When your passion and aspirations exceed expectations, what happens? For Angeles Echols-Brown that means raising over $10 million to give unrestricted resources for disenfranchised, abused, neglected, marginalized, and disregarded adolescents. She does this through Educating Young Minds (EYM), her non-profit of which she is CEO and Founder. She founded the nonprofit in 1987 from her little Los Angeles apartment. She began her journey with a passion for helping impoverished and vulnerable youngsters. As a Memphis project child, this was really relevant to her.

We grew up in projects. Echols-Brown said her mother was single. She reminisced about raising kids “in a tough time.” Angeles witnessed her mother trying to raise her children and teach them about education. Her mother continually told them, “You have to go to school; you have to get a degree; don’t bring me babies because momma can’t afford to help you take care of them.”

Her mother showed her that you should get an education and be a community leader. Angeles stated, “It is what my mom did.” Angeles’ passion to elevate communities is unsurprising.

Her considerations of the communities she uplifts go beyond economic deprivation. Her childhood included physical and emotional abuse. “I discovered my mom was bipolar. She alternated between violent and loving. I realized it was her pain. Echols-Brown said she didn’t realize that till she was an adult. Her scholastic self-esteem and identity were damaged by this incident.

Angeles inspires me because she speaks honestly about her life experiences, which drives her work.

I applied to Cornell. All but one of my 19 college applications were accepted. Cornell was my choice because my aunt was a senior. Echols-Brown said she received a full ride to an Ivy League college.

Angeles praised her church’s outreach initiatives, which her mother required. That was useful because we met black doctors, lawyers, and professors. I met changemakers. I joined this community due of my mother’s hard work, Echols-Brown remarked. She noted her benefits along the way to one day bless others.

Angeles credits her mother’s perseverance and discipline for her accomplishment. She watched her mother babysit for the church and other white families, seeing the sacrifices made to support their family. Angeles remembers receiving a TV as a gift, but their mother reminded her that it came with a price, emphasizing the necessity of hard work and dedication.

“I thought we were special when my mother brought home a little black-and-white TV that was given to her. My mother reminded us, “No, baby, they say they gave us it, but your momma worked for it.” She would sit us down and say, “Go to school and do something I didn’t do; I didn’t finish college. “If you do that for momma, she won’t ask for anything else,” Echols-Brown said.

She became a community leader after earning a one-year master’s from Cornell University. Despite her desire to work in entertainment, she learned that a greater power had other plans. Angeles humbly accepted this heavenly intervention, knowing her ultimate purpose was elsewhere.

Angeles answered, “I did a bus and truck in The Wiz on Broadway. I was off Broadway. Buses and trucks transport people across states. Glenda was my character.” After success, she transfers to California, where things worsen. The girl I’m meant to stay with in Los Angeles doesn’t want a roommate, leaving

me destitute. For her, it was brief. She recounted her situation to Georgia, her Cornell counselor, whom she hadn’t spoken to in six years. Atlanta unveiled her Los Angeles home.

“I stayed there for six months; I did my movie, and then I got a small apartment,” Echols-Brown added.

After teaching at Trinity Lutheran School, a course was determined. Angeles began tutoring two children at her apartment after school. After seven months, the school pastor noticed. He requested her to take on additional troublesome students. Her schedule prevented her from taking them all, but they were fuel.

“For the first seven years, I was the only teacher tutoring, mentoring, and modifying behavior. I worked with these kids from pre-k to eighth grade. Echols-Brown said she suddenly had over twenty kids in her flat. She noticed their schooling was lacking many valuable elements. She worked for seven years out of kindness and spirit. Then she kneeled and begged God what she should be—teacher, actor, mentor?

You know God told her and she answered. She thrived, not simply survived. She abandoned her desires and followed God’s plan for her life.

Photography Credit: Hugh Williams