PEORIA (25News Now) – Peoria Park District leaders are explaining comments made during a board meeting that made inaccurate parallels between the Peoria’s NAACP chapter and a Trump rally held in late September.
The park district’s response came after Peoria NAACP President and Pastor Marvin Hightower and Dr. Gregory Wilson of the YANI Collective Juneteenth expressed their concerns in a letter shared with the public last Friday, Oct. 4.
The comments came from Park District Executive Director Emily Cahill and Board President Robert Johnson Sr. at the Oct. 2 board meeting. During an hour-long discussion at the meeting, Cahill and Johnson said some people might find NAACP-organized activities as political.
This past June, the park district allowed the NAACP to use the stage at Martin Luther King Jr. Park for the Ernestine Jackson Freedom Day Parade, which was part of the Juneteenth commemoration.
“It wasn’t a political event. It was a community event with many other community partners including the Peoria Park District coming together,” the letter said.
Cahill said Trump rally organizers were allowed to rent a shelter at Detweiler for a fee because the park would only be used as a gathering place before the parade.
“No one presented information there. They met and drove somewhere else,” Cahill said.
In response, the group said “a blatantly false equivalency” was made between the NAACP use of park property and the Trump Train Patriot Rally held Sunday, Sept. 29.
Late Thursday afternoon, Cahill said the park district “expresses regret” for the comments made during the meeting.
“It was not the intent of the district or any of its representatives to in any way assert that the NAACP is a political party. Further, the commentary was not meant to suggest that Juneteenth is a political event,” Cahill said.
The following is the entire park district statement released Thursday, Oct. 10.
“In response to correspondence received from the Peoria Branch of the NAACP last week, the Peoria Park District expresses regret that comments made as part of the Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday, October 2, raised concerns from the NAACP. It was not the intent of the district or any of its representatives to in any way assert that the NAACP is a political party. Further, the commentary was not meant to suggest that Juneteenth is a political event.
The Peoria Park District sincerely values the productive partnership that it has with the local branch of the NAACP and expresses appreciation to its leaders who have given of their time to support District efforts as part of its Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility. The district, and its leadership, look forward to continuing to partner to actively work to make Peoria a great place to live for all.”
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