The City of Knoxville is severing ties with Turn Up Knox, a violence prevention organization.
Officials say while the circumstances that led to the decision to terminate the Agreement are unfortunate.
The city’s first contract with Turn Up Knox was for $450,000.
In 2023, during the second contract, Officials became concerned with inner workings of Turn Up Knox after the organization said it adopted a budget that was $100,000 above what the city contract was for.
City officials said it paid its final quarterly payment in May of 2024 following the terms of its contract with Turn Up Knox, but the organizations expenditures exceeded the available funds they had, and the organization ran out of money before the end of the of the contract.
However, the city said despite the spending, Turn Up Knox was meeting the city’s expectations, so it helped the organization apply and obtain two grants from NICJR totaling $85,000.
Despite the spending, the city said it entered into a third contract with Turn Up Knox in October of 2024. City officials said they were encouraged by the work the group was doing and had reassurances from Turn Up Knox that it was addressing management issues.
The city said that after entering into the third contract management issues “took a turn for the worse” and outlined the following as the problems:
Failing to account for taxpayer dollars in a timely and transparent manner
Failing to attend meetings
Delays in submitting required reports
Misrepresenting contract details
Inconsistent communications
According to the release, after months of trying to work with Turn Up Knox to address management issues, the city said it lost faith in the executive leadership and decided to terminate the contract effective Feb. 7, 2025.
The city told WVLT News it paid the organization $957,701.51 over nearly three years.
WVLT News reached out to Denzel Grant, the executive director of Turn Up Knox, and received the following statement:
I want to make it clear that Turn Up Knox has always been committed to this work because we know firsthand what’s been at stake.
In 2021, Knoxville saw some of its highest homicide numbers, with many of the victims being young people and an alarming number of Black and Brown women. That violence is what brought us all to the table in the first place. Our team stepped up with the support from the city because we knew the community needed real solutions. Over the last two years, we’ve shown what’s possible—fewer shootings, fewer homicides, and more young people engaged in positive opportunities. There’s no other group in the city with this level of experience, and we’ve seen the impact firsthand. In 2019, Black and Brown men and women made up 75% of the city’s homicide victims. By 2024, that number had dropped to 39%. That’s not a coincidence—that’s the result of intentional, community-driven violence interruption.
Unfortunately, it seems the Mayor and OCSE have allowed their egos to overshadow the mission. Instead of focusing on solutions, they moved the goalposts and shut us out of conversations and then accused us for the very same thing. These are the same city staff who decided to terminate the contract without City Council’s input. If City Council has the authority to approve the contract and funding, but the mayor and OCSE can unilaterally decide to terminate it, then what does that say about our city’s hierarchy or legislative power.
If the city has had these concerns since 2023. Why are they being brought up now. Why would the Mayor be quoted saying “We have her full confidence on Oct 15 2024. But November 1st once the contract was signed things went sour? Once the contract was signed reporting requirements were changed. Unknown to city council & Turn Up Knox. We expressed that frustration & was told to be silent. While we haven’t been perfect, we’ve made progress without the administrative support from OCSE. If there is any documentation of ineffective. Why just say it, they should release the proof. The community deserves that transparency & as an organization will should be held accountable. But terminating a contract strictly off emotions & not facts is unwarranted. Turn Up Knox will continue to push for change. We know the people who have supported us see the value in what we do, and we believe they will stand with us in demanding accountability.
