Nkechi Taifa: Agent for Change

My name is Joshua Bevill.  I'm serving 30 years in federal prison for a low-level, nonviolent offense. I've been in prison for nearly 15 years now.  During my time on the frontlines, I've learned that injustice comes in many different forms. While most people are inured to human toll that results from the inequities that plague the federal system of justice, there are a handful of criminal justice superheroes who devote their lives to helping unravel decades of systemic abuses that produce excessive sentences.

That brings me to Nkechi Taifa.

To say that Nkechi wears many hats as a social justice warrior is anunderstatement. She is the founder and CEO of The Taifa Group LLC, a social enterprise on a mission to advance justice. She's also the catalyst behind the Justice Roundtable, a network championing progressive justice system reform.

Nkechi's impressive journey includes serving as Advocacy Director for Criminal Justice at the Open Society Foundations, where she focused on sentencing reform, law enforcement, reentry, and racial justice. With a knack for coalition-building, she played a key role in passing impactful legislation like the Second Chance Act and the Fair Sentencing Act.

A passionate educator, Nkechi directed the award-winning Equal Justice Program at Howard University School of Law and taught seminars on racial disparity, public interest law, and prisoners' rights. She's a powerhouse in the classroom and beyond, having even taught high school students criminal law as part of the National Bar Association’s Crump Law Camp.

Nkechi's legal prowess shines through her roles as legislative counsel for the ACLU, policy counsel for the Women’s Legal Defense Fund, and staff attorney for the National Prison Project. Her dedication to civil rights extends to her service as an appointed Commissioner and Chair of the District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights.

High School Rebel to Revolutionary: Nkechi's Early Activism

As a young girl, school wasn't just about learning for Nkechi; it was about sparking change. Amidst the whirlwind of the 1960s and 1970s, Nkechi carved her identity as a cultural and revolutionary nationalist. In the early 1970s, she took charge at a primarily White high school, rising to become the president of its Black Student Union. 

A pivotal moment came in 1968, when during a Black studies class, Nkechi and her fellow students were shown a poster of Huey Newton of the Black Panther Party. While all of her teenage girlfriends became instantly smitten with the handsome leader, Nkechi wanted to know why he was in jail, and more importantly, why the head of the Black Panther Movement was being represented by white lawyers? Her young mind wanted to know where all of the black lawyers were who could represent black people?

This was the spark that lit her fire, and from that moment on, Nkechi knew she wanted to be a lawyer who could represent Blacks. She would go on to earn her Juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School and graduated magna cum laude from Howard University.

Fast forward to the Eighties and Nineties, and Nkechi, now an attorney, was at the forefront of the National Conference of Black Lawyers—the self-proclaimed "legal arm of the Black Revolution." She found herself in the heart of the "Resistance Conspiracy Case," defending six individuals charged with acts, including the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Capitol. Their mission: to influence, change, and protest government policies through unconventional means.

As co-counsel, alongside the controversial Mark Lane, Nkechi fought racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits, leaving an indelible mark with Shepherd v. ABC News—an unprecedented default judgment in 1995. Not one to shy away from monumental events, she took on the role of coordinator and trainer of Legal Observers for the historic 1995 Million Man March.

Planting Seeds for Shade Yet to Come

These days, Nkechi’s accolades are as impressive as her advocacy. There was the "Champion of Justice Award" and the "Lifetime Achievement Award." Essence Magazine recognized her as one of the "100 Woke Black Women Advocating for Change" in 2019 and celebrated her as one of the "Unsung Black Women Making Strides in the Law" in 2018.

Adding an author's touch, Nkechi penned the best-selling memoir, "Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice," recounting her rebellious journey during the Black Power era. She's also a children's book author, reimagining her classics for a new generation.

Nkechi has also formed The Taifa Group (TTG), whose goal is to create transformative experiences in the complex landscape of justice. Her firm has already cultivated an impressive national network of strategic stakeholders and change agents with a collaborative spirit to propel justice forward. 

Nkechi's legacy is not just in courtrooms and legislatures; it's in the hearts of those she's inspired and the positive changes she's tirelessly championed. She is enthused by the young people coming up to continue the fight, and by the conversations happening to reimagine justice. 

Nkechi also recognizes that change doesn’t happen overnight and there is still a long way to go:

“There's a saying that talks about planting seeds for trees that you might not live to sit under the shade of — and that's what I'm seeing now. People might not live to see what justice really is reimagined to be, but the fact that that conversation has now reached the mainstream is major. If you keep at it, it will, in fact, at some point change.”

As a proud mother, accomplished lawyer, and dedicated advocate, Nkechi Taifa continues to be a shining beacon for justice and equality.