About Me My name is Nzingha Assata, I was born in Jamaica and came to England as a child on the 16th January 1959. My name then was Mary Bedward. I attended Lavender Hill Secondary School and went on to become a Registered Nurse, a Registered Health Visitor, a Lecturer Practice Educator; I have a BA (Hons.) In Social Science and I have done a whole host of other things. Through marriage my name changed to Mary Gordon and during the 1980s when I became politically conscious of being a woman of Afrikan origin I changed my name to Nzingha Assata. My first name was chosen to honour Queen Nzingha of Angola who fought against the Portuguese for many, many years, when they came to Afrika to steal our land. My second name is in honour of Assata Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers of America.
I am blessed to have two children and four grandchildren. Over the years I have played a very active role in various voluntary agencies working to restore Afrikan pride and dignity. I have spoken at many cultural events and conferences and had the privilege in 1996, of speaking on the topic "resurrecting the Afrikan Family" at Afrikan Liberation Day 1996, on the same platform as our esteemed elder Dr. John Henrik Clarke, who has now joined the ancestor pool. I am a poet and have performed at a variety of events including sharing a platform with Lenny Henry in 1986 at the Lola Jones community centre, Garratt Lane, on behalf of the Wandsworth Black elderly project. I have also been active in the school system and have held positions of Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary to the PTA when my children were young. I was also a parent Governor for my son's school.
