Hometown: New York, NY

Rakim Brooks is an Africana Studies major at Brown University, where he serves as the co-chair of the Africana Studies Departmental Undergraduate Group.  A Mellon-Mays Fellow, Rakim is enrolled in the 5 year BA/BS program and intends to seek degrees in Africana Studies, Philosophy, and Cognitive Science.  He hopes to further pursue his education by obtaining a J.D. and Ph.D. in the future.  When not engaged in his academic coursework, Rakim works as a research assistant for one of his university’s professors.

In 2006, Rakim interned at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld in New York as a summer clerk.  In the summer of 2007, and his first with the Institute, he interned at the Brookings Institution. He longs for a career in law and plans to teach after his litigation days are over.