Cop City is about Atlanta—and more
The fight to stop Cop City from destroying the Weelaunee Forest is not just about local politics. It is a fight for our survival in the face of environmental degradation and police brutality. It is a fight that stretches backwards into colonial history and forwards into our collective futures.
Cop City is an environmental issue
Atlanta’s proposed Cop City would destroy a vital forest ecosystem in a predominately Black neighborhood already suffering from the effects of disinvestment—including urban heat and flooding.
Cop City is an abolitionist issue
Atlanta officials pushed through Cop City—despite overwhelming community opposition—to bolster police morale after weeks of protests against the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta in the summer of 2020.
The police murdered Tortuguita, a forest defender, in January 2023, during an attempt to clear protesters from the forest so that Cop City could be built.
Cop City is a decolonial issue
The Weelaunee Forest was once home to Muscogee (Creek) people, until they were driven from the area by settler-colonizers in the 1820s-30s. The forest has been a plantation worked by enslaved people and a prison farm. A jail for minors still stands next to the proposed Cop City site.
Cop City is a global issue
Through the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program, the state regularly sends police to train with law enforcement in other states and countries, including Brazil, Egypt, and Israel. Cop City would increase Atlanta’s ability to cross-train with repressive forces from around the world.