As upbeat as celebrations like today’s LGBTQ Pride events are here in NYC, they are rooted in defiance of the suffocating unjust norms that entrapped people in this city and across the country for generations – newly emancipating broad groups of people over the last 50 years or so. As New York City led the way with the Stonewall riots for sexual minorities, it sends this message today to people across the globe that you will be free too, even if it doesn’t feel that way right now in your country.
But LGBTQ folks needed straight allies to get their rights over five decades. Today we have to speak up loud and proud for immigrants. If you need to punch, figuratively, don’t punch downward. These people have done nothing to hurt you and are bringing a the identical aspirations your parents, grandparents, great grandparents did. Don’t believe the hype of the traumatizer who blames the traumatized.
Punch UP at the folks who shifted all the jobs away, just lowered their own taxes to their lowest rate in your entire lifetime, who are shredding the social safety net, who are creating jobs that pay so little you still have to get food stamps, who are trying to convince poor people that poor people are their enemy. It’s an old old trick and it appears to still work marvelously.
This week on BSA Images of the Week we see that just a few Street Artists are addressing these new disgusting revelations and systemic problems, even as 700 Migrant Kids Separated From Parents Are in NY.
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Anthony Lister, Bordalo II, Charles Williams, City Kitty, Danny Minnick, Etnik, FKDL, Lapiz, LMNOPI, Individual Activist, Niko, Nick Walker, Olivia Laita, Revaf, Sofles, Soten, and Strayones.
Top image: This beautifully hand rendered drawing is signed but unfortunately we can’t read the language so we can’t identify the artist. Please help. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
This beautifully hand rendered drawing is signed but unfortunately we can’t read the language so we can’t identify the artist. Please help. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Individual Activist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Anthony Lister being entertained by The Drif in Little Italy for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
An outstanding collaboration between Charles Williams and Bordalo II in Moorea, French Polynesia for ONO’U Tahiti Festival 2018. (photo © Olivia Laita)
Strayones (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NIKO (photo © Jaime Rojo)
City Kitty in collaboration with LMNOPI. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)
LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)
LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lapiz. Farblut Festival 2018. Bremen, Germany. (photo © Lapiz)
“The soccer world cup has begun and I took the opportunity to paint a mural about Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. It was painted during the FARBFLUT festival which took place last weekend where 200 artist painted a 1000 m wall. The mural itself measures 6 x 3.50 m.
The motive shows the Russian president Vladimir Putin kissing Vladimir Putin. The colours are those of the rainbow flag and it has the words ‘One Love’ written above it. The picture addresses Putin’s narcissism and even more the homophobic tendencies supported by the Russian
government.”
Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Soten. Moorea, French Polynesia for ONO’U Tahiti Festival 2018. (photo © Olivia Laita)
Soten. Moorea, French Polynesia for ONO’U Tahiti Festival 2018. (photo © Olivia Laita)
Etnik. Prato, Italy. (photo © Etnik)
Sofles. Tahiti, French Polynesia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sofles. Tahiti, French Polynesia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Danny Minnick for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Nick Walker. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Not Invaders in Tahiti, French Polynesia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gulf Revaf (photo © Jaime Rojo)
FKDL (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. West Village, NYC. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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