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When Atlanta’s City Council proposed to raze 85 acres of land for a new $90 million police training facility, 70% of community callers OPPOSED what’s now been dubbed “Cop City.” And NO community members were involved in the planning process!
So why is this project continuing to push forward? It involves a sinister web that’s more than just cops.
For instance, Atlanta’s major newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pushed the facility as a solution to a “crime wave” – failing to mention that it’s owned by a media company whose CEO plans to funnel $60 million into Cop City! But it gets worse after that conflict of interest.
That CEO, Alex Taylor, also chairs a committee accelerating gentrification in the city – a process police are needed to enforce. Not to mention, the Atlanta Police Foundation’s deep pockets and strong influence on the mayor’s office and City Council.
Meanwhile, Black Atlantans WITHOUT white tax dollars or political power were silenced.
If Atlanta, the "Black Mecca," can push through with Cop City, who's to say it won't happen in your city, pushing you and your family out through brutal policing?
Like the community members resisting the building of Cop City, we too, must fight back when white supremacy tells us our communities are under attack. Policing has always been about protecting the white and wealthy, not us.