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Rooting out racism >> Reggae Against Racism sheds light on a dirty little secret
Mirror:
How do you think an event like this can help to bring awareness to the
fact that racism is alive and well? Uryah Collins:
I guess the idea is to bring as many bands and performers together from
as many different cultures as possible. We’re trying to get white
kids, black kids or Chinese kids to come out and see that that this
was organized and executed by a lot of different people from different
backgrounds. In terms of the Reggae Against Racism show, reggae has
always been a music of protest and a great way to bring attention to
a lot of injustice that still makes up a part of some people’s
everyday lives. It’s about challenging whatever structure is in
place. M: Between
the two shows you’ve done this year, you’ve got everything
from Inuit throat-singing to Japanese drumming, breakdancers, live painting
and DJs. Are these things easier to organize when it’s for a good
cause? UC: Well,
a really big problem we had last year was that everybody wanted to get
paid, and one of the more well-known bands that we had booked took a
stand and said, “You either do it for the cause or you don’t.”
Even in an event like this, some artists seem to think that the organizers
are walking away with a fat pocket full of money. That’s probably
the biggest hurdle we’ve had to deal with, finding a way to do
everything we can for the artists involved with basically no budget
to do it. Last year Jah Cutta had to turn us down because of previously
booked obligations. This year, he said that no matter what he’s
doing, he’ll come and play. M: I understand
that with Noctua II and Reggae Against Racism, you might have the beginnings
of a growing Montreal tradition that could take its place with some
of our more well-known festivities. UC: It’s an opportunity to see things that you may have never heard of or seen before, and that is in and of itself reason for a festival. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag but we’re presently working on a Reggaefest much like Vermont’s annual festival, only in Montreal. : Reggae Against
Racism (featuring Kulcha Connection, Irony, DJ Flex, and many more,
hosted by CKUT’s Prym Tym) is at Club Soda on Friday, March 22,
8pm, $12
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As
part of a wide array of activities going on this week during AWAR (A
Week of Action Against Racism), nearly 60 Quebec organizations will
participate in festivities that will unite diverse segments of the population
for a series of events, showcases and discussions. Last Wednesday’s
Noctua II and this Friday’s Reggae Against Racism are two shows
organized by local group Monkey and Lion Productions that aims to represent
ethnocultural diversity in Montreal through music, interdisciplinary
arts and even food. I spoke to event organizer Uryah Collins about the
cause.