Over fall break, I traveled to Atlanta to visit the Weelaunee Forest, the frontline of the fight to Stop Cop City. “Cop City” is the name activists have given to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a $90 million police training facility under construction in a critical urban green space. Protestors argue the project will contribute to rampant deforestation, police militarization, and gentrification. In response, activists built a movement to resist the project’s construction. They’ve rallied, marched, hung banners, sprayed graffiti, called legislators, testified at city council meetings, and physically occupied the forest upon which Cop City is set to be built. After spending the week speaking with activists, touring the forest, and witnessing the movement firsthand, I felt inspired to share three lessons I learned in organizing with Oberlin. 

First, Stop Cop City is “autonomous.” This means there is no central body directing the movement or handing decisions from the top down. Instead, participants are able to engage however they feel compelled to. I encourage Oberlin students to organize autonomously, too. In my social circles, I often hear criticism of other student’s efforts to organize. It’s a topic of gossip to discuss how a banner drop on campus is ineffective or how a library installation is performative. While criticism can be warranted, I believe it dampens Oberlin’s spirit of activism more than it enriches it. I think Oberlin’s spirit of activism would benefit from building a culture in which students considered their own actions above criticizing the actions of others. This way, without the fear of ridicule, all students would feel empowered to engage in activism on their terms.

Second, Stop Cop City is proactive, not just reactive. In addition to resisting state violence in the present, such as occupying the forest to slow the clear-cut or calling on lawmakers to cancel the project, they also build the world they want to see for the future. Activists host soup kitchens, raves, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, nature walks, art-making workshops, and other community events. While these events do not directly resist Cop City’s construction, they build relationships among community members, which better allows communities to mobilize. Oberlin’s activist culture seems to be very strong when reacting to needs as they arise — the 2020 layoffs of unionized dining and custodial staff, restrictions on abortion access, allegations against Professor of Religion Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, or revisions to the institution’s bylaws. However, I believe students should also proactively build networks of care through donating to mutual aid needs, showing up to events hosted by social justice or affinity-based student organizations, and continuously pressuring College administration into better supporting marginalized students. This would allow us to both better support our most vulnerable peers and better mobilize when new needs emerge.

Third, Stop Cop City emphasizes that change can be made from anywhere. Activists in Atlanta call on allies nationwide to send funds, contact Cop City’s subcontractors, and host their own events. In Oberlin, I often hear students express that they want to take on big issues like climate change or anti-Blackness, but feel it’s impossible to effect change from a small-town, “bubble” environment. I disagree. Oberlin’s “bubble” does not isolate it from issues like anti-Blackness. Stop Cop City demonstrates that there are ways to engage in national movements from Oberlin. In March, Students for Energy Justice hosted a solidarity event in support of Stop Cop City. Around 50 students contacted Cop City’s subcontractors, wrote letters to incarcerated forest defenders, and painted a banner that now hangs on Harkness Hall. I believe Oberlin students can enact big changes from our small town.

Oberlin’s activist culture strengthens when we learn from movements around us. As a contemporary and ongoing struggle, Stop Cop City is an especially inspiring example of communities coming together to make change.