The Memphis Chapter of Food Not Bombs has written a letter claiming that the Downtown Memphis Commission has committed “content-based discrimination” on the basis of the First Amendment. The chapter also questioned the DMC’s authority to “require and issue permits to non-vendors.”
In a letter addressed to Paul Young, president and CEO of the Downtown Memphis Commission, chapter members explained that they were having a picnic at Court Square Park and giving food to people in need. They then said that members of the DMC’s Blue Suede Brigade began to “harass them.”
“The first police interaction involved a new member of the Blue Suede Brigade, who initially thanked us for our presence and said he would tell folks in need that we had food for them. He then walked away,” the letter said.
According to the letter, Food Not Bombs was then asked if they had a permit, and they allegedly explained that since they were not selling anything, a permit was not required.
“This chapter of Food Not Bombs has been active for one year and we have never been ordered to obtain a permit for having a picnic and sharing food. In the year that we have been having picnics and providing food to people in need, we have never had an incident anywhere else in the city,” they said.
The DMC responded under Food Not Bombs’ social media post saying that they apologized and that they did not “get it all right” in their conversations with Food Not Bombs and the Blue Suede Brigade.
“Our officers were correct in mentioning the permits necessary for activation in Court Square Park. But they should have felt empowered to waive this requirement for the type of use your team was engaged in,” they said in a comment.
They also thanked Food Not Bombs for the “opportunity to learn, grow, and be better community advocates,” and said that they will be implementing new training protocols immediately.
