Spring Break
Former Black Panther encourages student activism
Kelley Bruce Robinson
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: News
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Speaking from the Lory Student Center Grey Rock Room, he pulled mostly from his own experience helping hurricane victims along the Gulf Coast where he founded the relief effort, Common Ground Relief, with three other men and $50.
He now spends his time lobbying heavily for civic environmental responsibility in Iraq and other nations he said the U.S. invaded, with an underlying message throughout: Americans have been living selfishly, and now the environment is paying the price.
"We are so drunk on (prosperity) right now that we live in a nation more concerned about the economy than our environment. And we elected someone who was drunker than the rest of us. (George W. Bush) was drunk on power and drove us for eight years."
Rahim, 61, traveled to Fort Collins by car after two weeks of speaking at colleges in California and the greater west, spreading his message of leftist activism and searching for college students to volunteer in New Orleans.
The Fair Advocates for Cultural Truth student organization, Associated Students of CSU and the Ethnic Studies department partially funded Rahim's visit and travel expenses, Adam Hafnor, a spokesperson for the ACTivism NOW! Conference put on by FACT, said.
"We were tossing around ideas of who we wanted to speak here, and who would truly provide a real voice of activism," Hafnor said. "Malik is the poster child for life long activist. He has helped hundreds of thousands of New Orleans residents and (is) a perfect keynote speaker."
Born Donald Guyton, Rahim changed his name when he converted to Islam. He now calls himself a born again Christian, looking to help the "hardworking, God-fearing people" of New Orleans. He claims the city is still in shambles and loses a football field sized area of land every 37 minutes to erosion.
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