Atlanta NAACP President Demands Emory University Change Its Protest Policy

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Atlanta NAACP says enough is enough: no more violations of student civil rights, no more zip ties and no more arrests for peaceful protest.

Atlanta News First spoke with Gerald Griggs, president of the Atlanta NAACP, who is now calling on Emory University to change its policies.

“The response was completely unnecessary, the militarization of law enforcement to respond to a peaceful First Amendment protest,” Griggs said.

Griggs was dismayed after watching newly released body camera video showing Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol officers responding to students protesting the war in Gaza on the Emory University campus in April.

RELATED: Atlanta police release body camera footage of tense Emory protests

“In the city of Atlanta, the birthplace of civil rights, you should not use law enforcement as a weapon against peaceful protesters, period, without expecting to hear from the NAACP,” Griggs said.

Griggs said that in a conversation Tuesday, he made it very clear to Emory University President Gregory Fenves that the response to students protesting on campus had been mishandled.

“His response was that because of the encampments, he thought it was time to remove them,” Griggs said.

Griggs says there is now an investigation into who called the Georgia State Patrol, whose troopers were seen in video footage attacking students.

Griggs said Emory is now working to see what procedures can be put in place to ensure this level of response to a protest never happens again.

RELATED: Protesters heckle Emory University president during graduation speech

Earlier this month, students and faculty at the Emory School of Arts & Sciences voted no confidence in Fenves, and it is now up to the board of trustees to decide whether he remains in office.

“We want to ensure that: firstly, appropriate training is provided to the administration; second, the students’ voices are focused on what they were communicating about their First Amendment rights, and second; third, that policies change and this never happens again,” Griggs said.

Atlanta News First reached out to Emory University for details on the meeting between Griggs and Fenves and for a timeline on when the Board of Trustees will decide whether Fenves will be Emory University’s president next semester. We haven’t had a response yet.

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