ATLANTA
A Unified Demand to End Caging Humans
The Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) was built in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics as the "extra jail" in Atlanta and previously was divided into two sides — the "city side" and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) side.
All of the people detained on the "city side" of the Atlanta jail were arrested on "quality of life" or "broken windows" offenses like drinking in public or loitering. More than 8 out of 10 are Black.
Since community organizers successfully pressured the city to end its contract with ICE in 2018, less than 100 people have been detained in the jail, which costs the city $32.5 million dollars a year to operate.
The #CommunitiesOverCages #CloseTheJailATL Campaign won legislation in May of 2019 to close and repurpose the jail through a Community-Led Taskforce. But our campaign is not over- we still have to repurpose the facility into a Center for Wellness & Freedom, reallocate $32.5 million back into the community, and decriminalize the "broken windows" offenses that populated the jail.
Video and stills by Queen Norris.
ARTICLES
The Real News Network: New Restorative Justice Spaces Must Be Culturally Competent
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Will protests bring change? Why this young Atlantan thinks they will
Architectural Digest: Why Justice in Design Is Critical to Repairing America
RESOURCES
REPORTS
Reimagining ACDC Task Force Policy Workgroup Recommendations Report
Program Workgroup Progress Report
Center for Equity Task Force Meeting #5 Progress Report
Reimagine ACDC Initiative Community Engagement Report
Inside Atlanta’s Immigration Cages: A Report on the Conditions of the Atlanta City Detention Center
R|A History of the Atlanta City Detention Center
FACT SHEETS
Close the Jail ATL: Communities Over Cages Campaign
A History of the Atlanta City Detention Center
PWomen on the Rise and Racial Justice Action Center Policy Brief
CAMPAIGN PARTNERS
