The 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings saw the US working class, led by black youth, take to the streets against a racist police force that routinely murders black Americans with impunity. That movement raised the call to ‘defund the police’ – a call cynically exploited by the Democrat Party in the lead-up to the 2020 election, despite it being clear that ‘defunding’ was never on the party’s political agenda. Instead the increasing militarisation of the US police continues.
The US drive towards militarised policing began in the 1970s, when the ruling class moved to sharpen its repressive state apparatus following mass revolts against the Vietnam War and white supremacy. It accelerated from the 1980s under the racist ‘war on drugs’ and ‘tough on crime’ policies. The police were given access to military-grade hardware, while the courts were given draconian sentencing powers. The result has been a paramilitary police force that effectively occupies poverty-stricken black communities.
Cop Cities everywhere
‘Cop Cities’ are new police training facilities built ostensibly to raise police morale, drive up recruitment, and modernise training. There are 69 of them at varying levels of development in all but three US states. Costs of each Cop City range from under $1m to over $100m. The size of such projects also ranges from as low as 3,500 square feet structures on 3 acres of land to entire training compounds on 800 acres. The costlier centres include ‘mock villages’ complete with bars, buildings and alleyways for training in urban warfare and crowd control; shooting and driving ranges; and military-grade equipment training facilities.
Stop Cop City coalitions have formed in opposition in cities like Dallas, where the proposed site is in a predominantly black and Latinx area. In Baltimore (which saw uprisings in 2015 after the brutal police murder of Freddie Gray) a proposed Cop City costing at least $330m will be built on West Baltimore’s Coppin State University Campus, a Historically Black College University. Atlanta, Georgia, where militant opposition to Cop City began, remains the epicentre of the movement.
Black community ‘leadership’ complicit
Since 1973, Atlanta has consistently elected black mayors and city councillors. This ‘black community leadership’ has consistently supported the Atlanta Police Department (APD), going as far as defending initiatives such as the GILEE programme, in which the APD trains with the Israeli police and army.
The Atlanta political leadership has made a conscious effort to attract big capital. Tech companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Visa have set up shop in recent years. Between 2017 and 2022, tech industry jobs increased by 15%. In addition, many tech start-ups have sprung up in the area, particularly ‘unicorns’ – start-ups that quickly reach a valuation of $1bn and are often bought by multinationals. This has fostered a multiracial petit-bourgeoisie. Such entrepreneurs are frequently lauded as examples of ‘black success’. A succession of black-led city councils have fostered an attractive environment for real estate investment. Between 2000 and 2010, the Atlanta Development Authority boasts of helping to spur $5.4bn of real estate investment and business activity through $1.9bn worth of local, state and federal incentives, as well as attracting $3.5bn in private sector investment.
Atlanta is one of the most unequal cities in the US. The wealth of the median black household is 46 times lower than the median white household. In income terms, the median black household is three times worse off than the median white household. The growing black petit-bourgeoisie and middle class in the city are lauded as a success by Atlanta’s political ‘leadership’, while working class black people are routinely brutalised and murdered by the APD. A militarised police force is needed to ensure Atlanta remains an attractive investment location and to ensure any future uprisings will be effectively put down. It is no surprise that the majority of city council contributions towards Cop City have come from wealthy residents and police officers.
Stop Cop City!
The movement to Stop Cop City in Atlanta is a coalition of Marxists, anarchists, environmentalists and black radicals. It has utilised a wide range of tactics including: disrupting city council meetings; protests, pickets and direct action against complicit businesses; and outright destruction of construction equipment.
The ruling class has utilised all levers of the state to repress and frustrate this movement. Sixty-one Stop Cop City activists have been indicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act. Ostensibly developed to fight organised crime, RICO allows individuals to be prosecuted jointly if they commit crimes for the benefit of a ‘criminal organisation’. The indictment alleges that the activists are part of a ‘criminal enterprise’ that is intent on stopping the construction of Cop City. These are serious charges that could result in sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
On 1 May, Georgia State Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill in which anyone charged with ‘unlawful assembly’ and ‘obstruction of a law enforcement officer’ will now be required to put up cash or property bail to be eligible for release. It will also be a crime for individuals, charities, non-profit corporations, or organisations to submit bail for more than three people a year. This comes after the Atlanta Solidarity Fund was raided by armed GBI officers and three organisers indicted in the RICO case.
From Atlanta to Palestine…
Despite the increasing repression, the Stop Cop City movement has placed itself on the front line against police militarisation, environmental destruction and state racism. It has also shown solidarity with the Palestinian resistance. A key demand is to end the GILEE program. It is natural that black radicals see their struggle as connected to the Palestinian struggle, showing real proletarian internationalism.
With growing wealth inequality and police militarisation, opposition to the ruling class and its self-appointed ‘black leadership’ will only continue to grow and spread to all sections of the US working class. It is in this context that a militant, anti-imperialist trend is growing – the fight against Cop City is only the beginning.
Kotsai Sigauke
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 300 June/July 2024
