“As a school founded for formerly enslaved women, for Spelman to offer any support to the institution born of slave patrols is an insult to their legacy.”
These are the words of Spelman alumni calling for their alma mater to denounce Atlanta’s construction of a $90 million pending police training facility dubbed “Cop City.” And they aren’t alone in their powerful open letter.
The Atlanta University Center (AUC) is 10 miles from the historic forest and former slave labor camp the facility’s proponents plan to build on.
Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Morehouse School of Medicine students, alumni, and faculty are also protesting to stop this dangerous facility.
Historically, Black students, especially at HBCUs, have consistently been major players fighting for our justice. From SNCC sit-ins to Black Lives Matter demonstrations, they created a legacy of activism that HBCU students and alumni continue to build upon today.
After all, as the open letter says: “Black institutions have the ability and the obligation to shape history.”
The media might spin the narrative that Stop Cop City isn’t a Black movement, but that isn’t true. It’s a movement involving entire communities of Black Atlanta residents, students, and supporters worldwide.
If you would like to learn more and join the action, you can do so here: https://pushblack.news/q58.