Proving its genuine commitment and respect to the historical roots of reggae in Black culture, today the Seattle Reggae Festival proudly announced one of the 12 acts they’ve booked for their upcoming weekend-long event includes one actual Black person.
“This really is a major improvement from last year,” said festival-runner Trent Travis. “Don’t get me wrong—last year was great. We had everything from drum-circles to dreadlocks, we just didn’t have any black people. Rachel Dolezal doesn’t count, right?”
Trent expects ticket sales to skyrocket once Seattle reggae fans catch wind of this exciting addition to the already star-studded (and all white) lineup consisting of African Kangz, Jah Doobies, and Da Rasta Bruddahs.
“The Pacific Northwest, just like the rest of the West Coast, is all about diversity and inclusion—never the kind of cultural appropriation that would almost completely economically edge out the community that created this artform in the first place,” said Travis, after being asked kindly to not speak in the self-taught Jamaican patois he picked up in his hometown of Lacey, Washington. “As lovers of a musical genre that originated in Jamaica and played a powerful role in empowering Black communities the world over, we’re so proud that this year we’re going to have one black reggae musician open for three all-white reggae bands.”
Inspired by the announcement, it’s reported that several Seattle-area blues and rock and roll festivals may go as far as doing the same.
