V/A - "Bay Area Artists Against Apartheid" 2xLP

    
1. Lewis Patzner - What To Do  
2. The Palestinian Youth Ensemble - Helwa Ciao (pt 1)  
3. Zheniia - Everybody Wants to Rule the World  
4. Javier Santiago - Hafrada  
5. Chris Cohen - Randy's Chimes (live at Face Z Festival, Geneva 2024)  
6. Citizens Jazz - Freedom  
7. Equipto - Molotov (reprise)  
8. Romanowski - Aparthate  
9. Corazón de Cedro - La Lloroncita 

10. Michael Louis - Hope 
11. Evan Frances - Apartheid Still Lives in the West Bank  
12. the Colors Collective - Free Cell Block F tis Nazi USA  
13. the Hogan Brothers w/ Tiffany Austin - We Shall Overcome  
14. The Palestinian Youth Ensemble - Helwa Ciao (pt 2)  

Since October 2023, we have witnessed a genocide live-streamed around the world. Internationally, Israel has been condemned for mass starvation and the targeted bombing of Palestinian hospitals, schools, and homes. Over 70,000 Palestinians have been martyred by the state of Israel, and many more lie trapped beneath the rubble. The world has watched in horror at the blatant disregard for human life in Gaza, but the masses have also risen up for Palestine.

Globally, we have seen millions take to the streets calling for liberation for the Palestinian people. In the Bay Area, we have seen students build encampments to protest universities' ties with Zionism. We have seen port workers refuse to load weapon shipments heading to the Zionist entity. And campaigns like Mask Off Maersk and the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo have played a role in activating the masses across the globe to end the genocide. People from around the Bay Area and around the world now see clearly what is transpiring in Palestine: this is imperialism, ethnic cleansing, and settler-colonialism in action. 

This shift is exactly what it takes to build a principled movement that can challenge even the mightiest of empires.

Why Culture Matters—Art as Resistance

An important lesson from this moment—and from every liberation struggle in history—is that cultural resistance is intrinsic to the struggle for liberation itself.

Culture is not separate from politics. It is where politics lives and breathes. Culture shapes how we see the world, what we believe is possible, and who we believe deserves dignity. For too long, the dominant culture has dehumanized Palestinians, erased their history, and justified their oppression.

Culture also plays a role in reinforcing important ideals and lessons in the struggle: in Palestinian folklore, there are countless poems around the importance of steadfastness, of sacrifice, and of return.

As artists, we have a responsibility to challenge narratives that dehumanize Palestinians and that challenge their legitimacy to resist occupation and imperialism. As artists, we have an obligation to create space for truth, to amplify voices that have been silenced, and to make art that refuses complicity.