Wilmington, DE – After months of negotiations, the ACLU of Delaware (ACLU-DE) has successfully petitioned the Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC) to modify policies that blocked the use of one of its public parks for protest activities with a new exemption request form. The policy change was spurred by First Amendment challenges encountered by local community organizers in June 2023.
Last summer, organizers sought to stage a protest and march in Tubman-Garrett Park – named after civil rights leaders Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett, and located on Rosa Parks Drive in Wilmington. Two days prior to the protest, organizers received correspondence from RDC that cited a failure to submit the required forms and deposit payments to host an event in the public park. The requirements amounted to several thousands of dollars in fees, as well as a 45-day advance notice.
ACLU-DE stepped in on behalf of current and future protestors for which the requirements represented unreasonable time, place, and manner restrictions to exercise their First Amendment rights. Requiring such advance notice greatly limits community members’ ability to organize quickly in response to current events, and the excessive fees limit the participation of low-income people.
“Given today’s 24-hour news cycle, people need to be able to gather quickly in response to what’s happening around them without being subject to excessive fees and waiting periods,” states ACLU-DE Legal Fellow Jared Silberglied. “We're glad that the RDC recognized this and cooperated with us to craft new guidelines that protect people’s First Amendment right to have their voices heard.”
The new agreement reached between ACLU-DE and RDC now allows anyone seeking to put on a protest at Tubman-Garrett Park to fill out an exemption request form. The new form waives both the 45-day notice requirement, and all fees associated with the park. City and RDC permit requirements remain in place for events numbering more than 100 participants, and applicants must either acquire event insurance or agree to be held responsible for damages to the park that may result from their event.
