Fabric as Archives
Honor
As always, know that I continue to uplift the people in the Congo, in Tigray, in Sudan, & numerous other places where the empire is attempting to do their dirt in the dark (devoid of attention, accountability, or media coverage). This piece primarily focuses on Palestinians because of the nature of the program. Please enjoy this read, leave a comment, & share (with a citation)!
On Friday, April 26th, 2024 I discovered the Baret Scholars program & applied within the same day. By the end of the day on Saturday, April 27th, 2024 I decided I would not continue the application to the travel the world within their gap year program. I made this simple decision after stumbling across a five-word title on page 85 of the Baret Scholars downloadable book.
“Politics: Exploring the Sacred Isreal”
The subheading goes on to describe the unique potential that occupied Palestine has to offer to young folk in the program.
“Israel & Palestine unveil a unique fusion of historical & cultural wonders. These lands offer a profound insight into the origins of major world religions. Students will engage in interfaith dialogues and discussions with local Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders and communities to better understand the city’s unique religious dynamics and promote tolerance.” - Page 85
There is nothing sacred about murderers
There is nothing sacred about living a ruined life on top of the ruins of martyrs
There is nothing sacred about living on stolen land
There is nothing sacred about Israeli settlers & colonialism
There is no tolerance for genocide
There is nothing sacred about genocide
And I am running out of ways & breath to say this but I will continue on
it’s not surprising that a program with a $2.4 million financial aid program, & initially brainstormed by former president of Yale Benno Schmidt (page 20 of the Baret Scholars Downloadable Book) would support a trip to stolen land.
Underneath the subheading entitled “The Opportunity” on page 9 the Baret Scholar Book reads…”The Baret Scholars is a program that takes you out of your context and into the world. It’s a chance to learn about and explore cultures, economies, geographies, and people. It’s a chance to pursue your interests—whatever they might be. We believe that taking this rare window of opportunity when students are most open to ideas and inspiration is a chance to cultivate citizens who don’t just march into the future, but who stride into their lives.”
The role of cultivating students who are “most open to ideas” is serious work. It is not something to be taken lightly. This work also includes being cognisant of the numerous ideologies that these students will encounter. Placing young folks between high school & college, in college, & perhaps beyond in the Settler State of Isreal is enforcing a violent ideology on them.
On page 9 underneath the subheading “Curated and Structure” the Baret Scholars Book reads…”IF BARET Scholars were a university—and we know it isn’t—we’d like you to think of it as a dual Masters program in International Affairs and Life Design, not after a BA but before it, and hopefully beyond it.”
This program is not a university or institution, but it functions in exactly the same way. The Baret Scholars have proven, with their 10-day Fellowship to the Settler State of Isreal that they are willing to invest in the economy of murderers.
On page 30 the Baret Scholars Book reads…
“POLITICS: Societies organize themselves in curious, powerful, and often invisible ways. This domain will explore varieties of political systems, histories, cultural activities, rituals, migrations, the impacts of conflict, and movements for peace. Students will be on-the-ground, working with organizations, participating in cultures and learning from people who have dedicated their lives to understanding civilizations and working with their discontents.”
Genocide is not invisible. Genocide is not a sleeping giant that can only be seen when he is standing tall. For even when the giant is lying down, it is suffocating the life out of those fighting to live as he rests soundly. The movement for peace does not lie within the settler state of Isreal but in the hearts of martyrs & loved ones still fighting to survive. If the Baret Scholars program wanted to teach their students about movements for peace they would not place them in the epicenter of violence. Israeli settlers have not dedicated their lives to understanding civilizations but to destroying them. There is nothing civil or sacred about genocide. To place these young students in the settler state of Isreal with the hope that they will learn to understand is a fool’s mission. Those people who live on stolen land know nothing about participating in peace & love. There is nothing to be gained from playing devil’s advocate about political conflict resolutions.
The Baret Scholars program’s attempt to develop, according to the benefits on their website, “geographers in the broader sense of the word” is resulting in a continued upholding of the systems that chart borders in the name of defense. The program uplifts all violent systems that continue to plague society in the name of broadening horizons. We must bring back critical thinking & reading books. It’s imperative to have conversations & make real change. I am lucky enough to essentially have a degree in critical thinking (Critical Social Thought). However, reading, critically thinking, & asking questions about the atrocities of the world is a great starting place to germinate seeds of change.
While explaining their morning program, similar to TED experiences, on page 37 day three of the Baret Book the program explains the value of understanding the Civil War.
“And to understand this war one must know the enigmatic Lincoln whose leadership ended two centuries of slavery and saved the Republic.”
We can not continue to simplify history, in the past or as the present slowly becomes it with each passing moment, to become lazy with language. This is the same Lincoln, who we know had no principles regarding humans owning other humans. It has been documented, that Lincoln’s main goal was to preserve the Union with or without slavery. Lincoln was willing to gain private & public success as a savior of The United States in exchange for the suffering of others. Private gains will not free us.
This is why, when I learned that this program was sending students to the settler state of Isreal I immediately knew to not continue with the application process. For some, they would’ve been able to justify traveling the world for a year & choosing simply to not go to the settler state for their 10-day fellowship. Many are willing to comfortably gain private success without sacrifice to trick themselves into freeing others. We have seen influencers who spread the word of the boycott, months later working with said brand.
Some things are black & white & being against genocide is one of them.
I wonder how many young folks in this program have chosen a private success to temporary opportunity? Do they know that at least 12 of their 180 cohort members will be in settler Israel? Do they know that they will be directly pouring into an economy that will turn around & use that money to kill Palestinians? Do they know that the ground they will walk on is called Palestine? Do they know that the land they walk on is the impact of the conflict that Israeli settlers started? There are people with keys waiting to return home to a land that settlers have given a new name to. Places are sites of memory & settler Israel, occupied Palestine, has never forgotten her name. Palestinians are not invisible in occupied Palestine because the olive trees still have roots.
The genocide of Palestinians is not invisible & we have all bore witness to it unless we choose to close our eyes & be complicit. We have seen graphic videos of hospitals being bombed, missiles exploding, bodies missing limbs, & more on social media since October 2023. We have witnessed the truth of genocide & there is nothing to be gained from pretending otherwise. There is no return to normal as multiple genocides unfold around the world. I know this fact to be true. I know that thousands of folks my age also know this fact is true. Currently, there are students at Vanderbilt, UNC-Chapel Hill, Emory, Pomona, Columbia University, George Washington University, & more who have created tent encampments after witnessing the genocide of Palestinians.
Some things are just black & white & being against genocide is one of them.
As I write this my hands are shaking with anger & my stomach is swinging on a sea of disgust. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way. If there is a day that comes when these atrocities cease to move me then I have lost the war in retaining being an active member of humanity. This embodied feeling lets me know that I am out of my context & in the world. In fact, I am an active part of the world & nature. I most definitely do not need to go to the settler state of Israel to affirm this fact.
“Anger is better. There is a sense of being in anger. A reality and a presence. An awareness of worth. It is a lovely surging.” — The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What can they [Israeli Settlers] teach me about gathering & stitching a bountiful life called assemblage? What can they [Israeli Settlers] teach me about gathering beauty & shuddering to make a whole life out of an environment they perceived to be nothing more than trash?
After discovering that Baret Scholars would have the opportunity to choose to go to settler Israel I decided to set up a call with someone from the organization. The response I received was that 1. none of the fellowship options were finalized yet. 2. Nothing is forced & scholars will get to choose a location based on comfort 3. If the region proved to be unsafe it would not be an option. The fact, that it was an option to begin with (even before the start of the second nakba is atrocious). When I looked in the downloadable e-book for safety information, the inevitable language of security showed up on page 106.
“SECURITY AT BARET HOTELS. Baret hotels will be chosen with safety and security in mind. For the most part, these will be hotels that are part of global hotel networks. A requirement of selection is that the hotel have a substantial security team and well-practiced protocols. The Baret traveling Security Officer will interface daily with the hotel security staff and they will work as a team. Finally, Baret students and staff will be housed on “Baret Floors.”
Security always means increased surveillance (especially for marginalized folks). In this context, I am beckoned to remember a Mariame Kabe quote introduced to me by the generous work of
& Seeda School.“Saftey is relation.” — Mariame Kabe
Safety is not secured by guns, borders, tall gates lining our houses, alarm systems, or anything that can be purchased. Safety can be gathered by sites of memory, people & places, we come to know through relation. Safety is not a rigid line of defense but a stitched net crafted to gather & honor each other.
So what happens when the minds & bodies of young folk could potentially be put in relation with Israeli Defense soldiers? Nets of relation are severed in the name of defense & security. However, the Israeli settlers failed to realize that these nets continue stretching throughout the Mediterranean Sea, over the Silk Road, & across the fabric of the keffiyeh. Nets may be cut but they fuse in entanglement throughout time. What if our points of entanglement (points of reinforcement) are our greatest strengths, not nuisances?
This is how we honor a place. We take the materials attempted to be
silenced
erased
severed,
& stomped into extinction
& continue to re-use them. The process of reusing & revisiting enables us to continue uplifting the sites of memory. Furthermore, it enables us to record the true stories & scars of sites of memory. When I say revisit, know I am not speaking of planting feet on the settler state of Isreal. I mean revisiting the stories, materials, and ways of being, that are slipping away from us with each day. The keffiyeh is a physical archive that embodies the sentiment I speak of regarding revisiting. The keffiyeh teaches us about “saftey as relation” & gathering & stitching a life called assemblage. More importantly, Palestinians teach life.
Please remember if you choose to quote this piece, share this piece, or any piece on this publication to always CITE BLACK WOMEN. Please always include the name and link to the Assemblage: Baby’s Breath substack publication in your sharing practice.
To further support my writing practice, receive additional offerings that connect to my pieces, & be the first to hear about other ways to engage in the theory of assemblage, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Soon I will be inviting fellow unruly folks to practice honoring with me in a generous clearing ✨. Stay tuned to keep up to date!