CM James Comments on Opening of 'A Fire In My Belly' Exhibition At BK Museum

For Immediate Release

Contact: Amyre Loomis at (718) 260-9191

Statement by Council Member Letitia James on Opening of A Fire in My Belly”Exhibition at Brooklyn Museum of Art

(Brooklyn, NY)- Freedom of expression is protected under the first amendment, and I support Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold Lehman's decision to feature the exhibition A Fire in My Belly, by the late David Wojnarowicz.

This year New York City celebrated the victory of the passage of gay marriage, a win for everyone seeking equality and justice in life. The passage of this law is especially important because it repositions New York again as a leader in freedom for family expression and equal rights. Also, my colleagues and I stand with the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the overall opposition of social inequality and corporate greed. Protestors all over the country have the right to express their dissatisfaction with the excessive influence of big business and the wealthiest one-percent of Americans on U.S. laws and policies.

New York City has come to far to allow the Hide/Seek exhibition, scheduled to open at the Brooklyn Museum next week, a major museum show exploring gay themes in art history to be altered from the artist's original intent, or pulled. Freedom of expression is the pillar of democracy, and much is to be gained from the entirety of this show. Censorship has no place in a free society."

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