(Image: CHOP Art)
The City of Seattle backed away from creating a mountain of controversy and issued a last-minute permit to allow the CHOP Art group to hold a Juneteenth celebration in Cal Anderson Park this weekend, organizers say.
A collection of tents and shades went up along the park’s Bobby Morris playfield Friday along with a small stage area.
Thursday, the ACLU of Washington and the Public Defender Association threatened legal action on behalf of the group that formed out last year’s occupied protest in an effort to preserve and continue the artistic work from the protest zone.
CHS reported here on the plans for the Juneteenth celebration on the one-year anniversary of the formation of the CHOP protest zone and the city’s denial of permits for the event as officials said it is holding Cal Anderson area events to “higher-than-usual safety and security standards” due to the protests and two homicides around the occupied zone last summer.
The city also said community backlash shaped its decisions. “We have heard from community members expressing concerns that any events celebrating or commemorating the protests that occurred at Cal Anderson in the summer of 2020 would be disturbing or even traumatic to the community,” the city’s denial letter reads.
Friday’s decision in response to the legal threat allowed the city to take a different approach as officials issued a “provisional” First Amendment permit for the gathering, the Seattle Times reports.
Seattle City Hall will also soon face another potentially controversial decision on a Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill event.
While organizers of the official Seattle Pride downtown parade and celebrations have opted for virtual events this June and will hold off on in-person festivals and events until late this summer and fall, the small Capitol Hill Pride group that was denied five years ago as the permit holder for the annual LGBTQ street fair on Broadway has been moving forward with growing plans for a 2021 festival, rally, and march in the neighborhood as COVID-19 concerns are finally being lifted. An Office of Economic Development spokesperson tells CHS that two permits requested by Capitol Hill Pride remain under review.
CHOP Art’s Juneteenth celebration is slated to continue Saturday and Sunday, noon to 8 PM.
You can learn more at facebook.com/TheOfficialCHOPart.
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June 13, 2021 at 03:05AM
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City reverses course, issues permit for CHOP Art Juneteenth Celebration in Cal Anderson - CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News
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