From Jenin to Atlanta
We are all feeling heavy with escalating state violence in Palestine and across the U.S. There have been 36 Palestinians murdered by Israeli occupying forces this month. And the recent police killings in Atlanta and Memphis are brutal reminders of how police in the United States serve as occupying armies to quell dissent and control populations.
Yesterday, the Movement for Black Lives hosted a call for partners to hear directly from organizers in Atlanta and Memphis.
Organizers in Atlanta are fighting the construction of Cop City, an international urban warfare training center set to be built with a firing range and mock city on vast acres of the Atlanta forest. This $90 million project will train police forces from around the country and the world, including Israeli settler police who will use these murderous tactics against the Palestinian people.
On January 18, Tortuguita, a forest defender, was murdered by a Georgia police officer in a raid on the forest encampment that had been in place for nearly a year to block construction of the facility. Since then, 19 activists protesting Tortuguita’s murder and plans for Cop City have been charged with domestic terrorism. Georgia’s governor signed an executive order allowing his office to call in the National Guard to use against activists.
The demands of abolitionist organizers in Atlanta are simple:
Stop the construction of Cop City
Launch an independent investigation into the murder of Tortuguita
Drop all charges of domestic terrorism against protestors
Meanwhile, on January 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, the murder of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop was caught on video. Officers tased, pepper-sprayed, restrained, and violently beat him for three minutes. Organizers are working tirelessly to find justice for Tyre’s family.
Protests have already forced the city of Memphis to dissolve the“Scorpion Unit” responsible for Tyre’s murder. But they’re not stopping until the city meets all of their demands: 1) publish data on all traffic stops and detainments; 2) end the use of police for traffic patrol; and 3) ban the use of unmarked cars and plainclothes officers.
Protests against police violence are being planned across the country. The U.S. will use this moment to make the case for police reform, which will lead to more funding for police departments, then more police, and more violence.
Similarly, in the same strain of racist colonial violence and terror, growing Palestinian resistance has given the apartheid Israeli regime the pretext to codify collective punishment and war crimes. These include sanctioning the destruction of the homes of resistance fighters, a law to allow the deportation of family members of those accused of resistance operations, and easing already lax regulations for vigilante Israeli settlers to acquire guns.
It is impossible for there to be Palestinian liberation without the liberation of Black communities in the United States.
We are in a global fight against oppressive structures of policing, racism, and colonialism. There is no reforming of institutions built on our erasure and death. We demand abolition.
We ask that you take some time to learn more about the important organizing happening in these places. It might inspire you to look into ways you can get involved in your own community. We only win together.
>> Read the M4BL/CLEAR report on the criminalization of protest
>> Study the Breathe Act Report on a Roadmap to Public Safety
+ ATLANTA +
>> Take note of the corporations funding Cop City
>> Donate to the legal representation and bail fund of Atlanta organizers
+ MEMPHIS +
>> Email the Memphis City Council to demand that the city stop pretextual traffic stops
>> Listen to Memphis-based organizer and podcaster Amber Sherman break down the timeline of what happened to Tyre
+ PALESTINE +
>> Join the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Adalah Justice Project and 150 organizations to demand that Congress stop funding Israeli
war crimes
