Posted on September 23, 2022

Portland Art Event Lets Black People in for Free, Charges Everyone Else $80

Cortney Weil, The Blaze, September 20, 2022

An event at an art festival in Portland, Oregon, offered race-based admission pricing. According to an ad for the event, “Black folks” could attend for free or with a donation of their choice. All other attendees had to pay $80 a piece.

Black Feast: Black Imagerial, a three-hour event hosted last Sunday by Salimatu Amabebe and sponsored by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, was promoted as “a culinary event celebrating Black artists and writers through food.”

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In keeping with the “Black” theme of the event, black guests could attend for free. “**This event is free or by donation for Black folks,” the ad says, advising those who identify as black to use promo code “blackmovement” to receive their free tickets. It is unclear how a person’s black identity was verified or whether those of mixed race were able to attend free of charge.

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Despite the hefty $80 fee charged to non-black attendees, the event sold out, according to the website. {snip}

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