Reparations. The issue is hot, scalding, and once unthinkable by mainstream America. Yet, it poses only a question. Does the United States government, as well as other culpable entities, owe reparations to the descendants of Africans once held as slaves?  Nkechi Taifa – attorney, scholar, and author of the upcoming book, Reparations on Fire: How and Why its Spreading Across America, answers that question with formidable facts. Her powerful talk, sprinkled with a personal journey, also describes ongoing legacies from the enslavement era visible today. Reparations for Black people, once fringe, has now captured the imagination of faith, academic and civic groups, as well as corporations, cities, states, and the federal government. Taifa shows unequivocally that reparations is an issue whose time has come, and fundamental to a long-overdue national reckoning of race in America.  Nkechi Taifa is an attorney, activist, academician and author. A passionate and visionary professional, she enjoys decades of experience as an accomplished justice system reform strategist and advocate. Taifa excels at advancing creative, cutting edge approaches that encourage out-of-the box thinking and action. The wealth of her experiences has allowed her to pursue justice from different vantage points — as a litigator, lobbyist, scholar, advocate, policy analyst, community organizer, convener and grant-maker. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx