Diop Adisa, Indianapolis

The best place to create real change is exactly where you are.  23-year old Diop Adisa works only two blocks away from where he grew up in Highland Ficinity, Indianapolis – a historically black community that has not let the devastating effects of the drug war stop the development of local entrepreneurship. Diop is dedicated leading youth in self-mastery for community empowerment. The inspiration for this youth program at the Kheprw Institute was birthed out of his own father’s dedication to help him through school when he was 14 years old. Diop was inspired to come back after graduating college to support the next generation of black youth ages 9-15 who face the same challenges that he did. He coaches them in public speaking and engages them in critical thinking by breaking down abstract concepts that most people only learn at the college level, like ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, grounding these concepts in their daily struggles.

At the Kheprw Institute students learn the importance of self-sufficiency. Together they built an aquaponics system to grow their own organic food, using water collected from rain barrels to help to relieve sewer overflow at the same time. “We have too much dependence on centralized power. If the grocery stores close tomorrow, people will starve. We need to learn to provide for ourselves,” Diop says.

Diop believes that for any degree of sustainability to be reached, it has to come from the ground up.

Inspired by music artists like Outkast, Nas and Erykah Badu, Diop also believes that we need to place more emphasis on art. He started a digital record label called The Price of Freedom to help rappers save time and money that they lose waiting for a deal. “Our price of freedom is our commitment to our craft,” he says.