This story was told by Edwin N. Sumpter Jr., a 61-year-old resident of Boston and lifelong Red Sox fan, and has been transcribed and edited from a conversation with Emily Turner.
The Fenway Concert Series started in 2003. In 19 years of this concert series … not one has been headlined by a person of color — with the exception of two nights in 2013. Jay-Z co-headlined with Justin Timberlake. They happened to be performing together around the world for a tour. So you had to get one to get the other. If it weren’t for those two nights, it would be zero of 81 shows … in a city that by some estimates is over 50 percent people of color.