Tag: protests

Last week, five people were arrested for chaining themselves to construction equipment as part of protests against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed "Cop City" by critics. It’s a long tradition in environmental activism: for many decades, protesters have been lashing themselves to equipment to stop construction projects—including right here in Atlanta. Back in the 1980s, decades before "Stop Cop City," there was "Stop the Road," when thousands of Atlantans came together to block the Presidential Parkway. Leading the fight were the Roadbusters, a ragtag group of activists whose protest stunts, like climbing trees and chaining themselves to construction equipment, made headlines across the city.

Over the centuries, the South River Forest has been many things: Indigenous land, a prison farm, a dumping ground—and the keystone of an ambitious proposal to incorporate nature into Atlanta’s growth. But in 2021, people living nearby were surprised to learn that the city had different plans for it: a massive new police training facility.

For many in attendance, it was a fitting way to spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “They arrested Dr. King 29 times—29 times!” Kamau Franklin told a crowd of around 70 protestors assembled in front of the DeKalb County courthouse, many of them part of a loose coalition of activist groups, environmentalists, and concerned citizens united against a planned 85-acre, $90 million Atlanta police and firefighter training facility in the South River Forest.

Our investigation of thousands of pages of internal-affairs documents raises questions about reform at the beleaguered department.

For more than three weeks, protestors occupied the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by police. Here are the are the stories of four people who witnessed the occupation from four different perspectives.

Georgia House Bill 838 passed the legislature in June and is on Governor Brian Kemp's desk. While proponents say it provides necessary protections for police and first responders, some civil rights groups argue that it is a tool to muzzle protestors. Here's how the legislation quickly came to be and what people are saying about it.

But will his death finally force America to see the truth?

Kawan “KP The Great” Prather’s multi-hyphenated career in the music business all started with him simply asking questions. The Vine City native hopped on the phone to chat about his storied career in the music business, making protest music, and his next ventures.

"The South Bend Commons was really founded for moments like these," say Sean Wolters and Juliet Jordan, two members of the South Atlanta community-led organization. "Our collective was founded with the idea that building and fighting go hand-in-hand."

On the evening of Friday, June 12, 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by an Atlanta Police Department officer in the parking lot of the Wendy's restaurant on University Avenue in Peoplestown.