Dear RCC Supporter,

In September 2022, the Atlanta City Council, supported by then Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, voted to demolish a large portion of the historic, sacred South River Forest to construct a new, privately funded $80,600,000 police training facility -- despite over 17 hours of public comment from residents in opposition. Since the passage of Councilwoman Joyce Shepherd’s bill to cut the forest and build what has become known as “Cop City,” opposition has continued to mount.

Despite growing opposition and the police killing of 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, known as Tortuguita, who had camped in the South River Forest in protest, the city council and Atlanta’s new mayor, Andre Dickens, have failed to reverse this shameful action.

Once sacred to the Maskogee people, the history of this land has been mired in violence from the displacement of natives to the formation of slave plantations, and, ultimately, prison farms. The proposed erection of "Cop City" is but the newest chapter of a land defined by subjugation. We honor the life and condemn the killing of forest defender Tortuguita, by demanding that the Atlanta City Council reverse its vote backing the construction of "Cop City," and that Atlanta’s mayor support reversal.

Your previous actions have already built momentum. Now we’re asking you to keep up and intensify the pressure. Take action now! Contact Atlanta City Council members and Mayor Andre Dickens. Tell them to intervene and reverse the vote. A sacred forest is no place for police training. Clearcutting these wetlands and precious ecological sites will also have devastating effects on Atlanta’s environment, including, but not limited to, worsened air quality, a decline in wildlife population, and flooding in the predominantly Black neighborhoods of Southeast Atlanta.