Music Festival Under Fire for Reverse-Racist Ticket Policy
As much as I wish that we could all agree that racism of any kind is unacceptable, a music festival in Detroit is proving that to be a pipe dream. Organizers of the "Afrofuture Music Festival," have decided that they are totally justified for charging double the standard ticket price if you are a certain color. That color is white.
According to Yahoo News, up and coming rapper Tiny Jag has dropped out of the festival policy after her friends asked her why they were being charged double for the tickets for the August the 3rd event. That's when she learned that the festival's ticket policy outlined different charges for POC (people of color) and Non-POC (whites).
When pressed on the issue, event organizers released this message on their Eventbrite ticket page:
"WHY DO WE HAVE POC(PEOPLE OF COLOR) AND NONPOC(WHITE PEOPLE) TICKETS? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!
EQUALITY MEANS TREATING EVERYONE THE SAME
EQUITY IS INSURING EVERYONE HAS WHAT THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL
OUR TICKET STRUCTURE WAS BUILT TO INSURE THAT THE MOST MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES (PEOPLE OF COLOR) ARE PROVIDED WITH AN EQUITABLE CHANCE AT ENJOYING EVENTS IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY(BLACK DETROIT).
AFFORDING JOY AND PLEASURE IS UNFORTUNATELY STILL A PRIVILEGE IN OUR SOCIETY FOR POC AND WE BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO RECEIVING SUCH.
WE'VE SEEN TOO MANY TIMES ORGASMIC EVENTS HAPPENING IN DETROIT AND OTHER POC POPULATED CITIES AND WHAT CONSISTENTLY HAPPENS IS PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFITING MOST FROM AFFORDABLE TICKET PRICES BECAUSE OF THEIR PROXIMITY TO WEALTH.
THIS CYCLE DISPROPORTIONATELY DISPLACES BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE FROM ENJOYING ENTERTAINMENT IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES.
Maybe there is something to this I don't understand, but this seems like the very definition of racism to me. What do you think?