The Detroit music festival AfroFuture attracted criticism this past weekend after it was revealed that it was charging different amounts for white attendees and those identifying as POC (people of color). How the festival would determine genealogy was never addressed. However, after biracial rapper Tiny Jag pulled out of the festival over the controversy, the festival gained national attention.
“I was immediately enraged just because I am biracial. I have family members that would have, under those circumstances, been subjected to something that I would not ever want them to be in … especially not because of anything that I have going on,” Tiny Jag told the Detroit Metro Times.
AfroFuture’s pricing structure was: Early bird tickets for “POC” were $10 and $20 for “Non POC.” Later date pricing tiers offered “POC” tickets for $20 and “Non POC” tickets for $40.
On Sunday, the festival responded to criticism and changed the structure.
“For the safety of our community, family, elders who received threats from white supremacists, & youth who were subjected to seeing racist comments on our IG pg, Afrofuture Fest has changed our ticketing model to $20 General Admission & suggested donation for nonPOC on @eventbrite,” organizers announced on Twitter late Sunday.
That being said, it is still against Eventbrite’s Terms & Conditions to use a pricing structure based on characteristics protected by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“We do not permit events that require attendees to pay different prices based on their protected characteristics such as race or ethnicity,” a rep told the Independent.
For now, AfroFuture is still going on as planned.
This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Detroit music festival removes different price tiers based on race
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