What does it look like to move millions of public funds away from incarceration and instead invest in the communities most harmed by prisons? And how do we get there? Black organizers in the South are leading these efforts and winning.
The Communities Over Cages: Close the Jail Atlanta Campaign has been a long struggle fought by grassroots organizations, including Women on the Rise and the Racial Justice Action Center. Two years ago, a community-based task force developed a recommendation to replace the jail with a Center for Wellness, Equity and Freedom offering housing resources, behavioral health services, office space for progressive organizations, a rooftop garden, and other resources needed to keep impacted communities safe.
Too often, white communities actively oppose the visionary demands and campaigns led by Black organizers and directly impacted people, and Atlanta is no exception. For this reason, SURJ Atlanta and SURJ National are working together to make sure that white communities show up in favor of closing the jail.
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