Rally for Justice in Chagrin Canceled Due to High Tensions

June 4, 2020 by Cassandra Shofar

When Kenston Schools sophomore Chase Tuller organized a “Rally for Justice” in Chagrin Falls Village for June 2, he had hoped to rouse dialogue around race issues and police violence, both in the country and within his community.

However, what he had not anticipated was some of the rallies elsewhere, including in Cleveland on May 30, turning violent, causing tensions to be high and people to raise safety concerns around future rallies such as his — which has since been canceled. However, several protestors still showed up at Chagrin Falls’ Riverside Park Tuesday to peacefully protest.

“When I saw what happened to George Floyd, that really sparked my interest to have this rally in our town,” Tuller said, referring to the African American man killed in Minneapolis May 25 after a police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over 8 minutes, suffocating him. “I saw what was happening. I felt guilty continuing to stay silent. For me, that wasn’t an option and I thought I had to do something about it. When I planned this rally, the intent was to be peaceful. That’s what I wanted all along. But over the next few days, I started hearing around our country and even in Cleveland what was going on and people were starting to be really concerned about this.”

On May 31, Tuller posted on his “Rally for Justice” Facebook group page he was canceling the event, but hoped to reschedule it at a later time.

“Unfortunately, due to (the) tragic and systemic injustice of George Floyd and the sudden escalation of events that are occurring in our country and communities right now, I don’t feel it’s appropriate to continue on with our rally for justice protest,” he wrote. “We will reschedule for a later date when things become less tense and more safe. Know that this final decision to cancel this event was solely up to me as the protest organizer and was not influenced by any particular person or organization. I’m sorry to anyone who was looking forward to this event, however, I feel that this is the most appropriate option.”

Tuller — who said he is politically active and involved in the world around him, as well as in his community — picked Chagrin Falls Village due to its history with neighboring Chagrin Falls Park, an enclave located about 20 miles outside of Cleveland, in Geauga County, although it was gerrymandered away from Cuyahoga County. It is a neighborhood of approximately 150 homes in Bainbridge Township and part of Kenston Schools.

Since the 1950s, it is still almost entirely populated by African American residents, while the surrounding Village of Chagrin Falls, located in Cuyahoga County, and Bainbridge Township — two of Northeast Ohio’s wealthiest communities — remain almost entirely white communities.

Some historians and researchers have argued racism made it unlikely Chagrin Falls Village would annex, extend services to or share schools with the Chagrin Falls Park, despite their proximity and name sharing. In the 1920s, the Klu Klux Klan reportedly held a meeting in Chagrin Falls town hall. In addition, there are historical accounts of African Americans being denied service in village stores or seemingly having to wait for service until white residents were served.

Tuller said he believed that history made it important to spark dialogue in Chagrin Falls Village around race inequalities and allow people to speak up for themselves or those they support who have been impacted by race issues.

However, in the last several days, Tuller said he received messages — both on social media and via phone calls and texts to his personal phone — from people raising concerns about his rally, some even feeling threatening in nature.

“I feel like I definitely had generated a lot of interest. To me, it seems a lot of people in Chagrin are very closed-minded. Many (reached out to me) who didn’t like the idea of outsiders coming to Chagrin and didn’t like the idea of a Black Lives Matter rally at all,” Tuller said.

Posts on his group page, as well as the private Chagrin Village Block Club page, indicated support for Tuller, however, people did express concern about the timing and safety.

“I have a son the same age as Chase. Chase Tuller’s parents should be proud to have a son who took action on an issue in which he believes — while people are questioning his area code. This issue in this time has forced us to look at ourselves and come out of our comfort a zone,” one person wrote on the private page.

“How do you control outsiders from coming in and making it violent? I think this kid is a good leader for doing this, but you can’t control masses of bad coming in,” another person wrote. “This is happening all over the place, just watch the news. I hope the police are ready to keep our beautiful village safe. I do not feel safe attending. Praying for everyone.”

On Tuller’s group page, Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: “I am so sorry to hear this and that we will not be able to peacefully rally together in solidarity to raise awareness and encourage justice and equality for all our citizens. The fear some residents of Chagrin Falls were feeling about this rally being held in town can’t even compare to the fear POC face daily because of their race. So I truly hope it did not influence your decision to cancel and I look forward to you rescheduling.”

Tuller reiterated he does plan to reschedule the event when things calm down.

“White silence and people not being involved in issues like this is just going to lead to more violence,” he said. “I think people need to stand up and speak out for others even if they are not directly impacted by these issues.”

Ian Friedman, a criminal defense attorney who lives in Bainbridge Township and is president of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, is a fan of Tuller’s and hopes to meet him someday soon.

“I was very pleased to see that a young man would take the initiative to move forward, to see the need for this sort of rally and then actually follow through on it, and call it in a place that he thought it needed to be heard,” said Friedman, who was one of the featured speakers at a peaceful Black Lives Matter event in Cleveland on Saturday, before events turned ugly later that evening.

Friedman said he reached out to Tuller to offer assistance with logistics or speakers, but also to address the people’s fears about how many people — and who — were expected to attend the rally.

“After communicating with him, it was clear as day to me that what he was doing was so aspirational; he was there because he wanted open dialogue to just move toward a better place in this world, and he was starting in our hometown,” Friedman explained. “I mean, what more can you ask of our young today.”

Friedman said he was disappointed to see the rally canceled, but he hopes the message Tuller was hoping to convey is not lost or let go.

“I think we do have to recognize, just from the responses that he received, we do have to recognize that this dialogue must be had,” he added. “We have to be uncomfortable right now; we have to remain uncomfortable until there is no longer a need to have this dialogue. And being uncomfortable is OK. We’ve all seen what happened and at this point cannot close our eyes, and to do so would be complicit.”

Friedman said Tuller recognized the need for a dialogue and the fact he tried to start that conversation in the community speaks volumes about his character.

“It gave me hope, because right now it’s so easy to lose hope, it’s so easy to be scared and think there’s not going to be a next generation,” he added. “And then you see someone like Chase Tuller and it does give you some faith that things will be OK when we’re long gone.”

John Karlovec contributed to this story.