Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
For this RepressionWatch episode, I talk with organizer Sammie (they/them) about the 2024 Gaza solidarity encampment at the University of Michigan, the police raid that broke it up, and the lasting toll of being sprayed with a chemical agent called Deep Freeze. We get into the felony charges that followed, misogynoir in organizing spaces, and what it means to keep showing up for a movement after the state has already come for you.
EPISODE CORRECTION: Sammie refers to a co-defendant as an "Arab person", but meant to say he's "Pakistani".
GUEST: Sammie (they/them) is a Michigan-based community organizer whose work spans the George Floyd 2020 protests, housing organizing, and Palestine solidarity activism.
🔗 Instagram: @inkanduprising
🔗 Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/Inkanduprising
🔗 🔗 Substack: inkanduprising.substack.com
🔗 SHOW NOTES on Patreon: patreon.com/prshakur/posts/state-violence-u-166843652
🔗 On Deep Freeze: theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/teargas-menstruation-protests
00:00 – Intro: Why This Conversation Needed to Happen
03:26 – Q - Could You Introduce Yourself to the Audience?
05:02 – Q - What Was Organizing Like in Ann Arbor Before the Encampment?
08:44 – Q- Take Us Through the Different Flashpoints of the Encampment
17:44 – The Raid Begins: Deep Freeze, Batons, and a Broken Arm
22:31 – Q - How Did People Work Through the Fear Before the Raid?
23:31 – Two Felony Cases and Being Called a "Ringleader"
31:43 – Q- Why Did the Debrief Happen Without You?
38:55 – Refusing the State's Cooperation Deal
50:12 – Q- How Have You Navigated Organizing Since?
57:07 – Q- Is There Anything Else You Want to Add?
RepressionWatch, Palestine solidarity, U-M encampment raid, Deep Freeze chemical agent, state repression, Black organizers, misogynoir, police brutality, activist interview, Gaza protests, campus organizing, felony charges, community organizer, Ann Arbor activism
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💜 Patreon: patreon.com/prshakur
🔥 Use my code PRINCE for 20% off MeansTV: bit.ly/4hdut9j
📚 My book WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD: bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534934
🎙️ The Dugout | a Black anarchist podcast: bit.ly/40sSFxe
🔗 All my links: https://bio.site/princeshakur
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Business inquiries: princeshakurassistant@gmail.com
For this RepressionWatch episode, I talk with organizer Sammie (they/them) about the 2024 Gaza solidarity encampment at the University of Michigan, the police raid that broke it up, and the lasting toll of being sprayed with a chemical agent called Deep Freeze. We get into the felony charges that followed, misogynoir in organizing spaces, and what it means to keep showing up for a movement after the state has already come for you.
EPISODE CORRECTION: Sammie refers to a co-defendant as an "Arab person", but meant to say he's "Pakistani".
GUEST: Sammie (they/them) is a Michigan-based community organizer whose work spans the George Floyd 2020 protests, housing organizing, and Palestine solidarity activism.
🔗 Instagram: @inkanduprising
🔗 Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/Inkanduprising
🔗 🔗 Substack: inkanduprising.substack.com
🔗 SHOW NOTES on Patreon: patreon.com/prshakur/posts/state-violence-u-166843652
🔗 On Deep Freeze: theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/teargas-menstruation-protests
00:00 – Intro: Why This Conversation Needed to Happen
03:26 – Q - Could You Introduce Yourself to the Audience?
05:02 – Q - What Was Organizing Like in Ann Arbor Before the Encampment?
08:44 – Q- Take Us Through the Different Flashpoints of the Encampment
17:44 – The Raid Begins: Deep Freeze, Batons, and a Broken Arm
22:31 – Q - How Did People Work Through the Fear Before the Raid?
23:31 – Two Felony Cases and Being Called a "Ringleader"
31:43 – Q- Why Did the Debrief Happen Without You?
38:55 – Refusing the State's Cooperation Deal
50:12 – Q- How Have You Navigated Organizing Since?
57:07 – Q- Is There Anything Else You Want to Add?
RepressionWatch, Palestine solidarity, U-M encampment raid, Deep Freeze chemical agent, state repression, Black organizers, misogynoir, police brutality, activist interview, Gaza protests, campus organizing, felony charges, community organizer, Ann Arbor activism
-----------------------------------------------------------
💜 Patreon: patreon.com/prshakur
🔥 Use my code PRINCE for 20% off MeansTV: bit.ly/4hdut9j
📚 My book WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD: bookshop.org/a/23229/9781953534934
🎙️ The Dugout | a Black anarchist podcast: bit.ly/40sSFxe
🔗 All my links: https://bio.site/princeshakur
-----------------------------------------------------------
Business inquiries: princeshakurassistant@gmail.com
