Cancel Buju Banton Group Created on Facebook

GayRVA Staff
September 4, 2009

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Read More: Buju Banton, The National

Community organizers have created a Facebook group called “Cancel Buju Banton ‘Faggots Must Die’ Shows in Virginia” in response to Buju Banton’s scheduled appearance at the National on September 26.  September 26 also happens to be the 25th anniversary of gay pride being held in Virginia.  GayRVA has contacted Rising Tide Productions and has not yet received a response.

At the time of this posting, the group already had 363 members that have been encouraged to call The National and Rising Tide Productions to express their opinion.

From the Facebook group:

Rising Tide Productions has scheduled a Buju Banton
concert at the The National Theater in Richmond Sept 26 and at the Norva in Norfolk Sept 25. The Richmond date coincides with Richmond’s 25th Anniversary Pride Festival.

Buju Banton is a Jamaican reggae singer who in a twenty-year career has repeatedly called for the maiming and murder of gay men. Banton’s song Boom Bye Bye proposed pouring acid on gays and shooting them in the head. Other lyrics state “Anytime Buju Banton come, faggots get up and run … they have to die.”

Communities across the country have demanded the cancellation of Banton’s performances and in major markets like Los Angeles, promoters Live Nation and AEG Live/Goldenvoice have complied. Smaller cities like Richmond remain on Banton’s tour schedule, and the Richmond LGBT community demands that Banton’s local promoters show Central Virginia’s residents the same consideration shown by promoters in larger markets.

“In Buju Banton’s native Jamaica, anti-gay violence is rife and typically tolerated by the authorities. Gay sex is punishable by 10 years in prison. Buju Banton both feeds off of and encourages this violence. As Passport magazine reported,”When [Human Rights Watch researcher Rebecca] Schleifer visited Jamaica in 2004, Brian Williamson, the country’s leading gay activist, was violently chopped to death with a machete in his apartment in Kingston. Schleifer walked to his street shortly after the murder and found a crowd of people gathered outside Williamson’s apartment singing and celebrating his murder and shouting the chorus of ‘Boom Bye Bye,’ a popular Buju Banton dancehall hit about shooting gay men: ‘Boom bye bye, in a faggot’s head. Rude boys don’t promote nasty men, they have to die.’ Others were laughing and yelling, ‘Let’s get them one at a time,’ and, ‘That’s what you get for sin.’”"

While we support free speech, we condemn hate filled, murder inciting music. This performer does not meet Richmond’s community standards.

Rising Tide Productions needs to cancel these shows
Rising Tide info@rtconcerts.com 757-622-9877
National Theater 804-612-1900
Norva Theater 757-627-4547 questions@thenorva.com

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