AKRON, Ohio — With the weekend now upon us, the city of Akron has announced that all events are moving forward as scheduled.
The announcement was posted on social media Friday morning with the following update:
All events this weekend and the foreseeable future are moving forward, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Anyone with safety questions or concerns is encouraged to reach out to specific event organizers and the City of Akron will continue to be communicative and responsive with event organizers and all stakeholders as appropriate. I thank our community for rallying together this past week as we faced tough questions about safety and events. We will continue to have open dialogue about how we prioritize safety as we gather together.
Thank you, Akron.
This came one week after Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced that last weekend’s events scheduled to take place on city-owned property were canceled “due to safety concerns” he said were raised in a letter he received from members of Akron City Council. It was also noted there was no credible threat to any of the events.
The impacted events last weekend included the Akron Juneteenth Festival, Rock the Lock at Lock 3 Park and the American Heart Association Heart Walk, among others. A rescheduled Juneteenth event was held at the John S. Knight Center on Wednesday instead.
JUNE 2 MASS SHOOTING
The concerns were connected to the Akron mass shooting that happened earlier this month on June 2 in which 28 people were shot -- including the death of 27-year-old Lateris Cook -- which happened in the area of Kelly and 8th avenues.
No suspects have been arrested or identified in the shooting, but Akron police released images earlier this week of a vehicle believed to be connected to the incident.
A reward of $22,500 is being offered for anybody with information in the case. Tipsters are asked to call 330-375-2490.
THE LETTER FROM AKRON CITY COUNCIL
So what was specifically stated in last week’s letter from Akron City Council? You can read the full text in the document below.
AKRON CITY COUNCIL ISSUES RESPONSE
The next day, however, Akron City Council issued a press release "to set the record straight."
Here's their full statement from June 15:
“We stand behind our expression of concern to Mayor Malik. We want to be clear that we did not request that the mayor cancel all large gatherings on city-owned property. We wrote a letter expressing our concern about the hosting of the Juneteenth events after an earlier attempt to convey the magnitude of those concerns, particularly about the inequity of the police staff ratio for the different events were unfruitful. The decision to attribute the scope of the concerns to all events being held on city-owned property, and cancel those events too was Mayor Malik’s decision and his decision alone.
While there may have been no known credible threats against this year’s Juneteenth events, the fact remains that gun play and gun violence is an everyday reality in the African American community. Gun violence is impacting the African American community in Akron at an alarming rate. Those who do not share such lived experiences are challenged to fully understand and appreciate the fear and trauma experienced by those for which gun violence is an everyday occurrence. A young man was shot at a Juneteenth event last year and his life will forever impacted. His shooter has still not been apprehended. Shootings occur at football practices. “Events can always take place, a lost life can never be replaced, said Ward 5 Councilman Johnnie Hannah. We appealed to the Mayor out of an abundance of caution and stand by our decision.” “The bottom line is that the request was to pause events due to the inequity of the police presence”, said Ward 4 Councilwoman Jan Davis. “I learned that Mayor Malik had been in conversations with the event organizers, but not one time did he or his staff reach out to me as the Ward representative.”
The Mayor’s Together for Akron platform speaks to a level of collaboration that was not evident in the planning of the Juneteenth events. The Mayor had an opportunity to reach out to the Council Members to work collaboratively in planning the Juneteenth events scheduled to take place this weekend. Neither the Mayor nor his Chief of Strategy Nanette Pitt chose to do so. Additionally, the safety plan so often referenced was not shared with the relevant members of Council. We welcomed the opportunity to attend yesterday’s press conference but were informed by Chief of Strategy Nanette Pitt that the Council was not invited. When questioned about our absence on two occasions, the Mayor did not respond.
“Our constituents call us when problems arise and to express their fears, and the administration is reluctant to share information with Council that can assist in ensuring that the residents’ concerns are adequately addressed”, said Council President Margo Sommerville. “We have to do better; our city deserves better.”
AKRON BUSINESSES ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF LAST WEEKEND'S EVENT CANCELLATIONS
Eddies Famous Cheesesteaks, which is located on South Main Street in downtown Akron, shared several photos last Saturday to address the event cancellations. You can see the post below:
The Lockview, meanwhile shared the following post on their Facebook page Thursday: