Statement on O'Shae Sibley

At a Mobil station on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue M, on Saturday, July 29, O’Shae Sibley, an out, proud, gay, Black man, was attacked and murdered while dancing with friends. Sibley lived at the intersection of race and queer sexual identity and stood proud to the last moment, never allowing racism and homophobia to dim his light.

We condemn this, and any act of violence, racism, homophobia, and all forms of hate.

Brooklyn College stands in a vibrantly diverse and complex neighborhood—at the junction of the Midwood and Flatbush sections. We are a mix of ethnicities, religions, languages, and economic backgrounds, and we manage to co-exist peacefully, most of the time. Therefore, it hurts personally that someone from our neighborhood showed murderous hatred against a Black, gay person.

When homophobia turns murderous in your own backyard, it sends a chilling, historic, wordless fear through your very soul. I didn’t know O’Shae Sibley personally, but it feels like I did. To identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, nonbinary, or any other sexual and/or gender minority is to live with fear. Yet Sibley refused to let fear stop their light, their exuberance, and their very soul from dancing in the streets with love. Literally dancing, as he was a dancer.

We will honor Sibley by continuing to dance. Let’s dance in our hearts right this very moment, knowing which side of history to find our moves.

Kelly Spivey
Director, LGBTQ+ Resource Center