ADC Unveils First Round of Speakers for ArabCon 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2025
media@adc.org

Civil rights leaders, scholars, artists, and movement voices from across the country will gather in Dearborn to mark ADC’s 45th Anniversary, September 25–28

Washington, D.C | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) announced its first slate of speakers for ArabCon 2025, the nation’s largest annual convention of Arab Americans. Celebrating 45 years of dedicated civil rights advocacy, the convention will gather in Dearborn, Michigan, from September 25–28, under the pertinent theme “We’ve Been Here Before.”

ArabCon 2025 comes at a significant juncture for Arab Americans – one we’ve experienced many times before. Despite challenges, Arab Americans continue to demonstrate strength, resilience, and an enduring capacity to thrive, even as our families face relentless wars in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and beyond.

“For 45 years, ADC has actively defended Arab Americans’ rights during the most turbulent periods in our nation’s history,” said ADC National Executive Director  Abed Ayoub. “ArabCon 2025 is not just a conference—it’s a declaration of our community’s lasting impact in the American story, and our never-ending work for justice and truth.”

Dearborn, long considered a thriving heartland of Arab American culture and community, will set the stage for critical conversations at ArabCon. ArabCon 2025 will reflect on the Arab American experience in the United States and beyond. Panels will cover the attacks on free speech, educational freedom, psychological impacts of Zionism, and the crucial role of independent media in challenging propaganda and shaping global perceptions – among other conversations. Prominent voices of today, including Linda Sarsour, Medea Benjamin, and Khaled Beydoun, will share insights on justice, power, and intersectional solidarity. ArabCon will also center on the influence of art, culture, and grassroots movements in activism and community building.

Join us at ArabCon 2025 to hear from:

• Linda Sarsour, award-winning author, activist, and community organizer. She is the former Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York, and co-founder of MPOWER Change, the first Muslim online organizing platform.
• Khaled A. Beydoun, Associate Professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, a former Scholar-in-Residence at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center, and author of several acclaimed works, including American Islamophobia, Islamophobia and the Law, and The New Crusades.
• Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange, a longtime social justice advocate, and author of several books, including Drone Warfare, Inside Iran, and NATO: What You Need to Know. Recognized as one of America’s most effective human rights campaigners, Benjamin has received the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of women globally.
• Dana Salah, formerly known as Arab Pop-Indie artist King Deco, is a Jordanian-born musician best known for her acclaimed singles including “Castaway (Don’t Leave Me),” praised by Billboard, Nylon, and Wonderland, and notable collaborations with top talents like Larzz Principato (Halsey’s “New Americana”) and Kinetics & One Love (B.o.B’s “Airplanes”).
• Dr. Ed Hasan, Palestinian-American author, adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and host of the Sumud Podcast. Through the Sumud Podcast, he amplifies stories of resilience, justice, and social action.
• Dr. Lara Sheehi, PsyD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, specializes in decolonial and anti-oppressive approaches to clinical practice. Dr. Sheehi  is co-author with Stephen Sheehi of Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine (2022).
• Hamza Ali, co-founder of Watermelon Pictures, continuing the pioneering legacy of his father and uncle, who founded MPI Media Group in 1976. With a deep-rooted commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices, particularly from Palestine and marginalized communities, Hamza uses film as a powerful tool for storytelling, advocacy, and social change.
• Katie Bogen, host of the popular podcast Superhumanizer, is a reconstructionist Jewish advocate whose show explores the inherited understandings of Zionism, among other topics. Katie integrates anti-carceral, anti-racist, and anti-colonial feminist principles into her work, advocating for the full political enfranchisement of both Palestinians and Jews.

More names will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Also at this year’s conference, BizSouk is a vibrant business expo and bazaar celebrating Arab-American entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation. Featuring diverse vendors—from artisans and fashion designers to tech startups and nonprofits—BizSouk connects attendees with unique products, fosters community engagement, and inspires economic empowerment.

Early-bird registration and sponsorship opportunities are now open. Interested attendees and partners can visit arabcon.org or reach out via arabcon@adc.org.