Shakeel Syed has been a longtime activist within his South Asian community, fighting for the civil liberties of Muslims who were targeted by the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. But his activism had a cost. He was away from home on nights and weekends, absent from his wife, Saira Sayeed, and their four kids. Saira took on the work at home by herself, and they've never really talked about it. Now, for the first time, Shakeel and Saira open up about the roles they played after 9/11 and the future they want to build together.

Stay connected with us! E-mail us at inheriting@laiststudios.com to share your questions, feelings, and even your story.

Inheriting is entirely funded by supporters like you. If you want to hear future seasons, go to LAist.com/Inheriting and click on the orange box to donate.

You can also find resources about the historic events covered in each episode and relevant lesson plans from the Asian American Education Project, including the ones below.

Lesson 5.6 (Grades 5-12): "Victimized Twice": 9/11/2001, South Asian Americans & Islamophobia
https://asianamericanedu.org/victimized-twice-9-11-2001-south-asian-islamophobia.html

Lesson 5.6.1 (Grades 9-12): Hate Crimes Analysis, Post 9/11
https://asianamericanedu.org/hate-crime-analysis-post-911.html


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