Poverty has almost doubled in Indianapolis, increasing from 12% in 2000 to 21.2% in 2014. This increase in poverty is also marked by racial inequity with whites at 14.7% and people of color at 30.3% (2014).

What can we do in our neighborhoods to build relationships, share resources and use what we have to create the city we want to live in? How can we empower ourselves and our neighbors to create opportunity to provide for our basic needs of food, housing, education and community?
It is clear that conventional economic growth solutions prescribed by economists, city planners and business leaders have failed to solve the challenge of poverty and inequality. Join our discussion as we seek for new ideas and solutions rooted in community.
The discussion will be led by panelists from Kheprw Institute and other local/national social enterprises (TBA) and followed by a Q&A and open dialogue.
This is the 5th installment in Equity in Action a community discussion series hosted by Spirit & Place and Kheprw Institute. Learn more about the full series at http://equity.kheprw.org

Meet the panel:

Imhotep Adisa, Executive Director, Kheprw Institute

Imhotep has spent over thirty years working to address issues of equity across public, civic and business sectors. Since 2004, he has served as the Executive Director of Kheprw Institute (kheprw.org). KI works to nurture critically aware young people to build a culture that is in harmony with the environment and created economic opportunity through social entrepreneurship. KI is rooted in a spirit of self-mastery and innovation. The Institute has incubated a number of successful enterprises including KI NuMedia which tells stories that empower community through videography, social media and web design (kinumedia.org). In addition to building the Kheprw Institute from the ground up, Imhotep spent nine years in public education in various capacities that involved training, facilitation, technology and administration. After leaving this arena, he then started and ran a successful business enterprise for nearly a decade. Over the years, Imhotep’s primary emphasis has been to promote indigenous, youth-led initiatives and to engage young people in advancing sustainable practices within themselves and their surrounding community.

Diop Adisa, Filmmaker, Kheprw Institute; Hip Hop Artist

Diop Adisa has worked to empower community for the past 5 years through uplifting stories, projects and visions rooted in Community Empowerment through Self-Mastery. One of the main tools he uses to encourage and support equity, community voice, community control and community vision is independent filmmaking. Central to KI’s mission is the ability to, through the use of intentional storytelling, paint the narratives that culturally reflect how we see reality and how we envision reality in its ideal state. With a focus on empowerment, he dedicates his time, energy and effort to shedding light on the stories and messages of individuals and groups working diligently to bring about this reality. He currently leads KI NuMedia’s videography team, trains youth and seniors in filming and video editing and helps to co-lead the enterprise. He is a hip hop artist and recently his track, “LowKey LowKey” was selected to be featured in Spike Lee’s upcoming Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It. OTHER PANELISTS TBA