"Don't forget us here.": Liberatory Expressions and Carceral Solidarity from Guantánamo Bay

Guantánamo Bay is a paradoxical facility, both claimed and unclaimed by the US in order to subject detainees to US laws while routinely circumventing said laws to torture and abuse. Mansoor Adayfi, known as “Detainee 441” or “Smiley Troublemaker,” was forcibly imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay for over fourteen years without charge or trial—caught in the liminality of the “lawless universe.” Considering their imprisonment at Guantánamo Bay, this panel unpacks how Adayfi’s art, writing, and activism have become powerful pedagogical tools used to educate students about forced detention, juridico-political states, Islamophobia, and Anti-Arabism. This panel will discuss the importance of teaching Adayfi’s art and books Don’t Forget Us Here and Art from Guantánamo and engage in critical conversations about the impact of creative resistance on carceral-based solidarity movements within the US and beyond. Panelists include Mansoor Adayfi, Jenna Altomonte, and Todd Rowan.