Tell Corporations to Divest from Cop City!

Black communities will be especially harmed by the police expansion and militarization that Cop City represents . Studies have shown that police with more military equipment kill more civilians, prevent less crime, and make residents feel less safe., The fake urban village APF seeks to create will train officers to view Atlanta like a warzone and treat civilians like potential enemy combatants. Let’s not mince words: The Atlanta Police Foundation has a history of using corporate donations to fund the expansion of the police at the expense of the Black community in Atlanta. Universities are key funders for Cop City despite their public commitments towards racial justice. Emory, GSU, and Georgia Tech must pick a side. They cannot stand with us if they continue to fund Cop City.

Clearly, Cop City is another attempt to bolster the AFT’s influence, militarize the police and increase their control over Black Atlantans. In 2020, dozens of Atlanta police officers staged a “sick-out” after prosecutors filed charges against their colleagues for killing Rayshard Brooks, a Black man who simply fell asleep in his vehicle. The APF awarded the Atlanta officers who stayed off the job with a $500 bonus even as advocates demanded justice for Brooks. At the same time, the APF has helped Atlanta become one of the most surveilled cities in the country: It helped pay for the network of 11,000 surveillance cameras stationed across the city. .

Cop City also puts the environmental health of these same Black communities at risk. The South River is the fourth most endangered river in America. The chemical runoff from weapons testing at the militarized police facility will further pollute the South River and the surrounding communities.