In Conversation with Dr. Rahim Kurwa (U. of Illinois at Chicago), author of "Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing" (UC Press, 2025)

 

Dr. Rahim Kurwa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice and Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

 

His new book, Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing (UC Press, 2025) examines the policing of housing through the story of Black community building in the Antelope Valley, Los Angeles County's northernmost outpost. Tracing its evolution from a segregated postwar suburb to a destination for those priced, policed, and evicted out of Los Angeles, Rahim Kurwa tells the story of how the Antelope Valley resisted Black migration through the policing of subsidized housing—and how Black tenants and organizers fought back. This book sheds light on how the nation's policing and housing crises intersect, offering powerful lessons for achieving housing justice across the country.

 

Find his website here. Dr. Kurwa's faculty page at UIC is here. 

 

Series organizers (alphabetical) are Amber Broaden (CSUSB and CSU Dominguez Hills, Psychology), Stan Futch (President, Westside Action Group), Michael German (Brennan Center for Justice), Robie Madrigal (Pfau Library), Dr. Jeremy Murray (CSUSB History), Matt Patino (Crafton Hills College Adjunct Faculty), Dr. Mary Texeira (CSUSB Sociology). Click here to view previous panels in the Conversations on Race and Policing series (link).