Host Davey D sat down with journalist Rasheed Shabazz of Oakland Voices to unpack a tense week in the Bay. Rumors of federal agents and possible troop deployments gave way to a confirmed staging at Coast Guard Island between Oakland and Alameda. Community members quickly mobilized, forming a blockade and confronting a heavy show of force. One protester was struck by a projectile, underscoring the stakes on the ground.

Shabazz recapped a hastily called press conference where Oakland officials, council members, and federal representatives stressed unity against federal overreach and urged residents to protest without taking the bait. The warning was simple. Do not hand authorities the images they want to justify a wider crackdown. Davey D pressed on the power of optics, comparing today’s media landscape to Civil Rights era strategies and noting how perceptions of disorder can become pretexts for escalating enforcement.

Shabazz pointed to a central contradiction. Local and state agencies have long collaborated with federal actors, from data sharing with immigration authorities to past deployments of Highway Patrol during protests. He recalled undercover incidents during Occupy and said Oakland has seen multi agency saturation before. The concern now is deeper. Detentions can move people outside local systems where community accountability and legal follow up are harder to secure.

The conversation shifted to press freedom. Shabazz cited the growing range of attacks on journalists, new rules that chill reporting, and the targeting of independent media. In an environment where major outlets often repeat talking points, he argued that independent voices must show backbone, fact check in real time, and keep communities informed.

As for what to do next, Shabazz amplified SEIU organizer Antoinette Blue’s advice. Find your lane. If you are not marching, support mutual aid. Share childcare when families keep kids home. Help with food distribution as federal cuts deepen insecurity. Build the ecosystem that helps people survive and stay engaged for the long haul. Davey D closed by urging vigilance toward local power brokers who call for federal intervention, even when they later walk it back.

Learn more about community reporting at Oakland Voices at oaklandvoices.us.

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.

The post Holding the Line: Rasheed Shabazz on Protest, Press Freedom, and Survival appeared first on KPFA.