Statement of Solidarity

Beloved Community,

In no uncertain terms, The Bushwick Starr stands in support and solidarity with all movements of liberation that work and fight to secure full and robust human rights; the right to peace, the right to safety, the right to autonomy and personal agency, the right to healthcare, education, and artistic and cultural expression; the right to democratic participation in their governments, to a safe place to call home without the threat of displacement, violence and destruction; a life sustainable that is not caught in the constant crosshairs of political machinations.

The Bushwick Starr offers this statement because we have been Called In. We have been silent for too long and some members from our community have rightfully taken notice. They have approached us with generosity, with good faith, with hope and held us in gentle accountability. We are contrite but aim to be responsive and clear.

To that end, The Bushwick Starr unequivocally believes that the liberation of all people is bound up together, and that the Palestinian people have a right to full and tangible freedom - from fear, from starvation, from oppression. We call for an immediate ceasefire that facilitates lasting peace in Gaza, including reciprocal release of hostages and prisoners. We want to affirm that we condemn any occurrence where innocent people are used as collateral damage to make political statements or advance power. This includes the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023 that destroyed entire neighborhoods and families. We wholeheartedly support the safe and immediate release of every hostage abducted on that day as human lives should never be used as a wager of war.

We call for our representatives at the local, state and federal level of the United States government to advocate and agitate for a ceasefire that will end the ongoing siege in Palestine that has been perpetuated against innocent civilians, even as they flee areas under attack. We call for justice in Palestine. While The Bushwick Starr recognizes the complexity and length of global political history stretching back across generations, we reject war and dehumanization as solutions to conflict.

By engaging these highly sensitized themes, we invite candid conversation and frank discourse; however, The Bushwick Starr will never tolerate or condone hate speech or hateful behavior, ever; especially when it is perversely characterized as a tool of liberation. We will not platform Xenophobia or any form of hatred including Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Anti-Blackness and Queerphobia. In recognizing the dangerous rise of race prejudice since October 7, The Bushwick Starr redoubles our stance against Anti-Semitism and strongly denounces it in all of its forms.  Advocating for peace in Gaza does not mutually exclude the need for protection against antisemitic behavior.  We maintain our insistence for a ceasefire that leads to a viable peace for Palestine while also roundly rejecting antisemitism. We believe it is not only possible, but imperative that we are able to do both.

We also accept our special responsibility as Americans to demand an end to our own country’s tacit endorsement and direct funding of the ongoing occupation in Palestine; but The Bushwick Starr also recognizes that the world is inflamed by so many other humanitarian crises. We are mournfully reminded of the ongoing struggles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Ukraine and more that comprise this tragic litany. We know that the relentless forces of imperialism, capitalism and other manifestations of institutional power can be overwhelming and disheartening. Yet, we are compelled to recognize our privilege as spectators on the digital sidelines, scrolling headline after headline from the safety of our screens, devices that we can turn off and walk away from while people countries away are literally running and fighting for their lives, becoming the content that we consume in our feeds.

Even still, there are members of our community with loved ones directly impacted by these conflicts; for them, this is far from a distant tragedy but a deeply personal, daily horror. For those neighbors and friends, we grieve, and we fight for justice.

It is a heavy time, Beloved. 

But we are not without hope and we resist paralysis. In February, The Bushwick Starr joined a coalition of NYC theaters to support From Shakespeare to Gaza: Performances for Palestine, in compelling “New York theatre institutions to stand up in courage and demand a ceasefire now as a first step towards lasting peace in Palestine”. Along with them, we lift up The Freedom Theater in Jenin, along with other Palestinian artists and arts organizations who continue to create despite contending with the harrowing realities and daily horror of living in an active war zone.   

We know that a comprehensive response is achieved through urgency and sustained action. We amplify Queer Artists for Palestine, where signatures are being collected in support of a permanent ceasefire and www.ceasefiretoday.com which contains a non-exhaustive list, including links to contact your representatives, sign a petition, attend protests, and donate to Doctors Without Borders and the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.

We are also grateful to friends like Utkarsh Rajawat, Karl Saint Lucy and Max Raymond for sharing the following resources.

The Bushwick Starr redoubles our commitment to a tangible and evident peace in Palestine and everywhere else freedom and safety are denied. 

We invite you to join us or to extend an invitation to partner with you in your liberation efforts.