An alliance between an African/Caribbean community leader; the Black LGBT spiritual organization Sankofa Way; and the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations’ Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues has culminated in a unified statement opposing the anti-gay lyrics written by reggae artist Buju Banton. Banton was slated to appear at the African/Caribbean International Festival of Life, held July 4 in Washington Park, 5500 S. Cottage Grove.
As a result of issues raised by Sankofa Way’s the Rev. Deborah Lake and voices of outrage from the community, major sponsors for the festival have withdrawn their support, including local TV station NBC-5. The University of Chicago and the Chicago Park District have also taken their names off the festival’s sponsorship list.
The park district is the latest entity to withdraw. A letter signed by its CEO and general superintendent, Timothy J. Mitchell (and addressed to the advisory council’s Bill Greaves), states that the district ‘is not a sponsor of the event, and [that] no Chicago Park District dollars are being spent on the event.’ The local advisory council has written several people—including Mitchell, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley—to express its displeasure with Banton’s appearance.
‘Our purpose is not to oppose Buju as a performer or as an individual, said William Lockett, program director for Black LGBT & Allies For Equality. ‘Our purpose is to invite him into the process of healing our community.’ According to a statement from Sankofa Way, the festival’s promoter, Ephraim Martin of Martin’s International Culture, has said, ‘…we are totally against the lyrics of the song. We are totally against any call for violence in music…’ In addition, the statement said that Karla Armour, artistically known as FyreMouff, would not perform during the festival unless the controversy over Banton’s lyrics was resolved.