The Covenant of the People of Akron
The Opening Ceremony on March 13, 2026
At the Opening Ceremony on March 13, 2026, a group of Akron residents did something they’d never done before. Together, they rose, recited a shared covenant, and signed their names.
The Akron Civic Assembly is a bet that a representative, randomly selected groups of Akronites — different ages, different neighborhoods, different politics — can sit together for ten weeks, wrestle with real tradeoffs, and arrive at recommendations for the community that are wise and fair.
The covenant is what makes that bet legible. It says: here is what we're all agreeing to be.
Contracts are transactional. But a covenant is something different. It’s a promise made in public, between people who need each other, to do together what none could do alone.
The document opens with this preamble:
In the spring of the twenty-sixth year of the twenty-first century, in the city of Akron, in the state of Ohio, in the United States of America, we — residents, community leaders, and elected officials — hereby join together in a civic undertaking of shared purpose and resolve.
Then the covenant names what the whole assembly is built on:
We believe in a promise at the heart of self-government: that the well-informed wisdom and goodwill of the people — met by a government willing to listen and act — leads to enduring progress and a better life for all.
From there it identifies the separate commitments of each Team in the room. Delegates commit to learning with open minds, listening with genuine respect, and seeking the good of the whole city — not just the parts they come from. Unify Akron commits to protecting the Assembly's independence, facilitating with neutrality, and staying engaged beyond the final vote. The City of Akron commits to giving serious consideration to every recommendation and issuing a formal public response to each one. The community commits to showing up as partners — in good faith, with honest effort, with a shared stake in what comes next.
After making these commitments to one another, the group of Akron residents affirmed:
This Assembly is not symbolic. It is not partisan. It is not temporary.
They confirmed that the Assembly is the beginning of a longer project: to strengthen trust, to improve life in Akron, and to prove that people who see the world differently can build something better together.
Of everything in the covenant, the closing line may be the one most worth sitting with:
To this covenant, we sign our names freely. And we shall keep our word.
Delegates and community members signing their names to the Covenant
Not "we intend to." Not "we will try." We shall keep our word.
Akronites stood in JAR Arena on a Friday evening in March 2026 and made that vow — not to politicians, not to funders, but to each other.
The covenant doesn't guarantee outcomes. But it holds up a mirror to everyone involved and asks: here is who you said you would be. Are you being that person?
In the weeks since, the answer has been yes.
