Reflections on How to Kill a City by Peter Moskowitz| Part I

In his opening remarks, Peter Moskowitz lays out an utopian village where urban living allows everyone to thrive. He then plunges deep into the causes of its collapse. Raised in the West Village of New York City, the neighborhood bears little resemblance to the streets he called home as a child. Yet, this very community was once heralded as an …

Voyage Along the Horizon Between the United States and Brazil

I arrived in Salvador a 21-year old black male, raised by the Indianapolis community that created me, to embark on a journey to discover lessons from another chapter of the African Diaspora. I arrived with a backpack of journals and cameras and a large duffle bag filled with clothes inappropriate for the tropical weather. I was drenched in sweat within …

Indianapolis Equity Profile from PolicyLink

Presentation created by Alexis Stephens, Senior Communications Associate at PolicyLink. Presented at Kheprw Institute on September 25, 2016 at Gentrify: Equitable Development vs. Economic Development.

Is Gentrification the Problem in Indianapolis?

Is Gentrification the Problem in Indianapolis? A recent report by the Center for Community Progress was presented at Development on Tap, a monthly discussion hosted by LISC (Local Initiative Support Corporation), which finally acknowledged that gentrification is real. While the author acknowledged that gentrification is real, he argued that it is a relatively small issue compared to neighborhood decline and …

Indy Communities Taking Control of Their Food

With the loss of Double 8 foods in our communities last year, the people searched for an alternative means of obtaining affordable produce without having to drive all over creation to access them. From that need, the Community Controlled Food Initiative (CCFI) was born.   CCFI is a community led initiative that was started by the Kheprw Institute shortly after …

The KI Equation: Challenging Conversations + Aliveness = Liberation

The Kheprw Institute, with all its limitations, remains a location of conversations about possibilities. In that field of possibility we’ve the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our peers, an openness of mind and heart allowing us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. These critical conversations are …

Gentrification: Interview with Imhotep Adisa

Members of the Kheprw blog team recently sat down with Imhotep Adisa (M) Executive Director of Kheprw Institute to talk about gentrification in Indianapolis as part of a series focused on equitable development and empowering community solutions. How do you define gentrification? M: When I think of Gentrification I think about it in very broad ways. Fundamentally it’s displacement, physical, …

Book Review: Drug War Capitalism by Dawn Paley

The topic is controversial; the author herself is courageous for taking on such an underreported story. Dawn succeeds in connecting transnational business with paramilitaries, drug cartels, and U.S. involvement. Far too often in the media we hear of the reports that the FBI has taken down a major cartel and somehow it’s a major blow to drug trafficking. Also another …