Atlanta, GA – On April 25 students at Emory University hosted an encampment at their quad. The encampment followed the recent wave of encampments across the country demanding a free Palestine and university divestment from Israel. Hours after the encampment started, Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol began brutalizing protesters, shooting pepper balls and arresting them.

In a radical act of solidarity with the Palestinian people, university students across the country have escalated the struggles on their campuses with the campus encampment movement. At Emory University in Atlanta, students, faculty and community members created one such encampment demanding for the immediate and total divestment from the Israeli apartheid state. The Atlanta Police Department and Georgia State Patrol were called to the encampment by the Emory administration where they brutalized, beat and arrested dozens of protesters.

Atlanta, GA – United Parcel Service (UPS) announced on March 26 that the company plans to close up to 200 UPS hubs and automate sorting at the remaining hubs within the next five years. The plan is part of a broader initiative by UPS called “Network of the Future” which looks to automate union jobs with a goal of saving the company $3 billion in labor costs by 2028. UPS made $6.7 billion in profit last year and UPS CEO Carol Tomé took home $23.4 million in total compensation.

Atlanta, GA – On February 24, family and community members gathered for a vigil in memory of Osiris Bennet, a young man murdered by MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) police officers a year before. The vigil, held at the North Avenue MARTA station where the incident occurred, was a reminder of the ongoing struggle for justice and accountability in Atlanta.

Osiris Bennett, 23, was approached by two plainclothes, undercover MARTA officers while walking to the train platform, for allegedly smoking a blunt. During the encounter, cops claim that their tasers failed and that Bennett pulled a gun on them, leading them to shoot him several times in the neck and body.

Atlanta, GA – On February 19, about 40 workers and community members gathered outside of Amazon’s ATL6 Sortation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to support the ongoing strike by Amazon drivers and dispatchers in Palmdale, California.

The picket targeted the two main entrances to the facility to draw the attention of the workers at ATL6. The unfair labor practice strike began June 2023, expanding its picket lines to about a dozen cities, including Atlanta.

Participants kept the energy high during the event, holding signs and chanting, “Jeff Bezos, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!”

Atlanta, GA – In a powerful display of solidarity with the people of Palestine, over 400 Atlantans gathered for an emergency protest on February 13 to condemn the recent Israeli bombings in Rafah, which have claimed the lives of approximately 100 Palestinian refugees.

Atlanta, GA – On December 7, Amazon targeted and fired labor organizer Arturo Adame after a year of his consistent worker organizing.

In 2022 Arturo helped lead a successful walkout from the Buford, Georgia Amazon warehouse, officially putting him on Amazon’s radar. In the weeks leading up to his firing, Adame helped organize a petition demanding better pay, working conditions, and respect from Amazon. “As I was getting signatures, they would write me up for very minor phone violations. They were singling me out and holding me to a higher standard than everyone else.”

Atlanta, GA – On November 13, five Climate Justice Committee – Minnesota (CJC) members joined activists from around the country to oppose the building of an urban warfare training facility for police on the Weelaunee Forest on the edge of Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta, GA – On the afternoon of November 11, about 200 community members gathered outside of the Atlanta city hall to demand an end to the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program and an end to the construction of the $90 million police training facility known as Cop City.

According to Georgia State University, GILEE is, “a joint project of Georgia State University and local, state, federal, and international law enforcement, and public safety agencies. GILEE’s mission is to enhance law enforcement executive development and international cooperation.”

Atlanta, GA – On Saturday, October 21, the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression held a panel speaking event at Adams Park Library hosting Laura Rodriguez of the Tampa 5 and building the struggle against political repression.