For Immediate Release
April 25, 2024
[email protected]
(646) 673-4191
New Georgia Project Condemns Violent Suppression of Peaceful Protesters on Georgia Campuses
(Atlanta, GA) – New Georgia Project (NGP) released the following statement after Emory University deployed multiple police forces on students and supporters peacefully assembled on Emory’s campus.
“New Georgia Project stands in full support of anyone—students, faculty, allies, anyone—exercising their constitutional right to peacefully assemble and engage in non-violent protest. The actions taken on Emory University’s campus this morning stand in direct opposition to the right to freely and fully participate in our democracy that NGP fights for every day.
‘Georgia residents exercising their right to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard should be applauded—not attacked—for engaging in our democracy,’ said Kendra Cotton, New Georgia Project CEO. ‘Calling in and allowing multiple police units to fire rubber bullets, shoot tear gas, tackle, tase, and arrest these young people is unconscionable. Students who already face systemic barriers to equity and justice on campus and in society—Black students, immigrant students, low-income students—were among those arrested, putting them at greater risk of the harsh impact of the criminal legal system in our state and our country.
In a healthy democracy, there should always be room for public debate, for non-violent protest, and for people’s concerns to be taken seriously—whether by their university administration, their elected officials, or anyone else in power. For those in power, dissent will not feel comfortable, and protest will not be convenient. That is the point. The extreme and violent lengths university and college administrators are willing to go to quash student voices that threaten their power is a threat, in and of itself, to the core values of our society.’
New Georgia Project condemns the actions taken by Emory University and the use of excessive, violent force by Emory, Atlanta, and Georgia law enforcement to suppress Georgians’ right to peacefully assemble, protest, and make their voices heard. We will be watching as student organizing continues to take hold on campuses across Georgia, and we will remain steadfast in our commitment to defend and support those who organize, agitate, and speak truth to power.
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