The Brief

A pillar of Southern California’s Black and Muslim communities died Friday, community leaders announced.

Umar Hakim-Dey, 55, was born and raised in Compton. He served as board chair for LA Voice, a multi-racial, multi-faith community organization, and was founder of Inkerij (pronounced encourage), a social enterprise that was an advisor for social impact organizations. A staunch advocate for the unhoused, he was the force behind Humanitarian Day, one of the nation’s largest Muslim-led charity days. His cause of death is unknown.

Hakim-Dey grew up on a street that served as the divider between the Bloods and the Crips. Raised by a single Guyanese, Episcopalian mother, Hakim-Dey would join the Crips in 6th grade before eventually leaving the gang at 18. He would often speak of his time at the Crips as giving him insight into the human need for a sense of community and loyalty.

Umar Hakim-Dey at a booth he had for his brand Inkerij at a recent Council on American-Islamic Relations events.

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Courtesy Meem Noon Productions / CAIR-LA

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“One of the things he very consciously said was that, 'I've been in Compton, I see people die over words.' So I really try to deescalate situations and look at things from a different lens because I see how quickly things can escalate,” said Arbazz Nizami, a co-founder of Sahaba Initiative, a nonprofit based in San Bernardino county addressing generational poverty, who met Hakim-Dey when he was in high school.

At 28, Hakim-Dey converted to Islam and soon met Imam Saadiq Saafir, the religious leader of Masjid Ibadillah in South Los Angeles and the founder of ILM Foundation. Masjid Ibadillah was a mosque in South L.A. primarily serving the African-American community, which would evolve into Islah LA, a nonprofit inner-city community center while ILM Foundation is a nonprofit organization.

Hakim-Dey eventually became head of ILM Foundation and, despite its smaller budget, connected and inspired young people from different backgrounds to live a life of service.

Saafir’s son, Imam Jihad Saafir of Islah LA, was set to honor Hakim-Dey at a gala on Sept. 27 before he died.

“ Christian, Jewish, homeless, a person who has membership in the gang, he was able to talk to all of these audiences and engage them,” Saafir said. “When people love their comfort zone, they love being around people who think like them and who believe like them so he was willing to come out of his comfort zone and find comfort in serving the neighbor.”

Mentor to young people 

“ He was one of the first people to really inspire us and motivate us to serve the community, and give us a guidance on how to serve,” Nizami said.

On Humanitarian Day, a day during Ramadan where the Muslim community gathers to pack and distribute care packages for the unhoused community, Nizami said Hakim-Dey encouraged people to see beyond just giving people food and personal care products, but “looking at them as a human being.”

Umar Hakim-Dey, as he lead a group of volunteers at Sahaba Initiative, a non-profit addressing generational poverty in San Bernardino County.

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Courtesy Arbazz Nizami

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For Nizami, Hakim-Dey is someone he spoke with almost everyday for the last 15 years. Earlier this year, they went on the Umrah pilgrimage to Makkah during one of the holiest times of the year for Muslims, Ramadan.

And when he was at Umrah, Hakim-Dey sent a text to another community organizer and coach he mentored, Sarah Jawaid.

“ I get a text from him that says, 'Say Ameen, a prayer was made for you at the Prophet's mosque on your behalf,'” Jawaid said. “ He would remember you … he would call. He was just such a model of what it means to be in community.”

When she started working as a community organizer with L.A. Voice, Hakim-Dey was the one who introduced her to others in the space.

“He vouched for me,” Jawaid said.

His role as an activist

Hakim-Dey, she said, had a “powerful vision of change.” He knew what people needed in the moment, but was also thinking of the future.

Together with Hakim-Dey, she said, they organized in the community around issues such as removing the felony box on job applications in Los Angeles and Proposition 47, which reduced some felonies to misdemeanors.

“ We were really thinking about the long term, like how do we change the condition of people so that they understand that they actually have more power than they think they do to change policies,” she said.

Umar Hakim-Dey speaking at a past Humanitarian Day event.

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Courtesy New Ground a Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change

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Jawaid said Hakim-Dey's voice will continue to ring in her head, as well as his inspiration mantra to keep going when things get tough — Don’t leave your post.

 ”Anytime you needed a pep talk, he was there to be like, 'Allah is the most merciful, don't leave your post,'" she said. “And so I just imagined him saying that to me now, 'Keep going. Don't be sad. Don't leave your posts.'"

His work as a 'bridge builder'

Hakim-Dey was a personal mentor to Margari Hill, co-founder and executive director of Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC).

Hill said Hakim-Dey would encourage her to work towards passing the baton to the next generation.

“I guess for now, you know, not until somebody else can step into the post that he put for me, I can't leave my post,” she said.

She called Hakim-Dey a “bridge builder” connecting with Muslims from South Asian, Arab, Black and African descent to advocate for policy changes for affordable housing, police reform and immigrant rights.

And he connected with other religious groups, particularly the Jewish community.

How he showed up as an interfaith advocate 

Andrea Hodos, associate director of New Ground a Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change, said Hakim-Dey was known for always showing up when the community needed him.

She had invited him to an event to show support for the Jewish community following the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting where 11 worshippers were killed in Pittsburg, and when she arrived she found Hakim-Dey was already there.

 ”He was actually breaking up a brewing fight between an older man with Trump flags, festooned in Trump flags and a younger man who had come wearing a 'Punch Nazis' T-shirt,” Hodos said. “They were about to get into it and he was kinda standing in between and quietly, like very calmly deescalating.”

Umar Hakim-Dey speaks at a New Ground a Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change event at the Skirball Cultural Center.

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Courtesy New Ground a Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change

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And when interfaith relations soured in 2023, Hodos said that Hakim-Dey was always leading with compassion and clarity.

“ He has the capacity to listen deeply and to stand firmly on his principles, and that is what he has been doing and still being there to help our communities navigate some of the most difficult moments,” she said.

Hard to replace

Imam Jihad Saafir with Islah LA said Hakim-Dey will be hard to replace.

Hakim-Dey, he said, could go from speaking with legislators at City Hall to serving the unhoused in downtown Los Angeles and incarcerated people.

 ”It's gonna be hard to fill that void,” he said. “I don't see people with that same type of work ethic and the willingness to come out of their comfort zones.”

Funeral arrangements

Janaza (funeral prayer) will be at 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at the Islamic Society of Orange County, 1 Al-Rahman Plaza, Garden Grove. Burial will follow at 3 p.m. at Rosehills Cemetery, Gate 1, 3888 Workman Mill Road, Whittier.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.