Protest to Protect Our Urban Forests
– Protest to Protect Our Urban Forests –
Save the Old Atlanta Prison Farm & Intrenchment Creek Park from Imminent Destruction
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WHAT
Join us for a peaceful, nonviolent protest to protect our urban forests at the Old Atlanta Prison Farm site & Intrenchment Creek Park, with a focus on the upcoming Atlanta mayoral race.
WHERE
The north side of Constitution Road on the Old Atlanta Prison Farm land (public property owned by the City of Atlanta), across the road from Blackhall Studios.
WHEN
Saturday, June 26th at 10:00am – 1:00pm
PARKING
Park and meet at the Intrenchment Creek Park parking lot:
3251 Westside Pl SE Atlanta, GA 30316
PROCEDURE
We’ll meet at the parking lot at 10:00am and then walk west along Constitution Road to the protest site across from Blackhall Studios.
SAFETY
• Bring lots of water! It will be hot.
• Protect from the sun. Wear sunscreen! Hats and other coverings are good, too.
• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Dress in layers, and be prepared for heat.
• Make sure anything you bring (like signs) is easy to carry or wear.
• If you’re not vaccinated, please wear a mask! Of course you can wear one anyway.
• Maintain a healthy distance from your fellow protesters.
BE NICE
We ask that attendees please remain respectful to others and each other. We ask that attendees please refrain from profanity. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Our protest’s focus is protecting these two irreplaceable sites from destruction and shortsighted development by raising awareness, especially among the Atlanta mayoral candidates in the upcoming election.
Felicia Moore • Sharon Gay • Antonio Brown • Andre Dickens • Kasim Reed
Candidates for the mayoral race: Where do you stand?
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Mayor Bottoms, Atlanta Police Foundation & the Very Bad Idea
We protest the bad idea of Mayor Bottoms and Atlanta Police Foundation to build a police academy on the graves of Black folks who suffered and died on this land. She made the same mistake at the Chattahoochee Brick Company to favor the Buckhead rich guys over the needs of the city.
We protest against the denial of history. The Old Prison Farm is a site of an American Gulag. Hundreds of Black grandfathers died here. The Old Prison Farm was a site of institutional racism. The Old Prison Farm is covered with the blood of Black Americans. (Read Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon.) The prison farms were pure chain gang.
We think building a police country club / military complex is the wrong idea for this place. We are still battling with the awful legacy of racism and the increasing militarization of the police. The time for change is now. We need to change the culture and dark repression in American policing now.
We protest the complete lack of public input on this very bad idea.
Candidates for the mayoral race: Where do you stand?
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Blackhall Studios, DeKalb County & Another Very Bad Idea
We protest the apparent corporate racism and blatant strong-arming of the community by Blackhall Studios. Ryan Millsap, who up until very recently owned Blackhall, is very Republican in his political donations. He also wants to deny the brutal history of Black folks worked to death on the land here. He wants to pave over OUR public park that now stands in the place of what was once part of the Old Prison Farm.
Millsap and Blackhall have zero respect for history of this land. They have proven they don’t respect this community at all.
Blackhall Studios is a bad neighbor.
We protest the CEO and commissioners of DeKalb County who have actively pushed Blackhall’s agenda while steamrolling our community and ignoring our expressed needs and desires.
We protest the resistance to and disregard of public input on this very bad idea.
Candidates for the mayoral race: Where do you stand?
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Our Community & Environment Deserve Far, Far Better
We protest the complete lack of care for our community, our history, our environment, justice, our quality of life, and our future by all of these parties.
We protest their flagrant abuse of power to take advantage of our community and destroy our environment with no concern for the consequences.
Candidates for the mayoral race: Where do you stand?
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