Cop City, a proposed 85-acre training ground for Atlanta police, has met with massive resistance from Atlanta residents since it was first proposed in 2021. Now, an open letter is giving labor organizers a way to show their support for the Stop Cop City movement.
The letter of support, which was created by the organization Interrupting Criminalization and is hosted on laboragainstcopcity.com, invites individuals and organizations connected with the labor movement to sign on in “solidarity with the brave organizers pushing back against the Atlanta #CopCity Project.” The training facility, if built, would include mock city streets, a helicopter landing pad, and other facilities designed to help police practice military tactics to use against the civilians of Atlanta.
“The Atlanta community is clear – they do NOT want #CopCity,” reads a statement on the website. “Working people in Atlanta need the same things as working peoples across the country – investment in good jobs, healthcare, education and the environment. Instead, the Atlanta Police Foundation has pushed an enormous facility equipped with shooting ranges, Blackhawk helicopters and mock urban warfare training grounds. This all indicates preparation for actions against working people, not for us.”
Cop City was first proposed in September 2021, when the Atlanta City Council passed an ordinance granting the Atlanta Police Department $90 million of taxpayer and donor funds, along with nearly 300 acres of forested land near a predominantly Black neighborhood. The ordinance passed despite 17 hours of vehement public comment against Cop City.
Since the Stop Cop City movement started, Atlanta police have killed one protestor and arrested many more, including three organizers who were charged with money laundering for running a bail fund.
The Labor Against Cop City website also connects the violent suppression of Stop Cop City protestors with the violence that has historically been used against the labor movement, as employers and other entities have sought to quell unions and fights for workers’ rights.
(featured image: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
