THE MORNING DETOUR HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE DENOUNCING DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT BY MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL EMPLOYEES

The Morning Detour, CKUT’s Urban Friday Morning Radio Show (7am-9am), covers black entrepreneurship, urban music, culture, wellness and events affecting the black community in Montreal. Their passion and hard work has resulted in a growing number of listeners and supporters. CKUT music department requested Media Accreditation for this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival confident that the coverage and unique spin would be valuable to listeners, the Jazz Festival and rewarding for the artists they chose to cover.
Unfortunately the experience proved otherwise when, with little explanation, their accreditation was withdrawn 10 minutes before a scheduled interview with Ray Angry, keyboard member of the Roots. The hosts of The Morning Detour believe that they were treated with disrespect and were frustrated and insulted by the experience and believe it to be indicative of the micro aggressions and “pushing out” BIPOC people face especially when dealing with Corporate institutions. As Svetlana said, they believe it is their responsibility as hosts of a pioneering Black championing radio show to name it and speak out - so they held a press conference in DJ Kicks a sneaker store in NDG where they host the show and Alain Babineau of the Red Coalition. As Ian “Wizzy Moonchaser” Thomas host and producer of The Morning Detour stated; mainstream media may from time to time play the hits from these artists but CKUT consistently play hip hop rooted in the jazz tradition and The Morning Detour are speaking directly to the listeners whose lives this music reflects.
CKUT 90.3 FM denounces the treatment of The Morning Detour hosts Ian “Wizzy Moonchaser” Thomas and Svetlana Chernienko by Montreal Jazz Fest employees on Saturday, July 9th. The hosts shared their experiences in a press conference with a representative of The Red Coalition this Friday morning, linked here. We encourage our listeners to read the press release and share this story with their networks and communities.
We are frustrated that Montreal Jazz Fest inexplicably revoked The Morning Detour’s media accreditation, and by the insulting reaction by multiple Jazz Fest employees when the hosts tried to find out why this happened. It is unacceptable and repulsive that Jazz Fest deemed The Morning Detour hosts’ coverage and presence as having less value compared to the white media teams present. This happened as The Morning Detour was working to share the experiences of the Festival’s Black artists with the Black anglophone community of Montreal, a community that resists relentless racist violence by the city and its institutions.
CKUT calls on Montreal Jazz Fest to file the appropriate complaints and take responsibility for the mistreatment of The Morning After hosts per their wishes. Montreal Jazz Fest celebrates Black music that was pioneered in Montreal’s Black anglophone community. CKUT recognizes that the anti-Black discrimination The Morning Detour faced is part of a pattern by Montreal Jazz Fest, and takes place in the context of ongoing white supremacy in Montreal and Canada.
CKUT is proud to host The Morning Detour on our airwaves.