Atlanta's religious community has voiced strong opposition to recent police actions on university campuses, with a notable press conference held by the Atlanta Multifaith Coalition for Palestine at Emory University. The group condemned police force used against protestors, including students and faculty, and supported demands for Georgia colleges and universities to cut financial ties with companies connected to Israel and to halt the construction of the proposed Public Safety Training Center, controversially dubbed "Cop City." Rev. Leo Seyij Allen led the outcry, stating, "our faith compels us to be here to stand in solidarity with students, with activists with faculty, and the administrators who support these students in calling for an end to investment in Israel, an end to the war and genocide happening against Palestinians and an end to the construction of ‘Cop City.’" as reported by WABE.
Additionally, the coalition has called on President Joe Biden to refrain from speaking at Morehouse College's upcoming commencement unless he advocates for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Meanwhile, Rev. Keyanna Jones of Park Avenue Baptist Church vehemently refuted Emory University President Gregory Fenves's retracted claim of "outside agitators" being responsible for initiating protests on the campus. According to a WABE interview, Jones emphasized, "Don't cut out the clips when I’m calling Fenves as a liar because he is, don’t cut out the clips when I’m saying that this was student-led and organized because it was." She denounced the narrative that attempted to justify the police's aggressive response during last week’s demonstrations.
Student testimonies at the press event depicted the tense atmosphere at Emory last week. Mozn Shora, a graduating senior from Spelman College, joined the movement, demanding her institution condemn Emory and Georgia State Patrol's actions. "Spelman College teaches me that you have to make a choice to change the world," Shora declared, calling for clear-cut dissolutions of affiliations with Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center and the state of Israel. She made a poignant plea: "I would like to see our boards off of any organization that is affiliated with Cop City or apartheid Israel — have some decency! That is all I am asking you for. Care about your students, care about the community, care about the victims of genocide in Palestine. Do not let Biden speak at commencement until he has called for a permanent ceasefire," Shora told WABE.
Daniella Hobbs, an ethics PhD candidate at Emory and member of Occupy Candler, recounted why they took over the seminary, with their eyes set on a greater cause. "We occupied Candler knowing full well we were risking arrest but also knowing we were standing in a long lineage of religious leaders and scholars who have unapologetically put their bodies on the line for justice,” she said, per WABE. Hobbs also described witnessing a "world of militarized terror," as Emory Police and Georgia State Patrol clashed outside the seminary. The group continued to support protest efforts even after ending their occupation, providing on-campus relief with provisions and art supplies, affectionately termed "The Ark of the Occupation." Occupy Candler's demands include the expulsion of external police forces from campus, reparations, and the absolution of all arrested protestors from disciplinary repercussions. They've also called for an audience with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, representing Georgia, in their pursuit of social justice.
