November 22
margot demus

 November 22


May I? draw from the iconography of the watermelon, seeded into the soil
budding from the deep wet Kentucky roots of my Black family tree my Palestinian

siblings’ family trees. watermelon symbolizes degeneration, an inherent Black

languidness in the eyes of the western plantationocene but watermelon — stoic flesh

hefty rind red black white green — resists, I now know, penury. for my Palestinian

siblings may I? join you. I'd like to join. toiled. intertwined. wrapped around

*watermelon carcass and vine, no longer am I ashamed to savor this fruit of liberation,

not minstrelsy, in front of the oppressor. May I(?) walk with you toward unbending

freedom.  

*To subvert the celebratory and proprietary symbolism of the watermelon among Freedpeople post-emancipation, depictions of “unkempt,” “feeble-minded,” and “feckless” Black folks partaking in watermelon were perpetuated in white publications across the US.
 

State-sanctioned prohibiting of displaying the Palestinian flag itself or designs combining its four colors — black, white, red, and green — was enforced in 1967. Notably, Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani conceptualized the watermelon as the country’s new flag for the Subjec- tive Atlas of Palestine project in 2007, with his design moving into global consciousness after being adopted as a symbol of protest and solidarity against the ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians in May 2021.