Category Archives: Uncategorized

Neighborhood Artists Gift Us Pictures and Praise

Three members of the Edgewood community (ages 7, 8, and 9) came by the Teardown during Food Not Bombs cleanup today to visit the kitten and hang out. Having gotten prior permission from their mom/aunt, we let them in. Completely unprompted, cajoled or coerced, they made amazing depictions of the house, the cats, the people here, and the free store. Then they chose locations for the art to be hung for display (on the porch door to the free store).  On the backs were notes praising copwatch (which is the name most people in the neighborhood call the house and its members) and our food project.

The box on the right is a fridge with potatoes.

“I love you and I like cop watch”

Jail support training Tuesday 10/9

Jail and court support are a critical part of any resistance movement–after all, jail and prison are some of the most powerful tools of social control for the system.  Support is crucial for keeping our movements strong.  Failing to get enough support after an arrest can be isolating, exhausting and terrifying. Learn how to track comrades who are arrested through the jail system, bail them out, and provide legal support to beat the charges. You don’t need to be a lawyer to support arrestees, anyone can do it!

Tuesday 10/9
6:00 pm
80 Mayson Ave.

Support Autonomous Food Distribution in Atlanta

People are hungry in our city

Food stamps have been drastically cut in Georgia this year.  Trump is hoping to cut even further, leaving more people in a position of choosing between paying rent and buying groceries.

Traditional religious and NGO charities are finding themselves overwhelmed by growing poverty, unable to keep pace as the government abandons social welfare programs.

We need a new model for fighting hunger

One that doesn’t depend on unreliable government grants or foundation money. One that can’t be eliminated by Trump or any other politician signing a bill.  We need survival programs: networks of ordinary people organized to collect and distribute food. The powerful may abandon us, but we can help each other.

We are helping to build this network in Atlanta!  A loosely organized collection of farmers, restaurant and grocery workers, neighbors, activists, volunteers and organizations like Food Not Bombs and the South Bend Commons are cooperating to distribute approximately 1.5 tons of food to hungry people throughout Atlanta every week.

This food makes a major difference to the people who get it. For many, it’s the main reason they have fresh fruits and vegetables in their diets at all.  But it’s not nearly enough compared to the need.

As long as there are hungry people, our network is not big enough.

You can help it grow! The network is mainly limited by labor capacity.  The more volunteers we have, the more food we can distribute.  Contact the Teardown or Atlanta Food Not Bombs to volunteer.  Here are a few ways we need help:

  • Arrange to donate excess food from your store, restaurant, farm, or anywhere else.
  • Volunteer to pick up weekly donations and transport them to distribution points
  • Donate food infrastructure equipment like a walk-in fridge or box truck.  Or raise funds to help us purchase them.

There’s already enough for everyone, it’s just waiting to be shared

Discussion on Net Neutrality & Network Autonomy

Net Neutrality is dead. We know that this is bad, but how does it actually affect radical struggle? We know that we should resist it, but beyond calling congress what can we actually do?

Join us for a discussion on network autonomy. We will present work being done in Atlanta on off-grid wireless communication, mesh networks, and discuss possibilities for what community control over our communications infrastructure could look like.

Come with ideas, questions, and curiosity – no background in technology is required.

Let’s figure out how we can make truly free networks, and get to work creating them!

Event Info

Update on Food Not Bombs Repression

Early this morning, we came to court ready to face criminal charges for feeding the homeless without a permit. Many people came out and we shared food, clothes, and hygiene supplies right in front of the courthouse.

City representatives refused to show up. They were too ashamed to even face us in their own court. The bogus charge was dismissed without so much as a hearing. This confirms that the crackdown was never about the law, it has always been nothing more than a campaign of intimidation designed to bully homeless people and those who aid them. Already, officials are researching other ordinances they can use to repress us.

We are outraged that the City is trying to avoid this issue. Officials must answer for persecuting us, but they know they can’t. They can hide from a court case, but they can’t hide from the poor people who face constant harassment by their cops. They can’t hide from the homeless people who they evicted from the Peachtree & Pine shelter. The City wants to pretend they are the solution to poverty and homelessness in Atlanta, but they are the cause.

The real solution is ordinary people working together to help each other, and fighting against the gentrification agenda of the city elites. We will continue doing our part, and we call on everyone to join in however they can.

Atlanta Resists the Food Sharing Ban

Cops in Atlanta claim it’s illegal for us to share food with each other. Earlier this month, a volunteer with Food Not Bombs was charged with a crime for giving food to homeless people without a permit. We do not care what the law or the police say, so we vowed to continue disobeying them. On Sunday we followed through.

Hundreds of people from many backgrounds flooded Hurt Park in downtown Atlanta. Anarchist youth, church groups, homeless veterans, liberals, travelers, BLM activists, people of all ages and genders showed up to participate in the illicit practice of public sharing.

We came prepared to face repression, with copwatch teams on-hand and plans in place for dealing with physical interference by the cops. But bullies are also cowards, so we knew that when faced with huge, vibrant, disobedient crowds, the cops would most likely be too scared to even approach. We were right! The police ceded control of the park, allowing an autonomous festival to occupy the space instead.

People ate home-cooked chili and talked to a group of police abolitionists giving out literature. Someone performed impressive tricks spinning a black flag. A folk musician belted out old labor songs. Homeless musicians played drums, sang, and offered passionate spoken word about unity and revolution.

As the day went on, food, clothes, and other resources continued to arrive in the park, all brought by people we had never met, but who shared our outrage that the city would try to suppress such a basic human activity. Homeless people helped to distribute and manage the resources. The lines between giver and receiver blurred, and for a time we got to enjoy simply being people in the park together.

The cops, developers and politicians dream of a completely sanitized downtown where public space only exists for people to move through on their way to work, school, or to patronize a business. They want downtown to be fun and friendly for tourists and young professionals while simultaneously being hostile and uninhabitable for the rest of us. The homeless, black people, queer youth, and many other marginalized people do not fit into this agenda. The City will try anything to rid itself of these “undesirables”, enlisting the support of police, university officials, the Chamber of Commerce, even the very “non-profit service providers” which claim to serve the homeless.

In illegalizing sharing food, the authorities have made one thing clear: Only outlaws can stand against their agenda. In opposing the authorities, we have discovered that our society is full of outlaws just waiting for their moment to do the right thing. We also have seen that without the authorities, we have the power to care for each other and create something better.

There’s no reason to think this fight is over.  The police are probably waiting for an opportunity to strike again. We have to make sure that when they do, Atlanta is ready to make them regret it!

Thanks to John Ramspott for the photos.  To support Food Not Bombs and other grassroots solidarity efforts in Atlanta, donate here.

Donate to Atlanta Food Not Bombs and other grassroots groups!

Atlanta Food Not Bombs and aligned community groups are working to support poor and homeless people with food, clothes, shelter, and wellness.

The city government wants to shut down our efforts. They claim that they alone will solve the homeless crisis in our city, but we know that community groups are the ones doing the real work.

Please donate to support our ongoing work to stand up against police harassment, and to get needed resources to the poorest in our city!

We are all volunteers, every dollar contributed will go directly towards grassroots efforts to help those in need.

Click here to donate

Resistance School: Know Your Rights / How to Copwatch

POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Two free trainings from Resistance School

Know Your Rights (10:00-12:00):
Everyone needs to know what their rights are when dealing with the police. This training teaches how to assert your constitutional rights using real-life scenarios to educate in a fun and accessible way. Learn what to say and what not to say when stopped by the police, how to act in jail, and more.

How To Copwatch (1:00-3:00):
This workshop covers good practices for “copwatching”, or video recording the police. Copwatching can provide important evidence of police misconduct, and sometimes even stop cops from abusing people in the first place. It’s important, but can be risky without preparation. This training prepares you to record the cops in a safe, legal, and effective way. Learn how to work in a small team to monitor police activity during large protests or everyday encounters in the neighborhood.

More info

#event

Training: How To Copwatch

This workshop covers good practices for “copwatching”, or video recording the police. Copwatching can provide important evidence of police misconduct, and sometimes even stop cops from abusing people in the first place. It’s important, but can be risky without preparation. This training prepares you to record the cops in a safe, legal, and effective way. Learn how to work in a small team to monitor police activity during large protests or everyday encounters in the neighborhood.

For More Info