The local station NBC-5 has withdrawn its sponsorship of Chicago’s African/Caribbean International Festival of Life, to be held July 4 in Washington Park, 5500 S. Cottage Grove. The station reacted to Black LGBTA activists who constantly faxed, e-mailed and called to ask NBC-5 to take action in light of the fact that reggae artist Buju Banton—who sings songs with anti-gay lyrics—is scheduled to perform at the festival.
Deborah Brown, director of station relations at NBC-5, e-mailed Windy City Times to confirm this development: ‘NBC-5 is no longer a sponsor of the International Festival of Life.’
The Rev. Deborah Lake of Sankofa Way, one of the organizations protesting the festival, told Windy City Times that other sponsors have withdrawn their support, but she has not seen a list of the now-former backers.
In a related matter, three other well-known reggae singers—Sizzla, Capleton and Beenie Man—have signed the Reggae Compassionate Act and have supposedly renounced their homophobia. What does Lake think of this development? ‘It’s kind of a wait-and-see thing for me,’ she said. ‘I’m not that excited about it [yet], but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.’
Other sponsors of the festival include the Chicago Park District and Western Union.