(Tiny Jag/Getty Images)
Tiny Jag, a biracial rapper, has canceled her scheduled appearance at a Michigan music festival after learning that white people would be charged twice as much to attend the show as “people of color.”
Tiny Jag, whose real name is Jillian Graham, was scheduled to perform at AfroFuture Fest’s event in Detroit in August.
“I was immediately enraged just because I am biracial,” Graham told the Detroit Metro Times. “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.”
The early bird “people of color” tickets cost $10, while “non-POC” tickets cost $20, the news outlet reported on Thursday. The rapper said she learned of the festival’s pay model when a white friend sent her a screenshot of an Instagram advertisement. She later publicly withdrew her support.
Graham — whose grandmother is white — said while she understands the goal of equity and equality for the black community, she called the moved “non-progressive” and “not solution-focused.”
“It seems almost like it has spite, and unfortunately with spite comes hate, and that’s just not obviously going to be a good direction for us to go if we’re looking for positive change,” she told the news outlet.
AfroFuture explained their policy and rationale for it on their Eventbrite page. Organizers cite “equality” and “equity” in their ticketing, and state their 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,” organizers wrote.
WIBC host Tony Katz commented on the story Monday morning:
“Every time we hear the conservation of equality, we are shown all the ways that nobody needs it. No one is worried about equality in the slightest. It seems what they are most interested in is saying, ‘We’ll show you.’”
Click the link below to hear Tony’s full commentary.
