those in need. Two activists who were arrested, Adele Maclean and Marlon Kautz, spoke out on the matter to local CBS station WSB-TV in Atlanta. “I mean, outrageous, right? Of all the things to be punished for, giving free food to people who are hungry?” Maclean told CBS WSB-TV.

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