This story has been updated with comments from the City of Wilmington.
The ACLU of Delaware files a lawsuit against the City of Wilmington and the Wilmington Police Department for purportedly restricting First Amendment rights of a local community organizer.
Haneef Salaam submitted proposals to the city in 2023 to organize a series of public events called “Positive Vibes in the Park” as a part of Wilmington’s 2024 CityFest programming at the Urban Artist Exchange (UAE) Amphitheater, which is owned and managed by the City of Wilmington.
All of his proposals were approved in January 2024, and his events from March to July ran without issue.
But Salaam’s August event, while keeping with the art and spoken word theme, was centered around opposition to police violence.
“The city did not like that and decided to try to put content-based restrictions on his speech, and when he refused, they told him that he could not have the event there," explained Jared Silberglied, the ACLU-DE’s Penn Catalyst Legal Fellow.
The ACLU says two days before the event, city officials required Salaam to agree there would be no speeches about police violence, no signs, no chanting, and no use of the phrase “Justice for All.”
When Salaam rejected the requirements, he moved the event to a public library outside city limits.
“I think certainly this is not the first instance. We doubt this will be the last instance, but we think it's important to fight for these rights because the more we push back, the harder it becomes to oppress speech in the future," Silberglied said.
ACLU-DE is currently awaiting a formal legal response from the City of Wilmington and the Wilmington Police Department.
In a statement, the City of Wilmington's Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz says the UAE is an entertainment venue, not a public park or plaza where rallies and protests are permitted.
"In August, Mr. Salaam changed the previously approved arts and entertainment, to an event which was billed as 'Justice for All – A Rally for Police Transparency' to a public protest rally event. This was a completely different type of event that was both inconsistent with the agreement that had been reached and with the purpose and function of the UAE as an entertainment venue and cultural center," the statement reads.
Betz says the city only found out a few days before the event through a social media post that the nature of the event had "become something different than what had been approved or agreed to by the UAE and the even coordinator."
"Though an important cause, the 'Justice for All' rally did not align with our core mission of promoting the arts and providing a space for artistic engagement," Betz said. "We encourage conversations and actions surrounding social justice to continue in spaces designed for such civic discourse, while we remain committed to our role as a hub for artistic expression and cultural enrichment."
