For six weeks, local activist Haneef Salaam had been organizing an event to be held at an outdoor music venue in Wilmington that would feature singers, food and speeches from women whose family members had been killed by police.
Then, last week, a Wilmington official told Salaam that the city would cancel his event unless his group’s members agreed to a list of conditions, including refraining from holding signs, chanting, giving speeches and writing “justice for all” on event announcements posted onto social media.
Salaam did not agree to the conditions and opted to hold his Positive Vibes in the Park event outside of the city limits at the Route 9 Library and Innovation Center near New Castle.
In an interview, Salaam indicated that his event in the Wilmington suburbs ultimately was successful, as it highlighted past cases of police violence, including both national cases like those of Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake, and the 2015 killing of Jeremy McDole in Wilmington.
Still, he asserted that the city’s decision to prohibit the gathering infringed on his group’s First Amendment rights .
“For Cityfest, the city of Wilmington and whoever made the final decision to deny my event and then label it as something that could potentially be toxic or violent doesn’t sit right with me,” said Salaam, who serves as CEO of HOTC, which stands for Hustlers Open to Change and offers programs and services to entrepreneurs.
Salaam also said that he contacted private attorneys who are reviewing the situation to determine whether his group might file a lawsuit against the city of Wilmington.
Two days before the event was scheduled to occur, Salaam also emailed with Kevin O’Connell, the head of Delaware’s Office of Defense Services, about his group’s legal right to hold an event in Wilmington.
At that time, Salaam had just been informed that the city would not allow his event to take place at the Urban Artist Exchange in Wilmington’s Eastside because “it’s being labeled a rally.”
In their email, O’Connell suggested, among other things, that Salaam demand that city officials show why they believe the event is a “rally” – which the mayor’s office had asserted is a prohibited form of gathering for groups without permits.
O’Connell further suggested that Salaam try to convince the city that their decision could leave them open to a lawsuit.
“If we can show the City’s legal department that they have some legal exposure by pulling the plug on an event literally 72 hours before it was to take place, they may back off on requiring a permit,” O’Connell said in his email to Salaam.
The following day, the Wilmington city official who oversees events at the Urban Artist Exchange told Salaam in a text message that her boss – Wilmington Director of Cultural Affairs Tina Betz – ultimately “left it up to” her.
In the text, the city official, Lattisha Williams, said she would allow the event as long as it featured only music performances and vendors. She also insisted that organizers send out a new social media post advertising the event that scrubbed the words “demand” and “justice for all.”
“Please stay away from chants or signs during the event,” Williams said in her text to Salaam.
Wilmington city officials declined to be interviewed for this story. Instead, they sent an emailed statement that they attributed to Betz that said, in part, that the “Justice for All rally, though an important cause, does not align with our core mission of promoting the arts and providing a space for artistic engagement.
“We encourage conversations and actions surrounding social justice to continue in spaces designed for such civic discourse,” the statement said.
For his part, Salaam indicated that he believed the cancellation of his event in Wilmington was not Williams’ decision, stating that she was put in the middle of the situation.
Salaam’s event last week was scheduled to be just the latest in a string of monthly “Positive Vibes in the Park” gatherings to be held at the Urban Artist Exchange.
Earlier this year Salaam had collaborated with the Exchange, a city project developed at former police department stables, to create the series of events that would take place on the fourth Friday of each month between March and September.
Each event was designed to provide entertainment for residents in the Eastside community, while showcasing local artists of color. Past events featured local singers, hip-hop and jazz artists, poets, live DJs and food.
Last week’s “Justice For All” event was designed to focus on raising awareness around police brutality and social justice, Salaam said. To do that, he invited individuals who were affected by police violence to share their personal experiences, he said.
Attendees included Lakeisha Nix, the sister of Lymond Moses, who was shot and killed by New Castle County Police in 2021, and Keandra McDole, the sister of Jeremy McDole, who was killed by Wilmington Police in 2015.
Salaam also invited individuals from Families United , an organization that supports Black families experiencing injustice. The organization helped to bring out Bianca Austin, the aunt of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in Kentucky in 2020, and Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake, who was shot and paralyzed by Wisconsin police in 2020.
“It’s time for us all to come together as one,” said McDole while addressing the small crowd during the event on Friday.
While McDole spoke about her brother, Jeremy, and her efforts to highlight his story, she also asserted that Salaam’s group had been unfairly targeted by the city of Wilmington.
In an interview during the event, McDole – who has held protests and demonstrations across the city for years – said the city has sought to “infringe” on her speech in the past.
“Whenever they hear about an event that has to do with police violence, they shut down immediately and don’t want it,” she said.
Two days before the event, Salaam received notice via text from Williams that the already-scheduled event would require a permit, as local law enforcement had deemed it a rally and raised concerns, according to Salaam.
During a phone call with Williams, Salaam said that he was informed that law enforcement had seen other organizations promote the event as a rally and therefore were prohibiting it from taking place without a permit.
None of the flyers promoted on Salaam’s or Families United’s social media accounts used the word “rally,” according to Salaam.
The next day, Williams contacted Salaam stating that the event could take place if specific changes were made to the flyer and event, which Salaam declined to do.
“I had too much integrity at this point to still host an event and not let the speakers speak,” he said.
After losing the original venue, Salaam received assistance from New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, who helped secure two options for the event that was then less than 24 hours away. Salaam ultimately chose the Route 9 library, just outside of city limits.
Since the event, Salaam and HOTC have decided to cut ties with UAE and end their summer program at a different location to ensure that they finish out what they started.
Salaam hopes to have his last event of the summer series, which will take place in late September, back at the Route 9 library.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wilmington nixed activist event from city park, raising free speech questions
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