Invasion of Privacy: Kodjo Adabra and the power of the untamed mindset
“The content of the character is what matters. Nothing else matters. Everything else is amazing.”
Kodjo Adabra (PhD), an Associate Professor of Francophone Studies at Geneseo, has a third-degree black belt, an excellence award from the SUNY Chancellor, and numerous books to his name; yet, his story begins over 5,000 miles away. Adabra is originally from Togo, a West African Nation. There, he would go to Togo’s premier college to earn a degree in business; however, he was a very vocal student in a place where the government wasn’t kind to activists.
“There were 4,000 students all together,” Adabra said. “Nothing was run well. There wasn’t much infrastructure, not even a library… I’d be the one calling for strikes [for more resources] and canceling classes. The government never liked it. They would send in the military. They came to beat [students] up with batons… [They] threatened denying me a job. I ended up on the blacklist and couldn't get a job.”
Thus, Adabra had to leave Togo to find employment—this would lead him to America.
“When I came to America, my life shifted,” Adabra said. “In Togo, I was giving speeches. In America, I couldn’t speak the language. I couldn’t be the same person I was in Togo. I learned English from working at McDonalds and Target. I did all of this knowing I would go back to school. I had ideas; I had to gain my voice and identity back.”
Adabra went back to school in order to learn English—when he could not afford to pay for college, he took language classes for adult immigrants, where he would rush to class after getting off of his overnight shifts at work. Adabra was eventually admitted to North Carolina State University.
They let me into North Carolina State with a scholarship,” Adabra said. “I needed a 3.5 GPA every semester or I was kicked out. I had a 4.0, so I got the scholarship. I was awarded as an outstanding graduate student from North Carolina State.”
As an immigrant who’s lived in America for over 20 years, Adabra has a unique view of America:
“The American dream is real. I’ve lived in Africa, been to Europe, lived in Canada, been to the Caribbean. No place is quite like America. America has a sense of belonging. There are so many places, even developed places, that don’t have the same freedom as America. The downside is that America is a capitalist country—nothing wrong with that. Investment in the wellbeing of others isn’t something that exists. For immigrants it has a good side and trains you to be productive. In other countries people might just sit around and wait for things to happen to them. It was a very difficult decision to come to America. Many immigrants want to go to America. I wanted to serve my country. Everything I do is focused on Africa.”
During the time that Adabra was unable to communicate in America, he had a lot of time to think. This translated into reflecting on the human condition.
“I appreciate a critical mind. A critical mind embraces a balance of stories. We as human beings reduce to single stories, but balance is key. Human beings don’t scare me; the only thing that scares me are ideas. That, to me, is what is beautiful about my existence.”
For those seeking more information, Adabra’s book, The Power of the Untamed Mindset, further discusses his life and his philosophy.