Atlanta, GA – On Sunday, March 15 the family of Deacon Johnny Holloman and supporters packed the room in Little Five Points Community Center for a documentary screening and celebration of Deacon Holloman’s life. The family restated their demands for accountability from Atlanta police for the murder of Deacon Holloman.

Deacon Johnny Holloman Sr, 62, was murdered by 23-year-old Atlanta PD officer Kiran Kimborough in 2023. After getting in a minor accident, Deacon Holloman called the police to file a report. He also called his daughter and kept her on the line. When killer cop Kimborough showed up, he was already acting rude and short-tempered. The cop proceeded to issue a ticket to Deacon Holloman and tried to tell him he had to sign it. That was a lie. Deacon Holloman asked for his supervisor, but Kimborough became more aggressive. He tased Deacon Holloman and suffocated him with the help of a tow truck driver. The Deacon’s daughter, Arnitra Holloman, had to listen to the whole thing with no power to stop it.

The killer cop was fired but a grand jury failed to indict him in August of 2025. The family is seeking a retrial in the coming months.

The documentary screening is part of a campaign to bring publicity to the case before the new grand jury begins. What About The Deacon? is a short documentary made by JustEldredge Media with the permission of the family. The documentary shows body-cam footage of the murder of Jonny Holloman Sr and interviews with his family, legal team and those whose lives he impacted.

The screening was followed by a discussion with three of Deacon Holloman’s daughters, facilitated by Kiran Desai from the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The family shared their struggles adjusting to life after the murder of their father, while having to fight for justice at the same time. Arnitra Holloman emphasized that their fight for justice is tied to others who are fighting against police crimes.

After the discussion, community members joined the family to commemorate what would have been Deacon Johnny Holloman Sr’s 65th birthday.

The event ended with a balloon release and a speech by Arnitra Holloman, vowing to keep her father’s name alive and continue the fight for justice.

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #NAARPR #AAARPR

Atlanta, GA – On February 28, community members stood alongside the family of Linton Blackwell to demand accountability from the Atlanta Police Department – that killer cop Gerald Walker be fired and jailed.

On October 11, near a bar in Buckhead, 44-year-old Linton Blackwell was murdered by APD officer Gerald Walker. Linton Blackwell was facing away when he was shot 17 times in the back by off-duty cop Gerald Walker. Walker was reportedly working as security for a bar nearby. Since then, the officer has continued to be on the force and has faced no disciplinary action.

Linton Blackwell was a musical artist and the father of two teenage girls. He was also the cousin of Jimmy Hill, a long-time fighter against police violence in the community. Jimmy Hill’s son, Jimmy Atchison, was chased down and murdered by APD officer Sung Kim in 2019. Hill is still demanding justice for his son.

At the protest in front of the APD headquarters, members of the family shared their grief and anger at the lack of accountability. Don Evans, Linton Blackwell’s brother, spoke to the crowd saying “Linton was not only my brother, he was my friend. I’m going to stand for him. I'm going to keep on fighting, making noise, whatever it takes for me to get my peace. When this man [Gerald Walker] is off the streets, I’ll be at peace.” Evans ended the speech leading the crowd in a chant “No justice, no peace!”

The family of Deacon Johnny Hollman, a 62-year-old man killed by APD officer Kiran Kimborough in 2023, was also there to support the family of Linton Blackwell. Arnitra Hollman, Deacon Hollman’s daughter, addressed the crowd and gave her condolences to the family of Linton Blackwell. She added, “We cannot give up this fight for justice. We have to continue to knock on those doors, get into these rooms, and lift up our loved ones’ names until we get justice. You don’t have to do exactly what I've done, but you have to do something. Say his name!” with the crowd responding “Linton Blackwell!”

Supporters from the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke in support of the family, vowing to continue the fight for Linton Blackwell and all victims of police terror.

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #PoliceCrimes #AAARPR #NAARPR

Atlanta, GA – Dozens of community members, activists, and trade unionists rallied January 11 outside the Georgia State Capitol to demand no U.S. war on Venezuela and that President Nicolás Maduro be freed immediately.

The rally was called by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Diaspora Pa’lante Collective.

Protesters chanted “Peace, yes! War, no!” and “No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!” to the honks and cheers of passing cars.

“We’ve been here before and this time they’re not even trying to hide it. We know this is about oil, we know this is about rare earth minerals,” said Taylor Cook, an FRSO member. “Who does that benefit? It benefits the capitalists! It benefits the ruling class of this country!”

Pablo Leon from the Atlanta Alliance spoke on the hypocrisy of the United States government. “They call Maduro a dictator that represses his people, but if they want to talk about real repression why don’t they look at Fulton County Jail? Where almost 50% of the inmates have not had their day in court despite spending months in jail and dying there?” said Leon. “Why don’t they talk about the fact that the U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates per capita, much higher than Venezuela's?”

Batou Ackerman from Diaspora Pa’lante Collective drew the connection between U.S. imperial aggression against Venezuela and the fight for Puerto Rican national liberation.

“This campaign began with the buildup of U.S. armed forces in the occupied colony of Puerto Rico which has served as a base of operations for the United States military in its interventions throughout the Americas,” Batou said. “That such an operation could be launched from the shores of our occupied archipelago is a crime against all Puerto Ricans and a reminder of the need to build broad support for an independence movement across the country.”

The rally concluded with protesters in high spirits, amped up and ready to stand against U.S. imperialism and in support of Venezuela. “The Chavistas, union members, and collective farmers are prepared to defend the Bolivarian revolution with their lives,” said Alex Carson, FRSO member and emcee of the protest. “It’s up to us here in the U.S. to do everything we can to stop the U.S. war machine in its tracks so it doesn’t have to come to that!”

#AtlantaGA #GA #AntiWarMovement #Venezuela #FRSO #AAARPR #DPC

Atlanta, GA – On the afternoon of January 8, 70 protesters gathered at the ICE office in Atlanta to demand justice for Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by ICE goon Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis the day before.

The crowd gathered at short notice, outraged at the murder of Renee Good. Community members, union workers, students and lawyers all came out to demand Jonathan Ross be thrown in jail. They chanted “APD, KKK, ICE they’re all the same!” and “Indict, convict, send those murders to hell, the whole damn system is guilty as well!”

The protest wrapped around the corner of the ICE office, where over 40 people are being held at any given time. Part of the ICE office is used to hold people waiting to be moved to a larger detention center. It is the same office where Alma Bowman, a Filipina American immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for over 50 years, was detained after showing up for her routine immigration check-in.

Alex Carson, a UPS Teamster with Local 728 and a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, highlighted the hypocrisy of the situation in his speech. “You know what would happen if I hit someone with a UPS truck? I would lose my job. What happens when an ICE officer shoots someone in broad daylight? They get to keep their job. They get coddled and raised up as a hero by the white supremacists that run this country.”

Brandon Pink spoke on behalf of the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, saying, “In Atlanta we know what violence looks like. It doesn’t look like our immigrant brothers and sisters. It looks like APD officers shooting and killing an unarmed Black man who was fleeing, like Jimmy Atchison in 2019, killed by officer Sung Kim. Those are the real criminals. The real criminals are officer Kiran Kimbrough, who tased to death 62-year old Deacon Holloman in 2023.”

Organizers ended the rally vowing to keep fighting against ICE raids and for Jonathan Ross to be jailed.

#AtlantaGA #GA #ImmigrantRights #KillerCops #KillerICE #InJusticeSystem #ReneeGood

Atlanta, GA – On Tuesday, December 30, after two years of local pressure and national support, a Georgia judge issued an order dismissing RICO charges against 61 activists who protested the construction of Cop City.

The ruling comes just months after the charges of three activists wrongfully charged with money laundering in connection to the administration of the Atlanta Solidarity bail funds in 2024 were also dropped due to a flimsy legal argument and increasing pressure from the community.

In his order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer said that the attorney general did not have the authority to bring Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act charges and had to seek permission from the governor to do so but did not in this case. “The attorney general acknowledged that no prior authority was granted by the governor to bring RICO charges,” Farmer wrote in his order.

Legal experts have pointed out that the indictment, which groups the activists together in what the state tried to deem as an organized criminal conspiracy, was an overreach in power by the attorney general's office.

“Judge Farmer correctly dismissed the indictment because the prosecution did not follow the law when filing these charges,” attorney Amanda Clark Palmer said in a statement on Tuesday calling the state's case a “bloated, tortured and overblown prosecution.”

The RICO indictment orchestrated by state Attorney General Chris Carr, who is planning to run for governor, was the culmination of a massive wave of repression in the face of the Stop Cop City movement. The movement, made up of activists, community members and a coalition of organizations in Atlanta, saw all forms of attack by the state over the last two years.

In 2023, in the months following the police murder of activist Manuel Paez Teran, known as Tortuguita, in the Weelaunee Forest at the construction site of Cop City, 69 protesters were indicted on bogus charges: 61 activists on state RICO charges, five activists on domestic terrorism and arson charges, and three on money laundering charges.

While the state has not dropped the domestic terrorism charges, the RICO and money laundering charges being dismissed reveal a pattern of failure and weakness in the larger efforts to intimidate people into silence and criminalize mass resistance to the militarization of the police.

This victory highlights not just the weakness of the regressive forces in power but the true strength of the people and the power of bold and courageous solidarity.

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJusticeSystem #StopCopCity

Atlanta, GA – In a devastating blow against Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s crusade of attempting to intimidate opponents of the construction of Cop City (a training facility intended to militarize the police and train them in urban warfare tactics), on September 9 a Georgia judge tossed out the case against the 61 people indicted with RICO charges, citing a lack of proper procedure.

This is a continuation of positive developments surrounding the Cop City indictments after the dropping of charges of three activists wrongly indicted of money laundering in connection to the administration of the Atlanta Solidarity Bail funds in 2024.

Construction of Cop City has been met with mass resistance, and as a result the state has escalated its tactics to ensure this waste of taxpayer money is constructed. Not satisfied with the murder of Manuel Paez Terán, the state is determined to both waste public resources and put a strain on the lives of anyone who dares oppose them. A total of 69 activists were indicted in 2023 in connection to protests against Cop City. Of that 69, 61 were indicted on RICO charges, 5 were indicted on domestic terrorism and arson charges, and 3 on money laundering charges in relation to the administration of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

These indictments are all part of a larger campaign of intimidation by the state to deter people from actively resisting against the militarization of the police. The construction of Cop City itself was a reaction to the mass protests stemming from the 2020 pandemic and killing of George Floyd.

Attorney Kamau Franklin described the attacks as “a political stance” to help Attorney General Chris Carr’s potential future run as governor of Georgia, indeed, Carr has since launched that campaign.

From the beginning, the charges against the Stop Cop City protesters were flimsy at best. In order for RICO charges to be considered, a connection to a criminal organization must be established. Furthermore, the attorney general must receive permission from the governor before pursuing charges of this nature. Neither condition was met when the state launched its attack against the activists. In fact, the state’s failure to consult the governor is precisely the reason cited by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer in dropping the RICO charges. Farmer stated, “At this time, I do not find the attorney general had the authority to bring this RICO case. The mechanisms were in place, and the steps just weren't followed.”

This is a victory not just for the defendants but for all workers involved in the struggle against the ever-increasing police state. It is a reminder that the will of the people cannot be circumvented by the lies and tricks of those in power. Despite its best efforts, the state has been unable to prosecute and intimidate those fighting, It has found resistance everywhere it has tried, and it has found no way to counter it.

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJusticeSystem

Atlanta, GA- Hundreds of workers and community members gathered in Woodruff Park Monday afternoon, September 1, to celebrate Labor Day and declare their opposition to Trump’s agenda.

The rally and march, titled “Workers over Billionaires”, was endorsed by a coalition of over 20 unions and political groups including: Teamsters Local 728, Starbucks Workers United, the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The rally started with speeches and spirited chants denouncing Trump, ICE and the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza.

“There is a war being waged on the working class right now. It’s not just led by Trump, but by his allies in the monopoly capitalist class. Like Peter Thiel at Palantir, Carol Tome at UPS, and Jeff Bezos at Amazon,” Teamster and FRSO member Alex Carson told the crowd. “As a UPS worker we are experiencing this war on the shop floor every day. It looks like Trump’s tariffs reducing our hours, it looks like management increasing harassment. All the while, UPS has pulled in record profits for the last five years.”

After speeches, the protest marched down Auburn Avenue to the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and King Center. On every block supporters trickled out of buildings to film the protest and join chants of “When workers’ rights are under attack, what do you do? Stand up, fight back!”

This protest occurred on the heels of Trump’s vow to send the National Guard to Atlanta and was but a small show of force compared to what awaits them should troops be deployed.

#AtlantaGA #GA #Labor #LaborDay #Trump #Teamsters #SWU #AFLCIO #AAARPR

Atlanta, GA- On Tuesday, August 12, Teamsters out of Local 728 at UPS SMART hub presented a petition to management with the signatures of about 100 rank-and-file workers. The petition demands that UPS identify designated areas in the hub as shade or cool zones and educate all SMART workers of their rights to use such areas for cooldown breaks.

Cool zones were won as an addition to Article 18, section 27 of the 2023 Teamsters contract. But the gain has gone unrecognized in many hubs, including SMART, which is the third largest UPS hub.

This has prompted rank-and-file Teamsters to take action in enforcing the contract and asserting their power on the shop floor. By not designating cool zones, many workers are unaware of their right to take a cooldown break when they feel overheated. This is in addition to their ten-minute break.

Management wants to maximize production and has attempted to deny cool zone language altogether because it may lead to workers taking breaks more frequently. This practice puts workers' lives at risk, especially in Atlanta, where temperatures inside the hub regularly soar past 100 degrees.

It is not uncommon to hear of workers experiencing heat stroke in the summer. Nesean McCollough, a UPS Teamster for over eight years states, “There have been incidents when a lot of people have passed out, and supervisors don’t really care or even have empathy for others. It’s up to us to stand up for our own rights.”

In the summer of 2024 Teamsters at SMART hub launched a campaign of education and enforcement surrounding heat safety rights. This involved distributing fliers with contract rights and demanding management acknowledge the right to take cooldown breaks. This culminated in grievances being filed on the blatant violation of Article 18. By November 2024 the grievance was settled, and UPS was, in theory, made to accept the new contract language. But when summer 2025 began and temperatures rose, there were no cool zones to be found.

To Teamsters at SMART, it was clear an escalation was necessary. This led rank-and-file workers to launch the petition effort in June and July. It was met with overwhelming support. Brittney Wills, a signee of the cool zone petition, stated, “We’re not slaves and we deserve more respect. They want you to work faster in humid heat inside of the trailers and I feel like we need to be more about it. We need to start coming together as people and get things right.”

When the issue of cool zones was raised in the July safety committee meeting, a SMART hub health and safety manager stated that the cool zone topic was basically a non-issue because the cool zone signs were sitting in her office and just needed to be put up. She may have believed this to be a satisfactory response to workers’ demands, but signs sitting in an office do workers on the shop floor no good. Without clearly designated cool zones in the hub, enforcing the right to a cool down break is substantially more difficult. To the surprise of no one, the cool zone signs continued to sit unused in the manager’s office.

Upon being confronted with the concerns of rank-and-file workers at the August 12 safety committee meeting, the same health and safety manager was defensive when she was presented with the petition, insisting that current practices were enough to address safety concerns. After failing to divert the conversation away from “union stuff” she was forced to give in to the demands of the workers and admitted that cool zones should be established if workers want them so badly.

Within two hours of the meeting's conclusion, the first cool zone sign appeared inside SMART hub. This shop floor victory is a testament to the power of Teamsters when they unite in fighting contract violations. When the grievance process falls short, it’s up to the rank and file to mobilize in defense of their rights.

#AtlantaGA #GA #Labor #Teamsters #UPS #IBT728 #Feature

Atlanta, GA – Labor organizers, students and community members gathered for a May 4 panel commemorating May Day and bridged the gap between organized labor and the fight against deportations. Reflecting on the origins of May Day in the Haymarket Affair and its subsequent revival in the U.S. with the 2006 Day without Immigrants mega marches. Attendees left the event charged up and ready to fight the anti-worker and anti-immigrant agenda of the Trump administration, both on the shop floor and in the streets.

Panelists spoke extensively on the interconnected nature of their movements. Adelina Nicholls, the executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) said, “Immigrants are workers as well. When attacks happen to our communities, we cannot stand fragmented. A blow to immigrant workers is a blow to all workers.”

The use of detention and deportation as a means to repress and intimidate communities is happening regularly now. Unions have stepped up to defend their rank and file against these attacks like in the case of Rümeysa Öztürk, a SEIU member whose union launched several national days of action in their defense.

The panel concluded with a call to action, urging attendees to carry forward the spirit of May Day through advocacy, education and community organizing.

The panel was hosted by the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression and joined by the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, Malaya Movement, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and members of the Amazon organizing committee of Teamsters Local 728.

#AtlantaGA #GA #Labor #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #Teamsters #SEIU

Atlanta, GA – Members of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) hit the streets on April 1 to defend their jobs, collective bargaining agreements and union’s very existence. Over 70 community members joined the rally, showing their strong support for AFGE members who work at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta.

Attendees held signs with slogans such as “CDC saves lives!” and “Fire DOGE, not CDC heroes!”

The rally comes in the wake of Trump’s March 27 executive order that seeks to strip over a million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, immediately terminating their contracts and grievance procedures. The executive order comes after mass firings and “restructuring” at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) since Trump took office. There have already been mass firings at CDC, with all probationary employees being forced out alongside the majority of the HIV prevention department.

The Office of Personnel Management has instructed government agencies to enforce Trump’s previous Reduction in Force (RIF) order, but with the added caveat that agencies no longer have to acknowledge RIF compensation requirements in union contracts.

Peter Farruggia, a member of AFGE Local 2883 executive board, spoke to Fight Back! about the conditions in the union since the beginning of Trump’s attack on workers, stating “Morale is probably at the lowest it’s ever been. But on the opposite end, in our local we have never seen more action and people ready to step up, organize, mobilize and fight back. Our local membership before inauguration in mid-January was about 400 to 500 dues paying members. When I looked at our numbers yesterday, we were up to over 1800 dues paying members.”

Regarding the goals of the rally, Farruggian said, “AFGE has specifically wanted to get a lot of current and terminated employees out to show public support for our union. Our primary goal is to get the public aware of what’s going on and the fact that CDC does have an impact on the Atlanta community and the state of Georgia.”

Outside of the public health effects of weakening the HHS and CDC, the promised firings have massive economic implications for not just Atlanta, but the entire country. Thousands of workers being stripped of their jobs all at once will contribute to an already rising unemployment rate, decreased consumer spending in the immediate, and in the long run create the conditions for a public health crisis similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. A significantly weakened CDC would be in no position to adequately address another pandemic, almost guaranteeing economic disaster.

Farrugia also issued a warning to private sector unions, stating, “When they’re coming for us first, they’re coming for you next. If there’s private sector unions that think they will be spared from any of this, they are wrong. Regardless of whatever Trump signs, he is not going to get away with this. We are going to fight back with every fiber of our being.”

AFGE Local 2883 will continue to have weekly rallies outside the CDC while their union is under attack from the Trump administration.

#AtlantaGA #GA #Labor

Atlanta, GA – 58-year-old Filipina activist Alma Bowman was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a check-in at the Atlanta facility. Separated from lawyers and her family at the start of the check-in, abused by staff in the ICE office, and detained without medication, Bowman is yet another instance of deportation being used as a tool to repress immigrants.

Bowman was originally detained by ICE for three years at the infamous Irwin County Detention Center. She later blew the whistle on forced hysterectomies at the detention center, resulting in it being shut down.

Julie Jamora, an organizer with Malaya and the Justice for Alma Bowman (J4AB) campaign said, “She witnessed and experienced grave human rights violations while detained at the Irwin County detention center. Witnessed migrant women getting unnecessary and forced gynecological procedures, was at the center of a congressional investigation against this doctor. She highlights the everyday inhuman experiences of migrants while in detention.”

While she was released from ICE detention in 2020, Bowman continued to be a victim of the racist immigration system. She was forced to have check-ins with ICE, requiring her to drive nearly two hours from her home in Macon, Georgia on a regular basis. Despite being out of custody, Bowman was constantly terrorized by ICE, oftentimes not sure if she would be separated from her children.

Bowman’s detention is the latest in a series of ICE detentions and deportations used to target politically active immigrants and migrants, like what we’ve seen with pro-Palestine student protesters such as Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University and Badar Khan Suri at Georgetown University. Both were labeled as political threats and targeted by the White House, showing that reactionary forces will employ any means to attempt to silence our movements.

Malaya is currently organizing a call-in to the Philippines Embassy to demand they take action for Alma Bowman and push for her release due to her chronic health conditions and the unjustness of her detention. The Consulate of the Philippines in Atlanta can be reached at: (404) 442-5667.

#AtlantaGA #GA #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem

Atlanta, GA – Activists and community members rallied at the Georgia State Capitol on March 8 to celebrate International Women’s Day and to stand against Trump’s attacks. The protest was hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and Atlanta for Palestine and featured speakers from each of the groups.

The rally started off strong with a speech from Asia Kravitz, a member of the Atlanta Alliance. She tied women’s oppression and liberation to the Alliance’s campaign to shut down Fulton County Jail.

“International Women’s Day commemorates the long and hard battles women have fought for their rights to reproductive health, gender equality in the world and workplace,” said Kravitz. “The Atlanta Alliance recognizes that the city of Atlanta and the Fulton County Jail are failing the women forcibly taken under their care by denying them these rights, which has led to women dying in the jail without conviction or trial.”

Osama Mor, a member of Atlanta for Palestine, spoke about the essential role of women within the Palestinian national liberation movement: “We honor the Palestinian women who have been central to mobilizing the masses of our land, across all generations, from the British Mandate and the Nakba, to the First and Second Intifada, to the current moment – where the women of Palestine, continue to uphold our struggle against our oppressor.”

The rally was closed out with a speech from FRSO member David Jones, who stated, “Women have been at the forefront of movements across the globe. Here in the South, mothers fighting for justice for their children are the backbone of the Black liberation movement as they fight for change in the face of police violence, whereas internationally, women in Palestine and the Philippines have lost their lives fighting for liberation in the face of U.S. imperialism.”

Jones continued, “‘Women hold up half the sky’ is not just a slogan, it’s a fact. Without women like Claudia Jones, Leila Khalid and Wilma Tiamzon, the national liberation movements wouldn’t be where they are today. We got to fight like hell not just maintain wins made prior but to secure the wins necessary for our future.”

#AtlantaGA #GA #WomensMovement #InternationalWomensDay

On October 26, 2024, Haynie and his wife hosted AFN’s annual gathering – known as “Aryan Fest” – at their home in Lexington, Georgia. This gathering, which featured a swastika-burning and a fundraiser selling Third Reich-themed merchandise, was exposed by Atlanta Antifa. Antifa further revealed that Haynie and his wife, Shannon, operate a state-sanctioned “emergency pregnancy center” through which they shelter desperate, pregnant (white) women and subject them to neo-Nazi indoctrination.

The university placed Haynie on administrative leave before returning him to work on December 18, 2024. According to an email sent to engineering students, Haynie “acknowledged that the event had taken place on property that he and his wife co-owned but denied any direct involvement.” UGA decided that Haynie’s conduct did not violate its non-discrimination and anti-harassment policy because it was hosted off campus and constituted protected political speech.

On February 3, students organized under the name Athens Against Hate to stage a student walkout and rally on campus. They demanded that UGA fire Haynie, that UGA President Jere Morehead and his administration participate in a public forum to address community concerns over employing a neo-Nazi organizer, and that UGA increase funding for programs benefiting students from oppressed communities.

UGA’s failure to act, or even to address, the student body beyond the engineering school about this issue is a stark contrast to its crackdown on pro-Palestinian students. The university is currently facing a federal civil rights complaint filed by the Georgia chapters of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Students for Justice in Palestine for “extreme differential treatment of Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students, students perceived to be Palestinian, and students associated with or advocating for Palestinians.”

The complaint highlights that in 2024 students demonstrating against genocide were suspended without proper notice, locked out of on campus housing, fired from campus employment, and barred from graduation.

#AthensGA #GA #StudentMovement #NeoNazis #Antifa

Atlanta, GA – On Monday, January 20, the streets of downtown Atlanta were filled with activists, community and youth groups, and a number of labor unions who all marched to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Among the unions present were Teamsters Locals 728 and 396, as well as the IBEW, CWA, SEIU and Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council.

For UPS Teamsters this is the second year in history that MLK day is a paid holiday, following the “Deliver on the Dream” campaign in 2023 that saw the holiday added to the Teamsters contract. King was a staunch ally of organized labor; he spoke to labor unions across the country about the need to fight racist discrimination and led marches demanding improved rights for workers.

The demands of organized labor are especially dire this MLK day, as it coincided with the inauguration of Donald Trump to the presidency. Teamsters led chants against union busting and workplace abuses. Trump used hollow rhetoric in an attempt to appeal to the working class during the 2024 election, calling out the rising costs of living and exorbitant spending on foreign wars. In the same breath, Trump incites xenophobic and anti-Black racism. From Trump’s promise to deport a record number of immigrants to his support for a national right-to-work law, there can be no doubt that he will be an enemy of labor while in office.

Martin Luther King Jr himself drew the connection between the rights of labor and the fight against racism in a 1961 address to the AFL-CIO convention, stating, “Our needs are identical with labor’s needs – decent wages, fair working conditions, livable housing, old age security, health and welfare measures, conditions in which families can grow, have education for their children and respect in the community. That is why Negroes support labor’s demands and fight laws which curb labor. That is why the labor-hater and labor-baiter is virtually always a twin-headed creature spewing anti-Negro epithets from one mouth and anti-labor propaganda from the other mouth.”

Amazon Teamster Hunter Richau from Local 728 spoke on King’s legacy regarding labor, saying, “As much as his image gets whitewashed, MLK was fighting for the working class. The fight we wage on his birthday every year from here on out will be a fight for the working people here in Atlanta. The working class is already here, and we need to stick together. If MLK were here today he would champion nothing less.”

#AtlantaGA #GA #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #MLK #Teamsters #Labor

Many of the speakers touched on Donald Trump’s incoming attacks on working people, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and war mongering against oppressed nations around the world. With MLK Day falling on January 20 this year, speakers also celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy and connected it to the fight against Trump today.

“Trump and his allies in the monopoly capitalist class represent a real threat to the labor movement, as he has already voiced support for a national right-to-work law,” said Alex Carson, a UPS Teamster out of Atlanta. “Georgia and many other states in the South already suffer under right to work laws that threaten union jobs and weaken strikes.”

The rally was organized by a number of organizations including Palestinian Youth Movement, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and Atlanta DSA.

#AtlantaGA #GA #PeoplesStruggles #Trump #J20

Atlanta, GA – On Saturday, January 18, hundreds of community members gathered to honor the life of Manuel Esteban Paez Teràn, known as Tortuguita, a forest defender killed by the Georgia State Patrol two years ago while protesting the construction of Cop City in Atlanta. Protesters carried turtle-shaped umbrellas with messages of solidarity in honor of Tortuguita’s life.

The rally began at Old Fourth Ward Skatepark with speakers from important local and national struggles, along with community-building activities. Indigenous activists in the struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline spoke about the importance of opposing projects like Cop City. The Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights spoke about the fight against repressive anti-immigrant bills, such as the Laken Riley Act, which recently passed in the Senate. Refaat Alareer Mobile Library was also present, honoring the life and work of the martyred Palestinian activist and professor Dr. Refaat Alareer.

“My message is that we have to keep going,” said Belkis Teràn, mother of Tortuguita. “We have to work on ourselves. That’s why I did the Tortuguita Healing Center, it’s for everybody that wants to do good for the community and for themselves.” Teràn stressed the importance of continuing the fight, remembering Tortuguita’s words “we can defeat the police by being happy.”

Protesters marched down the Atlanta Beltline towards the BlackRock Atlanta office. Tim Franzen, a member of People’s Campaign to Stop Cop City, says in his speech “BlackRock owns part of Lockheed Martin. What do they do? They build bombs and jets. Where do they go? They go to Gaza. They’re invested in every part of the policing process.” BlackRock also plays a big role in displacing working-class Black families in Atlanta and all over the country.

The rally ended back at the skatepark, with activists vowing to keep up the fight against Cop City and asserting their determination to win. “We can win. I believe that. Because when people gather together and fight for our rights, we will win. That’s what I believe.” stated Ms. Jodah Barnette, with the People’s Campaign to Stop Cop City. “We have to keep on fighting and keep on going. And that’s why I'm out here today when I could be at home resting.”

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJusticeSystem #CopCity #Tortuguita #KillerCops

Several of these COs have histories abusing prisoners within New York jails and prisons. CO Anthony Farina and Sergeant Glenn Trombly were both involved in the assault of William Alvarez in 2020. Trombly was also involved in beating Equarn White, which put White in a wheelchair. CO Nicholas Anzalone was involved in an attack on Adam Bauer, which left him with a large gash on his head after the CO hit him with a clipboard. The murder of Robert Brooks is not an isolated act but the latest in a history of violence and abuse by these guards

The killing of Robert Brooks is the latest in a series of abuses in jails across the country. In August 2024, a dozen Black men set themselves on fires to escape torturous conditions at Virginia’s Red Onion supermax prison. Conditions included putting prisoners in solitary confinement for as long as 14 years and using attack dogs on the prisoners who spoke out against abuses. In Atlanta, Georgia, the Fulton County Jail has seen nearly 30 deaths since 2023. Many were due to overcrowding and medical neglect, which ranged from people not being given their seizure medication to others being overdosed by the onsite doctors.

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJusticeSystem #PoliceCrimes #KillerCops

Atlanta, GA – Today, December 19, Amazon workers in Atlanta joined the largest strike against the company in U.S. history. Called by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the strike calls for Amazon to recognize the workers’ union and agree to higher wages, safer conditions, respect and dignity on the job as part of a union contract.

Members of Teamsters Local 728 arrived outside Amazon’s ATL2 facility in Stone Mountain and set up the picket line at around 6 a.m. Shortly after, at the DGT8 facility in Alpharetta, another picket line went up with Teamsters from Amazon and other companies marching and leading chants. These Atlanta picket lines are part of a nationwide action by nearly 10,000 Teamsters at Amazon, sparked by the corporation’s refusal to recognize the Teamsters union and bargain in good faith.

The strike disrupts holiday operations at the $2 trillion corporation, whose workers often struggle to pay bills due to low wages and poor working conditions. “Amazon’s greed pushed us here,” said Gregory Dunn, an Amazon Teamster in Atlanta. “If we don’t fight Amazon’s greed now, they’ll think they can get away with anything.”

The Teamsters were joined on the picket lines by members of other Atlanta unions, including International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) and by community activists. Chants of, “Union-busting is disgusting,” and “Worker power” rang through the morning traffic, with many workers stopping in the street to take leaflets and verbalize their support.

Most significantly, the strike line drew the solidarity of UPS Teamsters, who arrived to deliver packages at the Amazon facilities and promptly turned around, honking to show their support for their fellow union members. UPS Teamsters have a clause in their contract that allows them to refuse to cross a picket line, and those package drivers from Local 728 put their solidarity into practice by not servicing the struck facilities.

#AtlantaGA #GA #Labor #Teamsters #Amazon #Feature

Atlanta, GA – Since August 2024, a dozen Black men at Virginia’s Red Onion supermax prison have set themselves on fire in a desperate attempt to escape conditions that amount to prolonged torture.

Red Onion is infamous for the abuses it has carried out against prisoners since its opening in 1998. Most of its prisoners spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, some of them for as long as 14 years. Red Onion has been known to use attack dogs on prisoners who speak out and organize against the guards’ abuses.

This recent series of self-immolations has been brought to light through Prison Radio communiques by a veteran of the Black liberation movement, longtime political prisoner Kevin Rashid Johnson, who is currently held in Red Onion.

Johnson describes a prisoner known as Econ and his cellmate Trayvon Brown setting themselves on fire in the most recent acts of self-immolation. Econ informed Johnson that the self-immolation was an attempt to get transferred out of Red Onion, even if just temporarily to a hospital, as the conditions have become so intolerable. These acts of desperation come on the heel of Johnson’s 71-day hunger strike that was launched in protest of Red Onion’s inhumane conditions. Guards have been serving food with maggots, carrying out religious persecution, using racial slurs, and denying medical treatment.

In an interview with Prison Radio, Ekong Eshiet gave his reason for self-immolation, “I would rather die before I stay up here, because every day I’m dealing with discrimination, whether it’s about my race, my last name, or my religion.” Eshiet is a Muslim from Africa and has been subjected to frequent beatings that included rubbing pepper spray in his burn wounds. Guards often deface their Quran during these attacks. Eshiet has also launched a hunger strike, “I’m doing my best, like I’m going about this the right way, I guess, like with the hunger strike way. But if I have to, I don’t mind setting myself on fire again. This time, I would set my whole body on fire before I have to stay up here and do the rest of my time.”

27-year-old Demetrius Wallace was one of the first to set fire to his leg in August. Upon being taken to the medical wing of the prison he was denied any treatment. The guards waited three days to transfer him to the VCU Health burn unit. Wallace told The Virginia Defender, “As soon as the doctor sees me, he said, ‘When did this happen?’ I said, ‘Friday.’ He said, ‘Why haven’t you been here?’ I said, ‘I’m not trying to be funny, but I can’t drive myself from the prison.’” Because of this delay, doctors were forced to cure an infection that had developed before they could even begin treating the burn itself.

The trend of medical negligence in American prisons is used as a form of extrajudicial punishment and retaliation. By fostering the conditions for prisoners to develop medical issues, and then denying treatment for said issues, jailers have created a means to murder inmates. This tactic is part and parcel with the systematic inequality imposed on Blacks, Chicanos and other oppressed nationalities by the monopoly capitalist class.

This practice is not limited to prisons either. In the Black Belt south, overcrowded jails such as the Fulton County jail are just as dreadful as prisons. In 2024 alone there were ten inmate deaths in Fulton County. In Dekalb county outside of Atlanta, which is 53% Black, the jails conditions are similar to Fulton county.

Earlier this year, Fight Back! reported on the death of 27-year-old Christon Collins at Dekalb County jail, the result of blatant medical negligence after Christon fell and hit his head. According to Christon’s mother Jonia Milburn, “My son laid on the floor for three hours with no care. Nobody noticed. No guards, no supervisors, no one but the inmates.”

Fight Back! will continue to monitor the ongoing resistance and hunger strikes at Red Onion prison.

#AtlantaGA #GA #InJnjusticeSystem #Prison #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican

Atlanta, GA- Dozens gathered outside of the Russell Federal building, November 6 to protest the results of the presidential election and demand a people’s agenda. Preparing for another Trump presidency, activists, students and community members spoke on the need to get organized and continue to fight for reproductive rights, against police violence, and for a free Palestine.

With signs showing slogans like “Victory to the resistance” and “End the occupation,” Palestine was a large focus of the rally. 13 months after the Palestinian resistance broke down the apartheid wall, community members and activists were ready to protest regardless of the election results, standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against the Zionist forces locally and abroad.

The protest put forward the demands of an arms embargo on Israel and an end to the material support of the genocidal Zionist state happening within the city like the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program, which sends local law enforcements officers to Israel to train alongside the IOF. Through the GILEE program, local law enforcement learns tactics that they can use to oppress the people locally like has been seen against the Stop Cop City movement and Black folks in Atlanta.

The rally was hosted by the Atlanta Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (AAARPR) and endorsed by Demilitarize Atlanta to Palestine, Atlanta DSA, Students for Justice in Palestine at Georgia State, the Angelo Herndon Club, Veterans for Peace, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Kiran Gupta, a member of the AAARPR said, “Israel's daily war crimes and atrocities have gone unchecked by all the world's powers and have been met with a blank check from the U.S. We gather to honor the martyrs that have been lost since the Nakba in 1948, and to send a strong message from the heart of the empire: the real terrorism is the war crimes committed and funded by our government. As people who are residing in the belly of the imperialist beast, it is our duty to get organized and resist.”

#AtlantaGA #GA #PeoplesStruggles #Trump