For Your Reference #001
On Palestine and bearing witness as solidarity
“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost, almost all of the time — and in one's work. And part of the rage is this: It isn't only what is happening to you.”
- James Baldwin, 1961.
Overwhelming. Heartbreaking. Infuriating.
These words don’t even begin to express how it feels to process the genocide in Gaza. It’s been more than three weeks since October 7th’s tragic events marked the start of a new awakening.
I have to admit that before now, I moved through recent years assuming my plight as a Black American woman from the South was consuming enough. It felt like the depth of my people’s struggle on the homefront left zero capacity for any geopolitical advocacy. Yes, it’s individualistic and I blame Western culture for making it normal for me to keep my blinders on. But at 27, I’m happy to be more accountable. Now, I recognize that to truly identify as a radical Black feminist means to operate with an understanding that all struggles against colonialism/imperialism/white supremacy are urgent and interconnected.
So, I’ve been doing my homework.
This month has demanded a critical understanding of Palestine’s history and a reminder that the United States has always had its hand in fueling global oppression. I’ve learned that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel has been an ongoing collaboration. I’ve had to sit with the fact that my tax dollars are literally funding multiple genocides and constant colonial terror all over the world. I’ve read and watched folks be fired and penalized for voicing their support for Palestine. I’ve seen folks choose to maintain a stance of ignorance by willfully offering their support to Israel and reducing a 75-year struggle for freedom to a single resistance effort.
“We can’t look away. Our collective liberation requires that we bear witness to what is happening all around the world, especially when the voices of those most at risk are being silenced.”
-Arielle V. King, environmental justice educator and strategist.
I’ve spent time trying to answer the call from Palestinian people to bear witness, and I’m continuing to meditate on the historical links between our collective need for liberation. By no means am I an expert after three-ish weeks of reading and reposting, but I do feel comfortable expressing my unwavering solidarity and encouraging others to use their platforms to do the same.
It didn’t take much for me to land on helpful learning tools, but I understand that for others, information is not as easy to access or digest. Here are some resources and selections from the library’s collection that have provided valuable insight and inspiration:
LISTEN + READ / Black Feminist Writers and Palestine + Solidarity with Palestine- A Radical Black Feminist Mandate: A Reading List by Black Women Radicals
Black Women Radicals organized a well-attended virtual convening featuring Clarissa Brooks, Angela Y. Davis, Breya Johnson, Briona Simone Jones, Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Jaimee A. Swift. They each shared remarks on the urgent need to be in solidarity with Palestine and oppressed peoples worldwide + gave examples of Black women writers who have both expressed and modeled this sentiment. 10/10 would recommend listening to this and checking out the reading list. It’s an overflowing source.
READ / A Free Palestine in Our Lifetime - Compiled by the brilliant
Browse this Google folder full of PDFs from articles and books by a mix of scholars. Highlights include Black Power and Palestine by Michael R. Fischbach, Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis and Gaza by Norman G. Finkelstein.
READ / How Do We Reach Each Other? Towards Generative Solidarity by Karim Kattan
In this essay, Palestinian writer Karim Kattan gives a very thoughtful critique of how Palestinians have traditionally shown solidarity to struggles beyond their own, anti-Blackness in the Arab World and ways to move beyond the co-option of Western vocabularies of protest.
READ / America: A Cold Game by Work Play
A visual exploration of brutality and racism in America made from an intentionally sourced and sequenced collection of memes, cell phone footage, archival documentation and more.
WATCH / Archiving Black Palestinian Solidarity (9:50 minutes)
Created by Lila Abu-Lughod and Nora Akawi and edited by Rahaf Salaha, this video presents archival material on key moments of solidarity between Black American and Palestinian political movements from 1968 to 2021.
READ / Guardians of the Mosque: African Palestinians of Jerusalem
If you’ve seen either of these images of Afro-Palestinian joy that have been circulating this month, they’re from this photography book by Andrew Courtney. Browse the full thing online here.
READ / Strikethrough: Typographic Messages of Protest by Silas Munro
I’ve been thinking about design activism, how the algorithm rewards aesthetics and circulation depends on how appealing you can make a post (or poster) look. Strikethough pulls together more than 120 signs, publications, posters and ephemera from the 19th century to now that exemplify design’s power in amplifying resistance.
WATCH / Roadmap to Apartheid (2012)
Narrated by Alice Walker and co-directed by Eron Davidson and Ana Nogueira, this award-winning film’s side-by-side footage creates shocking historical comparisons between South African and Palestinian apartheid. (Eerily, the establishment of apartheid in SA and the creation of the Israeli state both happened in 1948.) Watch for more context.
LISTEN + FOLLOW / Sbeih
I first encountered this creator on TikTok a few days after the attacks on Gaza began. They generously break down the history and current state of Palestine’s fight in a concise, easy-to-digest, and compelling way. Prayers to them as they continue to inform amid so much grief.
READ / Neema Githere Substack
I’ve really enjoyed Neema Githere’s recent thoughts on attention capital, the internet and social media as it relates to decolonization. Her voice is sharp and informed. Her guidance is generous. Be sure to bookmark this to read later:
If there are things that have aided your awareness, please do leave them in the comments, send an email or DM the library’s Instagram to share. Remember to keep the faith and do whatever it takes to resist hopelessness. Oh yeah, one more thing:
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
For Your Reference is a new series of resources for reading, watching, and listening.
From the RIVER to the SEA, Palestine will be free.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing these incredible resources. Heartbreaking that you shared this so many months ago and it is still our demand and still their plight. We shall keep loving and fighting and moving and disrupting. Again, thank you 🖤