Work had been underway for several months on this year’s Nov. 1 event when city staff received an email from the Alliance for Truth and Justice (ATJ). It contained detailed plans to invite descendants to their own Nov. 1 event, which also involved Unity Park as well as a video screening at the Orlando Museum of Art and a stop at the Ocoee Christian Church, which had protected many from the Klan that terrible night, refusing to surrender them even when the Klan fired on the church.

“It kind of blew us away when we got that information from them,” Doug Gaines, deputy director of Parks and Leisure Services, told VoxPopuli in a phone interview. “We got an email with all of their plans, and we had to say, Hold on, we're planning our own.” Gaines said ATJ had made no effort to coordinate plans prior to contacting the city, although the organization offered “to partner” with the city while not indicating how that might work.

VoxPopuli emailed the coordinator of the ATJ event for comment, but received no response.

The question was presented to the city commission: continue with plans for Ocoee Remembers or partner with ATJ? The commission unanimously chose to continue with the city’s original plans, which call for a ceremony at Unity Park's Memorial Wall and a reception at the Lakeshore Center.

“I think it’s our duty to do this,” Mayor Rusty Johnson said, adding that Alliance for Truth and Justice was free to join the city in its plans.

District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen concurred. “If people want to attend ATJ events, that’s their choice. But we, as a city, are planning our events at our park and our Lakeshore Center.”

District 4 Commissioner George Oliver III noted that he initially had not been happy with the early Ocoee Remembers event but said he was “proud” of what the city had accomplished with its reconciliation efforts since. He sounded slightly annoyed that ATJ “created a whole program without even consulting with us.”

“Let’s stick with what we have and move forward with the program we’ve already put together,” Oliver told the commission. He made a motion to do exactly that. It was seconded by District 1 Commissioner Scott Kennedy and passed unanimously with District 3 Commissioner Richard Firstner absent.

Gaines told VoxPopuli that his staff has since been in contact with the coordinator of the ATJ event.

“Hopefully it can all work out in the end," he said "and they’ll change their schedule so the descendants can do everything.”