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Since April 24th, 2011—when Sizzla,
a Jamaican dancehall performer, sang an anthem calling for the murder of gays
and lesbians at a concert sponsored by Coca-Cola in Montego Bay,
Jamaica—AIDS-Free World has demanded that the multinational corporation denounce
the performance, apologize for the irreparable harm caused by putting an
international microphone in the hands of a violent bigot, and create
institutional safeguards to guarantee that performers like Sizzla never cash a
Coca-Cola paycheck again.
According to a statement from
AIDS-Free World, “In what proved to be an often aggressive, year-long advocacy
campaign, composed of dozens of letters, emails, phone calls, and speeches,
AIDS-Free World turned an unforgiving spotlight on Coca-Cola’s corporate
negligence. AIDS-Free World can now report that Coca-Cola has completely
revised its sponsorship practices. An entirely new Global Music Sponsorship and
Musical Performance Agreement Policy has been developed and approved for
implementation in the 206 countries where Coca-Cola operates. This overdue
policy, if executed diligently, ends Coca-Cola’s implicit approval of the
ongoing stigmatization and brutalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender people around the world by performers of ‘Murder Music.’
“The Coca-Cola Company’s new policy
establishes a careful process by which Review Teams will conduct research on
all parties involved in sponsored music events and will assess many factors,
including violence to or degradation of any class of people (based on gender,
race, sexual orientation).”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
