WE WILL NOT BE SILENT ON JETBLUE Action Press Release (PDF)
On August 17th, Raed Jarrar, a California-based Iraqi peace activist and US Permanent Resident, was forced to cover a t-shirt he was wearing that said WE WILL NOT BE SILENT in Arabic and English. He was informed by JFK Airport security officials and JetBlue Airways that he could not board the plane to return to his home in California unless he complied.
We are The Critical Voice, an affinity group of Artists Against the War, who organized The WE WILL NOT BE SILENT t-shirt campaign. Upon learning of this incident through media reports, we decided to exercise our right to free expression by wearing the same t-shirts the next time we flew on JetBlue.
On August 24th, four of us, all white women and US citizens, wore these t-shirts and flew JetBlue from New York City to Washington DC and back the next day. At no point were we asked to take off or cover our t-shirts, although airport security officials were observing us. We, Laurie Arbeiter, Susan Kingsland, Caroline Parker and Ann Shirazi, flew on JetBlue Flight 1309 from New York/JFK (dep. 5:35pm) to Washington, DC/Dulles (arr. 7:10 pm). Caroline and Laurie sat in seat 24A/B, Ann and Susan in seat 25A/B. We were highly visible at JFK airport as we made phone calls, got food, and used restrooms. At no time were we approached by security or JetBlue employees. We proceeded through the security check-points and metal detectors without incident. We remained in DC overnight and flew back on Jet Blue the next day taking a flight at 5:15 pm from Dulles to JFK.
Upon returning to JFK, we distributed fliers in the JetBlue gate area to inform the public about Raed Jarrar’s experience. The flier read at the top IS IT TRUE BLUE? and told of the incident in Raed’s words. We handed out approximately 300 leaflets, without incident.
The Critical Voice first introduced the WE WILL NOT BE SILENT t-shirt campaign in March 2006 as a creative means to encourage dissent against the war in Iraq and the curtailing of civil liberties in the US, including racial profiling and detention of Muslim and other Immigrants. The statement derives from the White Rose student resistance movement which opposed Nazi rule in Germany. The t-shirts have been seen widely in the United States and abroad at many events and have been worn by various groups.
We have learned from press reports that US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials are conducting an inquiry into the incident involving Raed Jarrar after a complaint from the US Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Democracy Now! reported that Jarrar, who is Iraq project director for the US-based human rights group Global Exchange, has filed a complaint with the ACLU. In light of our experience, there should be a full investigation into this and other cases of racial profiling and censorship of free expression at the nation’s airports.
Respectfully, Caroline Parker, Laurie Arbeiter, Susan Kingsland, Ann Shirazi
Media Contact: wewillnotbesilent@gmail.com
Related Links:
The Critical Voice
