Rashida Tlaib: Speaking Truth in a Hostile Congress | Sumud Podcast w/ Dr. Ed Hasan

This episode of the Sumud Podcast features a wide ranging conversation with Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on what it means to carry Palestine inside an institution where Palestinian humanity is denied. Dr. Ed Hasan and the congresswoman talk candidly about the loneliness of voting “no” while colleagues enable mass death, the pressure campaigns and intimidation that try to silence dissent, and the power of the outside movement to force Congress to move. Rashida shares stories of her sitis, Southwest Detroit, and growing up the eldest of 14, tracing how family, faith, and lived experience shaped her politics. The episode also explores her environmental justice roots, including the moment she literally collected petroleum coke samples to prove what residents were breathing, and closes with a message to the next generation: stay rooted, dream big, and never let anyone take your voice.

Rashida Tlaib is a U.S. Congresswoman representing Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, rooted in Detroit and surrounding communities. Born and raised in Detroit to Palestinian immigrant parents, she is the oldest of 14 children and a lifelong advocate for working families. Rashida made history as the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan Legislature and later to Congress. A former public interest attorney, she is known for centering constituent services, holding polluters and corporations accountable, and fighting for dignity, justice, and equity at the local and national level.

In this conversation, we explore
→ Congress and funding genocide
→ Palestine as the political “exception”
→ AIPAC pressure and intimidation
→ Standing alone and collective power
→ Sitis and Palestinian women
→ Southwest Detroit and being eldest of 14
→ Healthcare racism and grief
→ Environmental justice and petcoke
→ Student encampments and divestment
→ Why outside movements move Congress

Director: Dr. Ed Hasan | 2026