One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
'Humanitarian Day' will reach out to downtown homeless during month of Ramadan
Umar Hakim and 8 year-old daughter, Aneesah, distributing flyers for Humanitarian Day on August 12th, in downtown Los Angeles.
(
Ruxandra Guidi
)
Listen
1:03
'Humanitarian Day' will reach out to downtown homeless during month of Ramadan
Ramadan started on July 19th and goes on for an entire month—during which Muslims are expected to fast, think about the world they live in and help others.
Compton native Umar Hakim’s Guyanese mother raised him to be an Episcopalian, but later he converted to Islam. For a dozen years, he’s visited people who live in downtown L.A.’s Skid Row during his religion’s holiest month.
“We don’t need to say anything," says Hakim. "We need to do something by putting our faith into action."
Hakim says Humanitarian Day is the creation of a Muslim-led coalition soon after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"Ramadan is a month of reading the Qur’an, internalizing its meanings and trying to apply them in the best way possible to our personal lives and social causes, so all that translated into Humanitarian Day.”
That day arrives on Aug. 12, when Towne Street between 4th and 5th Streets in downtown L.A. will be closed to car traffic. Hakim and fellow Muslims plan to line the block with tents, where they’ll make clothing, food, toys, hygiene kits and health screenings available to their homeless neighbors.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
