Pittsburgh musicians shall perform at a benefit concert to raise funds to send to Malik Rahim as he rides a bicycle 1600 miles from New Orleans to Washington DC to demand a full restoration of the Gulf's current devastation from the oil disaster.
Who: Hosted by Vincent Eirene and Phat Man Dee.
Performers to include:
Phat Man Dee, jazz chanteuse and activist
http://www.reverbnation.com/phatmandee
The Typewriter Girls, environmentally responsible poets and sketch comedians
http://typewritergirls.net/
Olivia Kissel of Zafira Dance Company
http://www.zafiradance.com/
Christiane D, organizer, poet, singer
http://www.allthingschristianed.wordpress.com/
Where: The Bloomfield Bridge Tavern 4412 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
When: Saturday August 28, 2010 Showtime begins at 8 pm
Cost: $10 though no one turned away for lack of funds. 100% of the door shall be sent to Malik Rahim through the non profit agency Common Ground Relief Fund.
Age: 21 and over
It should be noted that Malik had to cease his ride during the heat wave last week but plans to return biking where he left off in Mobile, AL. Malik is 62 years old and we would like him to see 63. We still support his endeavor and cause in any way we can, and in Pittsburgh, that means art and music, though a donation of a decent road worth bicycle for Malik would be appreciated. Vince Eirene has offered to drive it down to him personally if such a donation were forthcoming.For more info check his site:http://www.bikeforthegulf.org/ and see his official release below.
THE MEG PERRY CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE AND JUSTICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information visit http://www.BikefortheGulf.Org/
A Very Long Haul: Malik Rahim, Director of the Meg Perry Center for Environmental Peace and Justice to Ride Bicycle from Houma, LA to Washington D.C. Promoting the Need for Wetland Restoration in Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS, LA—July 7, 2010—On Tuesday July 7 at 5:30 a.m. Malik Rahim, Director of the Meg Perry Center for Environmental Peace and Justice, set out on his trusty bicycle for a 1,600 mile sojourn to Washington D.C., stopping at state capitals, universities and community centers along the way to espouse the dramatic, immediate need for the restoration of Louisiana's fragile wetlands.Mr. Rahim's goal is to build awareness for the dire need for wetlands restoration with the hope that his efforts will culminate in an Environmental Summit in late 2010 or early 2011. The estimated cost of the restoration of Louisiana's wetlands in $6 billion."This must happen NOW!," said Rahim, 62. Mr. Rahim, a long-time housing and environmental activist, who gained attention as a community organizer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "Now more than ever, our wetlands need to be rebuilt. People need to know that Louisiana's already unbelievable rate of wetlands loss of a football–sized piece of land every 37 minutes has increased exponentially by the spewing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We need help!
"The horror of Katrina was made possible by number of forces," Mr. Rahim said, "including the devastation of Louisiana's wetlands by oil companies. Now this problem has been exacerbated exponentially by the hemorrhaging oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico," he said.
A novice cyclist but veteran activist, Mr. Rahim hopes to average 35 miles per day. He will began his journey in Houma, Louisiana at the BP Preservation Headquarters and proceed to the offices of Common Ground Relief, 1800 Deslonde Street, in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. On Wednesday, July 14, a press conference and rally will be held at Common Ground Relief offices at 3 p.m., at which time the group will bid Mr. Rahim well and see him off on his journey. He will head east along the Gulf Coast visiting those coastal cities hardest hit by the BP Oil Spill, including Biloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama, and on to Tallahassee, Florida. His trip will take him past the Sewanee River Basin the Okefenokee Swamp up past the National Seashores through Savannah, Charleston, the Cape Hatteras Seashore up past the Chesapeake Bay to Richmond and then to Washington DC. Mr. Rahim's ride will take him past some of the most pristine and endangered wetlands areas in the country.He will maintain a daily blog at bikeforthegulf.org and will update his Facebook group "Bike for the Gulf") and Twitter (twitter.com/bikeforthegulf ) entries daily.Mr. Rahim intends to arrive in Washington DC on 9/22. He plans to meet with the Progressive Caucus, and the Bike4Peace ride led by former Georgia Congressmember Cynthia McKinney. He invites all interested parties to join him on his ride, particularly those with the Green Party and other environmental affiliations. Visit BikefortheGulf.org for more information and updates.
Who Was Meg Perry?
Portland, ME, organizer Meg Perry died in a bus accident in December of 2005 while she was working as part of the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Perry is the only person to be killed while volunteering in the aftermath of the storm. She is remembered as a beacon of hope and the essence of civic responsibility in the communities that she served. All the way from Portland, Maine, she drove down on a bus fueled mostly by used cooking oil. Ms. Perry made the trip to the Gulf Coast region three times, and each time she brought back at least six more volunteers. After reaching the Gulf Coast, she spent months repairing roofs, helping to start neighborhood gardens, working to protect the wetlands, and distributing emergency supplies to all races, especially African American survivors in Alabama, and in the New Orleans communities of Algiers and the 9th Ward.
The Meg Perry Center for Environmental Peace and Justice is a center for research and advocacy for Gulf Coast restoration.
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