Belief in Action

I entered the world in 1957, in the middle of a fierce global battle for equal rights and opportunity. This was a world that displayed the power of collective action; that once someone recognized something as wrong, something could be done to change it.

Resisting and refusing to accept the world as it was, was engraved in my DNA at an early age through the community's historical memory and catapulted me onto a journey looking for solutions within my community and communities abroad. These experiences led me to believe that one of the most important social justice issues is the historical truth that the American society has failed to include the African-American community in determining the fate of society. The consequences of this history, where power and worth are decided by race, are stagnant disempowered minority communities. Communities that have immense repositories of latent talent, yet never reach their full potential. Once this stagnation pierced my heart and spirit through a multitude of close friends and family members, I understood that my life had to be dedicated to action in the form of resisting, reclaiming and renewing.

In the summer of 2002 in Indianapolis, the Kheprw Institute was born in an attempt to help my son and his friends with their academic and personal development. The Kheprw Institute sees its work as that of human transformation through the pursuit of self-mastery. We strive to provide an environment with opportunities for individuals to bring forth the best within themselves, to constantly develop and enhance their abilities, to take responsibility for their own transformation and to make positive contributions to their community.

As more and more youth gravitated to the Kheprw Institute, we recognized simultaneously how people within our community were playing an active role in destroying our planet. We came to this realization, and the subsequent knowledge about global green initiatives, following a screening of the Al Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Next, we watched a story on Green For All's founder Van Jones, an African-American male, that spoke about the importance of people of color being involved in the conversation about a new green economy. These events, as well as the natural disasters that were unfolding, taught us that if mother Earth is not healthy, no one is. In fact, we now know that we must protect the Earth at any costs-it is the only home we have!

The KI EcoCenter, which is our community and information center, was formed to ensure that in this newer green economy, people of color are given a voice and a guaranteed place at the table. We have learned many lessons in building the EcoCenter. For one, you MUST be who you are, WHEREVER you are! Any organization or person that walks through the world with a sense of rebellion, resistance, and refusal to bow down and conform will ALWAYS receive considerable push back from proponents for and beneficiaries of the traditional model.

In fact, the ongoing challenge, is sticking to what you believe intellectually and intuitively -after seeing it tested emotionally. But how can you expect others to believe in your vision, if you don't? Despite the push back you will undoubtedly receive, there must be an unrelenting belief in your mission. I've always been a firm believer in the abundance principle or the disposition that whatever resources you need materially will manifest themselves, if you continue walking down your path.

Continue working, continue believing.

Imhotep Adisa — Fellows Class 5

Imhotep Adisa is native of Indianapolis, Indiana. As an African-American, his interest in environmental and economic issues was born out of personal and community experiences. His interest in environmental issues was heightened after some of the young men in his program held a forum on the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Not long after, the group read Van Jones' The Green Collar Economy. Since that time most of their work has centered on creating community awareness about the environment, providing information to residents on green economic opportunities, and providing an alternative voice to the community about these issues as they relate to the African-American community. Read Imhotep's full profile »