Conversation Reparations - How Should Reparations be Used for Education?

Many Descendants of Afrikans enslaved in the US agree that education is a fundamental part of any reparations demand. We will explore why education is so important to reparations and specific ways education can be addressed thru reparations.

Yaa Asantewaa Nzingha is an award-winning activist, lecturer, educator, and actress. She is a contributing author to the Essence Magazine Bestseller, Should America Pay? Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations and The Osiris Papers. Yaa Asantewaa is widely known for using her teaching and theater experience to raise academics, self-esteem, and consciousness in Black youth. She also received the prestigious Audelco Lead Actress Award.  

She is a graduate of Central State University and studied at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and Columbia University. After graduating, she began teaching and counseling urban students. She was affected and drawn to those whom many call “troubled youth”.   Her impact on her students was profound. Raising their test scores and self-esteem to record highs led to her appointment as a professor at Medgar Evers College where she taught, trained, and counseled educators on how to effectively teach Black youth.   

Presently, Yaa Asantewaa Nzingha’s attention is focused on working for the release of US held political prisoners, many who have been incarcerated over 30/40 years for fighting for the liberation of Black people. She also actively works to seek reparations for Black people who have suffered injustices and injuries in America.