Miss Jade Rock, a Boston activist and drag queen, hosted the Dragtivism fundraising event at at Dani’s Queer Bar Jan. 31, supporting LUCE, an immigrant justice network.
Along with immigrant rights, Dragtivism has raised funds for numerous causes like Palestinian liberation, trans rights and queer rights through drag performances. Rock got the idea for Dragtivism after one of her first-ever performances, which was at an activism event called Performers for Palestine. The event raised over $5,000 for Operation Olive Branch, an initiative with the goal of providing support and aid to the people of Gaza, as well as personal GoFundMe’s for Palestinian families in need.
“I have always been very politically active. It was the work I did in college; it was what I studied. So, I really wanted to find a way to bridge my own activism with this form of art,” said Rock, who has been performing as a drag artist for almost two years and began producing her own shows around a year ago. Her experience growing up in a conservative area of Iowa made drag feel extremely political. She encourages her performers to push boundaries with their drag and invites performers who believe their message might be “too over the top,” or “too political,” to perform their art with her.
Rock says that since the aforementioned performance, they have been chasing “that sort of collaboration between activism and drag and art,” and they are glad the idea that art can be restorative and joyful has been getting more people involved.
“Like, hell yeah, I’ll come to a drag show and I’ll get a drink … and knowing that the money I’m spending is helping, you know, ICE detainees, folks suffering in your own community, I think is a real big pull for people,” said Rock.
The Dragtivism event was held in collaboration with the Boston branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. PSL has organized countless protests throughout the years all over Boston, including marches, walk outs and shutdowns, all for a variety of political issues. With significant increases in the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement throughout the country, and following the deaths of two Minnesotan citizens, many of the recent and upcoming protests organized by PSL revolve around immigrant rights.
Rock plans on holding Dragtivism events every other month and is in the process of organizing a show for climate justice the day after Earth Day, posting upcoming events on Instagram at @bostonpsl or @missjaderock.
