And just like that, it’s over. The art’s been struck, the crowds have gone home, and for some reason, I slept even worse now that it’s done than I did in preparation and anticipation; I guess my brain needed time to process it all.
I’m very grateful to @nwfolklife for this opportunity and for all the hidden helpers that made this possible. Thank you Ben for inviting us into this novel process. Thank you Emma for taking on such a logistical labyrinth. Thank you Pete for figuring out how to even install this non-traditional art. And thanks especially to Faith who kept watch on this space and went above and beyond all weekend.
It’s crazy to think that all of this started exactly two years ago today, when I showed up to @nwfolklife to be a care bear at the @marchforpalestine.seattle with a Polaroid in my tote. A bunch of us began our march there, waiting for the contingent that started down south that morning to arrive while enjoying the Palestine cultural showcase that was taking place at Folklife for the first time. So, I had plenty of time to take photos.
Those Polaroids were how I connected with @circadies and later with @elderandyarrow, as part of the March for Gaza Community Archive project that brought us back to Folklife this year. A chain of small collaborative moments that culminated in this grand act of solidarity art. Each one in isolation isn’t all that much. But together, they create a counter-history.
This march two years ago today is also what set me off on my long, meandering return back to socialist organizing.
One of the Polaroids I took was of a communist I bumped into in the middle of a passing parade, who asked me if I was a communist too, and when I laughed and replied that “I used to be,” invited me to one of her meetings. We parted ways quickly, and I didn’t follow through for eight months, when I decided that I needed to stop doomscrolling and actually do something; that same day that I reached back out, I renewed my membership with DSA as well, and dual carded through the end of the summer.
I needed to compare and contrast because I was done being a nomad; it was time to settle into a political home. So I had to do it right this time. And though that initial contact two years ago today led me to a very different org than hers, it was a sweet irony to bump into her again over the weekend—not at Folklife, though her org was there—but on Capitol Hill, where I was treating myself to a post-“parade” dinner at a sidewalk cantina.
“Jad!” I almost didn’t recognize her. We exchanged a quick “so good to see you” before she was off again. Full circle.