Tennessee lawmakers are throwing $415 million into their Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy, an 800-acre facility to be built ina historically Black Nashville neighborhood currently experiencing a housing crisis, extreme displacement and gentrification, according to Erica Perry, executive director of Nashville’s Southern Movement Committee. “$415 million is a huge amount of money, especially in a state where we ranked low in health, literacy, education and housing,” Perry said. “That’s extremely frustrating because we know that money could be spent on things that would help people have healthy, thriving, safe lives.” In response, the Southern Movement Committee began advocating for a proposed $10 million investment in the creation of an office of youth safety, community centers and alternatives to police in schools — programs they say the community actually needs. In June, $1 million of this budget was approved by Nashville City Council. Activists in Chicago have shared similar concerns. In the years before the planning of its Cop Academy in 2017, the city had seen the closure of half its mental health clinics, as well as the then-largest sweep of school closings in U.S. history. Naturally, many residents were outraged when the new multi-million dollar police training facility was announced, especially considering the Chicago Police Department already had seven other training facilities in the area. “Why is there suddenly this new investment available when we were told that the city was broke, when we were asking for investments in our own communities?” asked Benji Hart, an adult ally with the youth-led No Cop Academy Coalition.