#saveweelauneeforest — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

@nathanpboston @[email protected] · 2023-08-11 · 12:48 UTC

Victor came to my material aid once when I really needed a hand, and I didn’t even need to ask. That’s the kind of friend you want to have when times are rough. I’m honored to be in solidarity with Victor, now being held without cause as a political prisoner. Please join us in the call to
#FreeVictor
#vivatortuguita #StopCopCity #saveweelauneeforest

#saveweelauneeforest #stopcopcity #vivatortuguita #freevictor

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2023-03-07 · 15:50 UTC

#Atlanta community members warn of #environmental damage from ‘#CopCity’

The police training facility will harm the endangered South River and further contribute to #EnvironmentalRacism

by Ray Levy Uyeda June 15th, 2022

“Jacqueline Echols loves to take Atlanta residents kayaking on the South River, which begins at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and flows 63 miles into Lake Jackson. Echols says that it’s fun to bring people out on the river who have never paddled before. The river is shallow and bordered by undergrowth and native trees, rich soil, and the occasional deer, making it an unintimidating classroom for those new to the water.

“‘The South River and the green space around it have a lot to offer,' Echols says. 'If you’re going to invest in a community, the first thing you invest in is green space.'

“But in Atlanta, a privately funded police foundation is working double-time to expand the police’s reach at the cost of the community’s access to the city’s rich environment. The river and its surrounding forest have become the site of a major battle playing out in Atlanta between the city’s police department, backed by many members of the city council and county leaders, and the residents of the neighborhood adjacent to the #SouthRiverForest. At issue is whether or not nearly 400 acres of the #forest will be handed over to the police department to construct a new training facility, which activists have renamed 'Cop City' because of the proposal to build a mock city on the grounds for training. The facility will be constructed on 85 acres of the Old Atlanta Prison Farm, where incarcerated people once grew food for those detained in the city’s jail.

‘’’#Green space holds value more than any other land, and [when] the environment goes, so does the community,' said Echols, who is also board president of the South River Watershed Alliance, an advocacy organization for the fourth-most endangered river in the U.S. 'What’s going on with the prison farm … is just devaluing people, devaluing communities, devaluing the #environment, and they’re doing it because these are very vulnerable communities, marginalized people, and they can get away with it. You know, they can’t get away with it in [a wealthy white area like] #Buckhead.’”

#SaveWeelauneeForest #StopCopCity

#atlanta #environmental #copcity #environmentalracism #southriverforest #forest

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2023-03-07 · 15:43 UTC

‘Cop City’ opposition spreads beyond Georgia forest defenders

"The DeKalb county commissioner, Ted Terry, whose district includes the South River forest, and #environmentalist Jackie Echols, of the South River #Watershed Alliance, say they have been rebuffed or ignored in attempts to have the county reject #Atlanta’s applications for permits to begin construction of the training center, due to alleged violations of the #CleanWaterAct the project would incur.

"The county approved the “land disturbance permit” anyway last week. The Atlanta mayor, Andre Dickens, and the DeKalb county CEO, Michael Thurmond, held a press conference without advising Terry of the decision in advance. “I’m being boxed out of the process,” said Terry, a former state director of the #SierraClub.

"Dickens and Thurmond referred several times to a committee meant to represent communities surrounding the forest, which are mostly #Black, with large shares of #LowIincome residents. [#EnvironmentalRacism]

"But the permit approval led a member of the same committee to file an appeal seeking to stop the project this week, also calling it a violation of the Clean Water Act.

"Meanwhile, another member has resigned in protest of the killing of #Tortuguita.
Manuel Esteban Paez Terán.
‘#Assassinated in cold blood’: activist killed protesting #Georgia’s ‘#CopCity’

"Tortuguita had been staying in South River forest for about six months, at times in tree houses, when dozens of officers swept through the forest on 18 January. The activist was one of dozens of “forest defenders” who formed part of a loose coalition of people trying to protect the forest.

"At least 85 acres of the #forest
is under threat from the training center, while another 40 acres is under threat from Ryan Millsap, former owner of Blackhall Film Studios, who made a deal with DeKalb county to swap the forest land for another parcel."

#SaveWeelauneeForest #StopCopCity