Interesting comments, Azizi...

An African-American singer I like, Vance Gilbert, performs at
folk fests, (notably Falcon Ridge, for one), and frequently
uses a line about "being one of the few choco;ate chips in
the cookie" from the stage.

As a white social worker who works in a majority African-
American setting, I have a fairly good vantage point to view
the cultural differences. I think the dislike of what's "old"
is very noticable among African-Americans. We show a movie
each week, and "old" movies, even if they feature African-
American actors, are not highly favored.

I think for festivals to draw a noticable number of African-Americans, a substantial amount of attention must be paid to
how to make that happen. One cultural difference is that the
great majority of African-Americans do not have fond memories
of tent camping with their families or scout troops. Some do
have memories of it in re: to military service, but that may
not be a "fond" memory. If I were trying to plan a fest that
might attract a substantial number of African-Americans, I
would either plan a one-day festival, or plan one in an urban
area where there are hotels, or where people might have a
friend whom they could ask to put them up overnight.

Secondly, I think one would need to have a certain number of
"known" African-American performers on the bill. Since jazz festivals do draw a substantial number of African-Americans,
I would suggest branching out in that direction.

One thing to remember is that while we focus on race and
racism, another factor that slides through almost invisibly
in the US, (not so invisibly in the UK, I think) is class and classism. People who are just scraping by don't have the
money for expensive tickets. People who use public transit
have no way to get to a fest that's out in the country. Then
if you do get to a festival somehow, if they don't have the
kinds of food you're used to eating, you're not going to feel
very much at home.

Pete and Toshi Seeger and other Clearwater festival planners
have done a lot of work to make their fest accessible and
inviting to people with disabilities. The fact that it is accessible by train from NYC also makes it possible for people
who don't have cars. And I think they do cross over into jazz
with some of the acts on their bill. (I haven't been to
Clearwater lately, so I don't know for sure who they've had in recent years.)

Common Ground on the Hill, the music and dance "camp" at the \college that used to be called Western Maryland University,
has also made a concerted effort. They offer courses in
African dance and gospel singing that are taken by many white attendees. They give svcholarshios to African-American
children fromm the town, and they often take Appalachian dance. They always feature a course called Martin and Malcolm, which
looks at social change from their perspectives and others.

To appeal to people of all races takes more than just
repealing Jim Crow Laws, it takes cultivating cultural
understanding and PLANNING.

Marymac