Midwood, known to many as “Little Pakistan,” has been at the heart of DRUM’s story. In the wake of 9/11, this community was deeply impacted by the state-sponsored racism, xenophobia and anti-muslim policies that tore apart our families and communities. Our mosques became sites of surveillance, our neighborhoods filled with fear, and many of our original members were disappeared by the state or self-deported.
In 2022, we reactivated our Midwood base after the devastating floods in Pakistan and launched a campaign for Temporary Protected Status for undocumented Pakistanis whose families were reeling from the climate disaster. That campaign reignited the spark of organizing here, reconnected neighbors, and it reminded us of our power to change.
Midwood members—taxi drivers, retail and restaurant workers, and women who are fulltime care workers of their families—have begun to engage in deeper conversations about politicsand ask broader questions beyond hyper local politics like: What does power look like here? How do we defend our communities? What does solidarity mean in our daily lives?
Through gatherings like “Chayee Paani Gupshup,” hosted jointly with our Kensington base, we have created space for both men and women to come together, to speak, lead, processand take action. These spaces have opened up conversations on mental health, patriarchy, and the kind of cultural shift we want and need to live in a country that is often hostile to our people.