Like the United States, Atlanta is complicit in a genocide.
Yes, Atlanta is progressive. It’s the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement and helped turn Georgia blue in the 2020 election. It’s a powerhouse of culture and industry. But it’s also a haven for authoritarianism.
Last spring, construction on Cop City in the Weelaunee Forest began. After October 7th, Atlanta law enforcement’s ties to the Israeli military were brought to light, proving that Atlanta’s government benefits from the obliteration of innocent lives, both in Georgia as well as in Gaza and the West Bank.
Even Atlanta’s more “progressive” organizations, like local media and universities, are tied to genocide, showcasing the desperate need for a counterweight to this depravity. Andrew Morse is the publisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is the largest newspaper in the state, and he is a public backer of Cop City. Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies sponsors the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) — essentially a collaboration between Atlanta and Israel’s police force that’s like a study abroad program for cops. Emory University, which is tied to Atlanta’s hospital system, invests in weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, which is a member of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Corporate Partnership Program.
Atlanta’s universities and weapons manufacturers are in a symbiotic relationship that cyclically guarantees capital and bloodshed.
The Refaat Mobile Library launched in May 2024 as a direct response to Emory’s handling of students’ Pro-Palestine protests. Named for Refaat Alaleer, the Palestinian writer, poet, and activist who was killed in an Israeli airstrike this past December, the traveling library carries and loans work by Palestinian authors as well as texts related to abolition, intersectionality, anti-imperialism, religious studies, diaspora experiences, anti-Zionism, and collective liberation. Since debuting at Emory, it’s appeared at many events like Atlanta’s Curbfest for Political Prisoners on August 24th. They also collaborate with local events and businesses that are either Palestinian or donate money to the cause.
Refaat Mobile Library carries works from authors like Angela Davis, bell hooks, Kiese Laymon, Maya Angelou, Claudia Rankine, Noam Chomsky, Jessica Hernandez, James Baldwin, Viet Than Nguyen, Edward Said, Karl Marx, Malcolm X, Audre Lorde, W.E.B. DuBois, and Toni Morrison. The selection includes essay collections, memoirs, poetry, and fiction in addition to nonfiction texts and children’s books. If you are unable to visit the library in person, you can still browse their catalog or request a text to add online. The library also has wishlists at Charis Books & More, Bookshop.org, and Thrift Books — and items purchased from these wishlists will automatically ship to the library’s P.O. Box. Reflecting the library’s mission, returns are done on the honor system.
The message the library wants to communicate is hope — not from the Democratic Party’s eternal tease of a potential ceasefire or from a campaign based on identity politics, but from the grassroots movement itself. A wide range of people have volunteered, donated books and funds, and attended a litany of events held by Refaat Mobile Library, demonstrating that it is a vital space for people who are horrified by Israel’s genocide to connect and work together to support Gaza.
The Refaat Alareer Mobile Library does take donations specifically for library operations, and 100% of proceeds from non-library donations go to Gaza Funds. Since launching, they’ve raised more than $30,000 for Gaza Funds and they send bulk donations every month. The library has also composed a guide for those looking to start their own liberation library, helping those search for ways to express solidarity with the people of Gaza under a relentless Israeli assault using American bombs. Refaat Alareer was a great man who cared deeply about his community, and the library created in his name is trying to follow his lead by uniting their own community to help the people of Gaza.