Andrew Lee of Anti-Racism Daily, on why the fight to #StopCopCity means so much:
“In the upcoming weeks, The ARD will continue our coverage of Stop Cop City, one of the most crucial social justice fights underway in the U.S. Hundreds of acres of urban forest next to a working-class Black neighborhood in Atlanta, Georgia, are slated to be clear-cut for the construction of a law enforcement training facility. If built, ‘Cop City’ would produce water pollution while destroying the city’s largest remaining contiguous green space. The residents surrounding the site would be unable to escape the sounds of grenades, bombs, and police helicopters. And Cop City would be used to train law enforcement officers from around the country and the world to execute military raids and police brutality in oppressed communities.
“Cop City has received support from Atlanta’s political class as well as from many profitable and powerful institutions, like Home Depot, Bank of America, Delta Airlines, and Chick-fil-a. Yet, Atlanta residents overwhelmingly oppose the project, and community members have vowed not to back down without a guaranteed termination of Cop City. For two years, activists have physically put their bodies on the line by living in the forest to stop construction, facing political repression and police violence. …
“U.S. residents occasionally engage in the pastime of imagining the heroics we’d have performed in the now-acclaimed social justice movements in the past. We envision ourselves marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Martin Luther King, Jr. or rallying against the injustices of the Vietnam War, content in the belief that if we were to find ourselves with the opportunity to intervene in the struggle for freedom and dignity at a crucial juncture, we would surely do what was needed. The summer of 2020 was one such crucial juncture. The fight against Cop City is another one. Those able to go to Atlanta for the week of action should go. We can all support the struggle, no matter where we are. …
“TAKE ACTION:
• Come to Atlanta March 4-11. Bring a tent. Follow @defendatlantaforest for more information.
• Donate to Community Movement Builders (@communitymovementbuilders).
• Sign the petition to oppose subsidized housing for Atlanta police officers in a working-class Black neighborhood.
• Call Georgia State University professor Deepak Raghavan at (404) 413 6044and demand he resign from the Atlanta Police Foundation Executive Board. His email is Raghavan@astro.gsu.edu.
• Contact GSU Astronomy Department Chair Sebastien Lepine at (404) 413 6020and Provost Nicolle Parsons-Pollard at (404) 413 2688 to express your opposition to Dr. Raghavan’s active support of the Cop City urban warfare training center.
• Donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund (@atlsolfund) to fight political repression and support incarcerated activists.”
**** (following is my addition) — Additionally, through a permaculture movement lens, it occurs to me that we as Florida permies could:
1) contact Atlanta permaculture people to offer our help; and
2) team up with our fellows in permaculture guilds, bioregional orgs, etc., across the USA to form a web of resistance, compassion, and common sense to stop this insane & dangerous plan.
Visit the link to read the rest of the article, including more info and ways we can all help. And bookmark ARD’s website and subscribe to their newsletter to keep up with coverage and action steps.