Davey D of Hard Knock Radio spoke with Mohamed Shehk of AROC, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, about May Day actions, ICE, immigrant detention, and the growing need for multiracial solidarity.
Shehk began by explaining that AROC provides legal services, community support, advocacy, and organizing for Arab and Muslim communities in the Bay Area. He stressed that these communities are also facing the broader wave of federal attacks on immigrants, workers, and politically vulnerable people.
A major focus was the case of Hanni, a Palestinian man recently freed from ICE detention after a legal campaign by AROC. According to Shehk, Hanni was detained after a routine immigration check in and held for nine months despite having pancreatic cancer. He was denied proper medical care, adequate food, and access to food and water during Ramadan. His condition worsened so badly that he was found unconscious in his cell, prompting urgent legal action.
Davey D pushed for a clearer picture of detention conditions, noting that many people may imagine immigration detention as something less severe than prison. Shehk made clear that these facilities operate like prisons, often using repurposed jails or punitive sites that were already considered inadequate.
The conversation also explored how different immigrant communities are targeted through specific stereotypes. Davey D noted how Latinos, Haitians, Africans, Arabs, and Muslims are often criminalized through different narratives that justify state violence. Shehk responded that Arab and Muslim immigrants are often targeted through blanket xenophobic stereotypes, regardless of nationality or politics.
They also discussed May Day as a moment to show collective power. Shehk connected immigrant rights, workers’ rights, opposition to ICE, attacks on voting rights and schools, and U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. He argued that communities must not allow fear or isolation to keep them from organizing.
Shehk highlighted several Bay Area actions, including protests at Oakland Airport, San Francisco Airport, Civic Center, Embarcadero, and Fruitvale. He encouraged listeners to visit BayResistance.org for details on May Day events across the region.
Later on in this episode of Hard Knock Radio, guest host Kalonji Changa of Black Power Media sits down with political prisoner and revolutionary journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, widely known as the Voice of the Voiceless.
After more than 42 years behind prison walls, Mumia offers a sobering and urgent perspective on the current political climate and the expanding crackdown on dissent.
In this powerful conversation, we examine:
The continuum of state surveillance ” from COINTELPRO to the modern-day targeting of the Black press.
The weaponization of the Department of Justice to silence journalists documenting federal overreach.
Why the advocacy journalism of Georgia Fort is perceived as a threat to state power.
We also trace the roots of Mumias revolutionary journey ” from organizing on neighborhood street corners to his work with the Black Panther Party. He reflects on the freedom fighters and mentors who shaped his political consciousness and gave him the courage to wield the pen and microphone as tools of resistance.
This is more than a history lesson ” its a blueprint for political awakening and a meditation on the enduring struggle for truth, justice, and liberation.
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.
