Faith and the Power of People:  Imani Kazana, Profile of an Activist

By Stuart Eisenberg,

In Swahili, the name Imani, means believe, and Kazana means believe strongly and busy oneself.  Imani Kazana happens to be the very personification of the ideas that her name represents.

Imani has gone by many titles: mom, grandma, daughter, president of the Avondale Citizen’s Association, charter member of the Washington Gas Watch Alliance, special projects consultant, development officer for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, real estate agent, director for Harvard’s Afro-American Cultural Center, citizen activist, and political activist.  Her colorful career and civic life testify strongly to the conclusion that she is aptly named.

But Imani’s resume only slightly captures the essence of her dedication to her community, her family, and her world.  In the past three years she Hs made a unique transition from being a dedicated community development and planning career professional with the State of Maryland to being a full-time civic activist, while running her local civic association and waging a grassroots campaign to improve Prince George’s County and Maryland’s policies regarding placement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.

Imani is first and foremost a devoted daughter, caring full-time for her Alzheimer’s disease-stricken mother, and keeping her many grandchildren on a positive path of personal achievement.  The faith and the justice of her many causes keep her strong and motivated in the face of the hurdles and adversity she confronts as she works to improve and protect her community.  Many others would bend under the strain, but Imani only digs deeper, reaches out more broadly and engages and challenges everyone she meets to work with her, to join her cause for community health and safety, environmental justice, and equitable treatment for unincorporated communities.

From the Prince George’s County Sierra Club newsletter, Spring 2007.