When presented with the theme “resistance across borders,” I reflected on the sometimes hopeless feeling I can have around resistance. How can I, someone so random and so far away, make a difference in a cause? But something my dad taught me is that no resistance is futile. No matter how small, any effort makes a difference. So, I look at my capabilities and assess what I can do where I’m at with what I got. And I remember the power of visual language and being blessed with the skill to draw and tell stories through art. I can create flyers, I can create protest images, I can wheat-paste across my city. I can spread a message.
So, I choose to wield the power I have in my pen to accompany my voice. And with that voice, I shout to the rooftops, “FREE PALESTINE! فلسطين حرة”
Hawwa (they/she) is a Black Muslim cartoonist from North Minneapolis and co-founder of the Black Indie Comix Cub.
Part of our 2024 Fiction Issue.
