PHOTO CREDIT: Brandon Mishawn, 2020 / shared and consented for purposes of The Mainline.
This audio report is going out tomorrow on our regular streaming platforms, but y’all are getting it early. Thanks to all our new subscribers for joining and supporting our independent journalism in ATL! Mainline wouldn’t be here without you <3
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As I’ve been watching the hectic-ness of election season unfold, I’ve been returning to some of our coverage from summer 2020. There are a few pieces I believe deserve more airtime and consideration now that we are out of *that* brand of chaos in 2020 and onto *this* version of chaos in 2021. One of them is what happened with the Rayshard Brooks Bill, which was overall an epic fail and was the compromise of all compromise—but it was also a source of confusion for activists and journalists alike.
I went over the details of this story numerous times with a source in City Council to make sure I understood the terms of the legislation and all the twists and turns that happened in this council meeting, which I also attended and live reported. This is an excellent precursor to what happened with the Cop City vote, and is why I wasn’t surprised; a lot of it felt like deja vu, except the stakes somehow keep getting higher and higher in our city. Despite that, this council still holds the line on its bullshit (sorry for my language).
This audio report contains a present-day explainer from me, followed by a reading of the original piece which is here. I’ve been wanting to review the Rayshard Brooks Bill for some time … and I feel like now is a good time, as the spotlight will be turning towards Atlanta more often in the coming months and years.
For me, this is a story about compromise and the failures of compromising with our oppressive systems.
If you have any lingering questions about this bill or anything else happening in the city, drop them below and I’ll be happy to answer them.
ICYMI, please also read this excellent report by Tiffany Roberts of Southern Center for Human Rights published in Essence: “The Collapse of Criminal Legal Reform in the Black Mecca“. So grateful to see organizers speak the truth to power about ATL on a national platform.
Be well and take care.
Solidarity,
<3 Aja
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INDIGENOUS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This post was written on the unceded ancestral lands of the Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East) tribe, on what is now so-called Granville, Tenn.
