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(PHOTOS) Agnes Scott College students march in support of ‘Stop Cop City’ movement

Crime and public safety Decatur DeKalb County Trending

(PHOTOS) Agnes Scott College students march in support of ‘Stop Cop City’ movement

Agnes Scott College students and members of the community chant "Stop Cop City," "Viva Tortuguita" and "Cop City will never be built" during a student led march in solidarity with the "Stop Cop City" movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners office on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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Decatur, GA —  On Friday, April 14, Agnes Scott College students led a community-wide march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur.

Cop City is the name given to Atlanta’s proposed public safety training center by activists.

“The movement came together based on students who are politically engaged and concerned about the direction our country is going in,” Agnes Scott student Brandy Nalyanya said. “We’re organizing amongst multiple campuses, and Agnes is just one of them. As Agnes students, we want to use our voice to uplift communities that are in DeKalb County where they’re building the facility, and we know it’s disenfranchising Black and brown residents and the community that is there. It’s not just an environmental issue, which is a large issue, but it gets into deeper systematic issues that have to do with police brutality. As Scotties we care about our community, and this is how we’re showing it.”

Decatur City Commissioner Lesa Mayer, who marched with the students, said, “I want to make sure that I’m supporting the efforts to stop the construction of the police training center. I think that there are places that the city of Atlanta absolutely would not be putting a center of this type. Putting it in a predominately Black community and adjacent to an environmental space that should be protected is egregious … Something needs to be done to really reconsider this action and the implications that it will have, not just today but on our future generations.”

Agnes Scott student Julia Rademacher-Wedd said students wanted to reach out to say how they feel and let their government know that there is continued resistance.

“We’re going to keep coming out until this project is stopped,” Rademacher-Wedd said.

Agnes Scott College students led a community-wide march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students and members of the community march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Members of the community chant, “Michael Thurmond do your job” toward the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur during an Agnes Scott College student-led march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students and members of the community marched in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College student Julia Rademacher-Wedd speaks and goes over demands in front of the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur during a student-led community-wide march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Demands included dropping domestic terrorism charges against protestors who have been arrested, stopping the work order to prevent further damage to Intrenchment Creek, and endiing the destruction of the Weelaunee forest. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students hold a banner toward the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur during a student-led community-wide march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students led a community-wide march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners office on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

An Agnes Scott College student leads a chant during a student-led community-wide march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners office on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students and members of the community march in solidarity with the ‘Stop Cop City’ movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students marched in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Bystanders react as Agnes Scott College students and members of the community march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students and members of the community march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement from the school campus to the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott college students and community members arrive at the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur during a student-led march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Decatur City Commissioner Lesa Mayer (right) listens to a student speak in front of the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive during a community-wide march led by Agnes Scott College students in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott College students and members of the community chant, “Michael Thurmond do your job” toward the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices on Commerce Drive in Decatur during a student-led march in solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Agnes Scott college student Brandy Nalyanya (left) leads a chant of “Michael Thurmond do your job” in front of the DeKalb County Commissioners’ offices in Decatur during a student-led community-wide march in solidarity with the ‘Stop Cop City’ movement on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

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