Tell Coca-Cola: No More Funds For Cop City

The Atlanta Police Foundation is currently attempting to build Cop City, a 85-arce militarized police training facility in the Weelanuee/South River Forest right outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The $90 million facility will include a mock village where officers learn how to treat Atlanta and other urban areas like war zones. Studies have shown that police forces armed with combat-grade equipment kill more civilians, prevent less crime and make residents feel less safe. Black Americans are also more likely than whites to have SWAT teams, trained in facilities like Cop City, deployed in their neighborhoods. These disturbing trends mean that, without a doubt, urban assault tactics honed at Cop City are more likely to be used against Black residents.

The environmental harm of Cop City will disproportionately fall on Black and low-income residents. The South River is the fourth most endangered river in America. Additionally, the removal of old growth trees in the Weelanuee/South River Forest and chemical runoff from weapons testing at Cop City will further flood and pollute the South River and the surrounding communities. Black Atlantans already bear the brunt of pollution in Georgia and would be hit the hardest by these negative environmental factors.

Despite the clear risk Cop City poses to Black people and people of color in and out of Atlanta, Coca-Cola remains one of the largest donors to the Atlanta Police Foundation. The Atlanta Police Foundation relies on corporate donations from companies like Coca-Cola to skirt demands for police accountability and demilitarization. Coca-Cola cannot claim to be committed to racial equity while ignoring the inherent inequalities embedded in Cop City. Coca-Cola must cut all financial ties with the Atlanta Police Foundation and side with Black activists in the fight agaisnt Cop City.

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Dear [recipient position will go here] [recipient name will go here],

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I am a concerned Color Of Change member writing about Coca-Cola’s refusal to publicly divest from the Atlanta Police Foundation. Their plan to build a militarized training facility puts Black Atlantans at risk. Racial and environmental justice activists across the country have clearly outlined the harm Cop City would cause to marginalized communities. As one of the biggest financial donors to Cop City, we call on Coca-Cola to consider the racial justice and environmental implications of this decision and cut its  financial ties with the Atlanta Police Foundation, the driving force behind the project.

The proposed facility will include a tactical village – a feature that will encourage officers to treat cities like Atlanta as war zones. Studies have shown that militarized police forces kill more civilians, do nothing to prevent crime and cause  residents to feel less safe. Black Americans are also more likely to have the SWAT team deployed in their neighborhoods.

We have already seen the Atlanta Police Department use excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters in recent years. Without a doubt, the urban assault tactics that are honed at a militarized police facility like Cop City will be used against Black residents.

Moreover, while the Atlanta Police Foundation claims to be taking into consideration the environmental impacts of the facility, experts remain concerned about the potential negative consequences. The South River is the fourth most endangered river in America. Researchers believe that the chemical runoff from weapons testing at the militarized police facility will pollute the South River and contaminate the proposed farming space. Additionally, the old-growth forest itself also provides vital protection against flooding.

By clearing the older trees to make way for Cop City, the Atlanta Police Foundation’s project likely will further damage the sensitive ecology of the South River Forest and jeopardize the health of  Atlanta residents. Black Americans are more likely to face exposure and die from environmental pollutants, and environmental injustices in Atlanta disproportionately fall on the Black residents. Black communities deserve clean, healthy green space and the proposed militarized, corporate-sponsored police training facility shows a blatant disregard for the environmental health of Black Atlantans.

As a Coca-Cola executive, I ask you to reconsider your company's funding of  Cop City and can better align future corporate donations with your goals  of racial equity.

Sincerely,
[your name will go here]

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