Social Justice as Radical Love: The Fight to Stop Cop City

On April 20th, 2024, the Weelaunee Coalition hosted a birthday celebration for late environmental activist Manuel "Tortuguita" Paez Teran, affectionately referred to as "Tort" in Gresham Park.

An altar was set up at the feet of two trees, featuring special photos, candles, handmade jewelry, and turtle-shaped trinkets. Artistic signs hung all around the park, containing messages like "Free Palestine/From the river to the sea," "No Cop City on Stolen Land," and "We are Nature Defending Itself/Save Weelaunee!" One table facilitated a free plant and book exchange, while another displayed pamphlets for abolitionists of various ages, free for anyone's taking. Adults fellowshipped over shared food and beverages, while children ran around the park and made chalk art on the sidewalk. Guests spoke eagerly of a rave party planned for that evening, which would feature audio clips of Tortuguita speaking mixed into the set, an incredibly unique and touching method of remembrance.

The Weelaunee Coalition is one of many advocacy organizations working to protect the Weelaunee Forest of Southeast DeKalb County, which is where the controversial Cop City project would be constructed. The project, as proposed, would claim 300 acres of the forest to build a mock city for rehearsing raids, a driving course to practice police chases, several firing ranges, and much more. The forest serves as one of Atlanta's four "lungs," a vital contributor to minimizing extreme heat and flooding and improving air quality. Activists are pushing for a ballot referendum to stop the facility's construction, mainly by gathering thousands of signatures, and have been suppressed repeatedly. Moreover, the predominantly Black community neighboring the site, which would be most affected by the project, wouldn't even have the power to vote on it, as the residents live in an unincorporated part of DeKalb County and the site is owned by the city of Atlanta.

One method of obstructing Cop City's construction was the establishment of a forest occupation in 2021, comprised of people from all over the country who gave up their homes and jobs to live in the forest full time, living off of the land and donated food in tents and treehouses they had built. Tortuguita was a part of this encampment, and their love and dedication to justice for the environment and marginalized communities was evident in their work. They were previously a medical student in Tallahassee, Florida, but became very frustrated with the U.S. healthcare system, and chose to do more direct care work instead. Tortuguita was deeply involved with the Food Not Bombs program, and when they came to the forest, they joined a network called Brown Cat Mutual Aid.

"Where there were shortfalls in the needs of black, Indigenous, and other organizers of color, [Tortuguita] wanted to make sure that they were caring for those people, especially in the forest," said Matthew Vaughan Johnson Jr., a community organizer who first met Tortuguita when they came to the encampment in 2022.

"It costs to be poor. And it costs to choose to be poor in order to do this work... So what Tortuguita was doing was making sure that people's basic needs were met through Brown Cat Mutual Aid, as well as creating and cultivating BIPOC spaces within the forest so that people knew that they had a home."

Tortuguita gave up the financially gratifying career and comfortable lifestyle they could've had to care for a vulnerable community living in a radically different way. "It was an act of deep love and sacrifice. Tortuguita even said that they found God in the forest and just a oneness with nature in a way. And I think that that's really important to note in the work that we're doing, that this work is always inherently an act of love," Johnson said. "And if you are working in love, that's God, yeah. And that's a deep oneness with God... God in virtually every spiritual tradition, advocates for radical love. And that requires a significant change in the society where everything tells you to go it alone... that was so far from the way that Tortuguita chose to live their life."

Not only that, but Tortuguita went the extra mile in putting their safety at risk for a cause they were passionate about. Johnson described Tort as someone who was unafraid to speak their mind, and who constantly put pressure on themselves and everyone around them to act more righteously and do more. The encampment varied widely in size overtime, sometimes down to a few dozen up to hundreds of people, and Tortuguita was one of the people who chose to stay even when the camps were small, making them more susceptible to attacks from authorities. Stop Cop City activists have been subjected to the threat of state violence as well as domestic terrorism charges, and Tortuguita was well aware of these risks but still persisted. This cost them their life, as Tortuguita was killed by state troopers in a police raid on January 18th, 2023.

In examining the fight against Cop City in Georgia, as well as the other Cop Cities sprouting up nationwide, many argue that these initiatives overlook communities of color disproportionately harmed by both policing and environmental damage. I spoke to Ms. Rukia Rogers, the main organizer of Tortuguita's birthday celebration, who spoke about the Weelaunee Coalition's fight to not only save the forest and stop Cop City but also fight for a larger reimagining of public safety: "Our argument and our stance, based on what we know about development and communities, is that what keeps us safe is not more policing. What keeps us safe is when people have their basic needs met: housing, food, resources, health care, wellness," she said. "...And what we've done is criminalize. We've criminalized poverty. And there's no other country in the world where people are detained, kidnapped, in the way that they are in the United States, and particularly the way that they are in the state of Georgia." She expanded on Georgia incarceration issues, such as inmates dying in the DeKalb and Fulton County jails because they can’t afford bail, an inequity and resource issue disproportionately harming Black and Brown people. "So that is our fight, liberation for all people. Because we know this has ramifications for the world. Liberation for all people, whether they're in the Congo, Sudan, or Gaza."

Central to the Stop Cop City movement and criticisms of Atlanta policing is the connection drawn to other freedom movements worldwide, especially the struggle for Palestinian self-determination. Atlanta policing has a well-established relationship with Israel as a result of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) Program, which allows Atlanta cops to train with soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), learning tactics of surveillance, profiling, and more. Over the past month, students have established encampments at colleges and universities around the world in solidarity with the people of Gaza, encouraging institutions of higher learning to divest from Israel. Many students have been forced to confront their schools' stances on and roles in systems affecting not only local communities but also populations overseas.

If we know anything at all, it is that the work of organizations and individuals like Tortuguita is far from over, and by centering radical love, bravery, and community in re-imagining our society, the possibilities for a better, more just future are truly endless.