Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the Southern Center for Human Rights, and the Center for Constitutional Rights—leaders of civil rights organizations that are based or have offices in Atlanta and have a long history of social justice advocacy in this city and across Georgia—have sent a letter to the Atlanta City Council urging it to allow both the verification and the referendum vote on the Atlanta Public Safety Facility, “Cop City,” to move forward. More than 116,000 Atlanta residents signed a petition to hold a referendum on Cop City, a project that will make local police more militarized, further endangering city residents. The organizations are urging Atlanta, the cradle of the civil rights movement, to encourage the democratic process and hold the referendum and not use voter suppressive methods, like signature match, that negatively effect marginalized communities.
Read the full letter sent to the Atlanta City Council here.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
