The interview centers on the book Visualizing Palestine: A Chronicle of Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation and the broader work of the Visualizing Palestine collective. You open by situating the book in a moment of media consolidation, censorship, and classroom bans, framing it as both an archive and a living tool for narrative struggle. Editor Jessica Anderson explains that VP has spent over a decade creating data-driven visuals, maps, and explainers on topics like settler colonialism, apartheid, water and ecological justice, political prisoners, disability justice, and freedom of expression. The book curates these hundreds of visuals into 12 themed chapters, each introduced by an essay, and had to be re-opened in late 2023 to account for Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
Designer Nas Abd Elal talks about the challenge of turning overwhelming numbers into visual stories that humanize Palestinians instead of numbing audiences. They describe organizing the work around core concepts such as apartheid, colonialism, ecological justice, and prisoners, and trying to balance rigorous data with powerful personal narratives. Key examples include the widely used visual “Six Wars Old, 16 Years of Childhood in Gaza,” which reframes life in Gaza beyond death tolls, and graphics that expose the tiered ID card system and jet fuel shipments from a single Texas company that enable Israel’s air war. These visuals help people see the concrete mechanics of genocide and corporate complicity, giving organizers points of pressure for campaigns and boycotts.
Throughout the conversation, you all return to the idea that this is fundamentally a narrative battle. Jessica and Nas describe increasing repression, algorithmic suppression, and legislative attacks on ethnic studies and specific terms like “apartheid” and “settler colonialism,” even as public opinion shifts toward recognizing a genocide and questioning U.S. support for Israel. They emphasize that VP’s primary audience is the “persuadable” and those not yet active, rather than hardened Zionist supporters. The project also strives to show Palestinians as whole people, highlighting resistance, food sovereignty, culture, and collective wisdom, not just victimization. The interview closes with an invitation for organizers to see the book and VP’s visuals as living tools for education, movement-building, and pushing toward a tipping point for justice in Palestine.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.