Declaration of APARTHEID FREE ZONE
Lita Xú Líng Kelley Photography, as a photographer, activist and photojournalist involved in the struggle for social & racial justice, declare our self and photography business an APARTHEID FREE ZONE (AFZ) and affirm our support for and commitment to the growing international movement for Palestinian rights and for justice, equality, and freedom for all.
Apartheid is an extreme form of institutionalized racism and I will not be complicit with it in any form. We seek to play an active role in the global fight against racism.
We commit to respecting the principles of the Palestinian led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), which, inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, urges nonviolent pressure on the Israeli state until it complies with international law by meeting the following three demands
1) End its 1967 occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantle the Wall;
2) Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3) Respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
We will not stay silent in the face of flagrant injustice. We refuse to be complicit in a culture of impunity, power abuse and human rights violations. Because we want to be the change that we want to see in the world, we want this space, our self and all of our interactions to be free from oppression, violence, racism and sex, gender, class, ethnic, religious or any other kind of discrimination.
As an AFZ, we refuse to purchase or provide services and products to persons, businesses, institutions or others who support the Israeli apartheid regime or engage in the normalization of relations with a regime of racism, oppression and dispossession. We recognize that all our struggles for social, racial, gender, and economic justice and for self-determination are deeply interconnected and can only gain strength and power from mutual support and transnational solidarity.
As a person of conscience, we want to ensure that the spaces that we participate in do not contribute to the maintenance of an apartheid regime or profit from grave human rights violations.
Acknowledging Lita Xú Líng Kelley Photography as an AFZ allows us to take a step further in the fight for decolonization in this world and to stand on the right side of history.
