Festival Charges Double Ticket Price for ‘Non-People of Colour’
Sky News, July 8, 2019
A music and arts festival in Detroit is charging fans different prices depending on their skin colour.
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Early bird tickets for “POC” were $10 and $20 for “Non-POC”.
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Later date pricing offers “POC” tickets for $20 and “Non-POC” tickets for $40.
It was not immediately clear what the method was for confirming race and identity of ticket purchasers.
The organisers explained their pricing in the “frequently asked questions” section of their event website.
It stated: “Why do we have POC (people of colour) and Non-POC (white people) tickets? I’m glad you asked! Equality means treating everyone the same.
“Equity is insuring (sic) everyone has what they need to be successful. Our ticket structure was built to insure (sic) that the most marginalised communities (people of colour) are provided with an equitable chance at enjoying events in their own community (black Detroit).”
Tiny Jag, a biracial rapper based in Detroit, has quit the event and insisted AfroFuture Fest removed her name from all promotional material.
She told the Detroit Metro Times: “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.”
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[Editor’s Note: AfroFuture cancelled its plans for race-based ticket prices after Eventbrite warned them against discriminatory pricing.]
