OUTRAGEOUS

Bangladeshi Fest Nixed for Being Too ‘Ethnic,’ Organizer Says

The city council in Warren, Michigan is now calling on its attorney to draft an anti-discrimination ordinance—after discovering it doesn’t have one.

Officials in a Michigan city have canceled a planned Bangladeshi festival because they don’t want an “ethnic” event taking place in the city square, organizers claim. Jabed Chowdhury, the president of the Bangladeshi Association of Michigan, which organizes the long-running Bangladeshi American Festival in Warren, expressed shock at the decision in a letter to the city council. “Without any reason park recreation are canceling the event just because we are a people of color?!” Chowdhury wrote, according to the Detroit Metro Times. Chowdhury said Warren Parks and Recreation Director Dino Turcato informed BAM earlier this month that an “ethnic” festival could not take place in the Warren City Square. Organizers had already signed a rental agreement for the space, promoted the July event, and hired artists. The city council is now calling on its attorney to draw up an anti-discrimination ordinance, having discovered that the city has no such anti-discrimination measures on the books.