April 24, 2023

Dear Emory Institution and Community,

We, as members of the Emory University student body, join our other colleagues and comrades at universities across Atlanta in publicly denouncing Atlanta’s plan to build a $90 million (and growing) police training facility, also known as “Cop City.” As many already know, the proposed site for “Cop City” is in a majority Black community of Dekalb County, on land that was stolen from the Muscogee Creek people and is the site of the Old Atlanta Prison Farm – a labor camp for enslaved people. The history of this land is violent and the proposed training facility would only add to that violence and contribute to the continuing gentrification and militarization of Atlanta’s residents, particularly Atlanta’s Black residents. The land itself has a fraught, violent history and moving forward with the Cop City build will only add to that history of settler colonial violence. This is even more pertinent and urgent in the recent determination by the Medical Examiner’s Office that declared the killing of environmental activist and medic, Manuel Terán, known as Tortuguita, a homicide –.it has now been officially confirmed that Tortuguita did not have gunpowder residue on their hands and that they had been shot 57 times. It is obvious that what many have known since their murder – Georgia State Police have been attempting to cover up a murder that took place in the forest. The facility has not even been built and it is already shrouded in death and excessive violence. 

We are calling upon Emory to stand up to and live up to its mission ““to create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.” Investment in and affiliation with entities such as the Atlanta Committee for Progress is antithetical to that mission. This training facility is the manifestation of racial colonial capitalism.

If Emory’s mission is to use knowledge in the service of humanity, we find it pertinent that we provide some background information on why Cop City is a disservice to humanity, the Atlanta community, and even nationally (as we understand that police from all over the country would be coming to the facility for training purposes). Time and time again we have seen that increasing police budgets does nothing to decrease violence or prevent police from harming our communities. Increased police training and budgets does not decrease violence. The officer who killed Rayshard Brooks had over 2,000 hours of training. Furthermore, since the 2020 protests and uprisings, we have seen an increase in police violence and the number of people killed by the police. This training facility is not the answer especially when hospitals are closing and more and more people are being pushed out of affordable housing in this city. It is clear that this training facility will not keep our communities safe and there are many other worthwhile and life-giving ways that $90 million could be spent in Atlanta. 

Furthermore, we find it worth noting that Emory has a multitude of scholars and researchers on its faculty and staff with extensive expertise in policing, environmental justice, inequity, and racism – many of whom also agree that Cop City must not be built if we truly care about community flourishing and building a more equitable society. 

We urge Emory administration and leaders to heed the expertise of its faculty and staff and the needs and desire of the community and denounce Cop City. We call on our university leaders to live up to the mission of the university, listen to the communities – primarily Black Atlantians – most impacted and stand with us in denouncing this project and calling for state and local leaders to cancel the building of this facility. 

We, the undersigned, hereby declare that the following demands be met by the Emory institution and the city of Atlanta:

That the City of Atlanta immediately cancel the lease granted to the Atlanta Police Foundation: 
That all charges be dropped against the political prisoners who have been unfairly targeted by the state
That President Fenves step down from the Atlanta Committee for Progress Board and use his platform to urge other leaders to denounce the project as well 
That Emory medical doctor Douglas A. Murphy step down from the board of the Atlanta Police Foundation
That Emory University publicly denounce Cop City and condemn any and all groups involved with its construction, first and foremost the Atlanta Police Foundation.
That there will be no repercussions in any way levied against those who participate in the student led protests starting on the 24th of April

In Solidarity,