This 46th issue (March-April 2023) is an introspection of our solidarity practices. The “We” it mobilizes is formed through the global struggle against colonialism, structural racism, and for internationalism and environmental justice. Its introduction (in open-access) unfolds the editorial argument the issue articulates, in conversation with our contributors who, for many, have written for The Funambulist several times in the past.
Karim Kattan reflects on the centrality of Palestine in our circles and the problems created by comparisons between the Palestinian and Black struggles for liberation. Laurel Mei-Singh and Davianna Pōmaika‘i McGregor wrote a text together about how the Oceanian fight against nuclear colonialism can help us think beyond the inapt figure of “the ally.” Nolan Oswald Dennis shares with us his artwork “no conciliation is possible” and the risks of trying to apply its toolbox to other contexts than the one for which it was created. Joao Gabriel reflects on the dilemmas of solidarity considering the limits of Afropessimism and Black Marxism applied without a care for the specificities of the considered context. Sara Greavu uses the history of the Irish anti-colonial struggle to think of various aspects of what solidarity consists of, beyond performative statements. Anaïs Duong-Pedica and Zoé Samudzi speak to each other in letters about the blind spots of the North-Atlantic framework when considering Blackness and Indigeneity, thinking with Melanesia and its anti-colonial struggles. Sahar Amarir argues against the tendencies within the international Left (not exclusively the Western one) to refuse to extend solidarities with revolutionary movements that are indifferent or aligned with U.S. geopolitical interests. Finally, Sophia Azeb writes a reflective report on the flaws that the 2022 World Cup has revealed in our understanding of pan-Africanism.
This issue’s News from the Fronts are dedicated to the Black healing tradition in the Americas (Elise A. Mitchell) and to the Iranian women’s movement (Termeh).
Editor-in-Chief: Léopold Lambert
Head of Communications: Shivangi Mariam Raj
Advisory Board: Margarida Nzuzi Waco, Caroline Honorien, Nadia El Hakim, Flora Hergon, and Noelle Geller
Graphic Designer: Akakir Studio
Contributing Copy Editors Carol Que
