Beyond Cash: Media 2070's IG Live Shows Why Reparations Must Reshape Systems
- tmanon1
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
By Mañón Media Management
On August 4th, Tianna Mañón, CEO of Mañón Media Management (MMM), hosted a powerful Instagram Live conversation with Media 2070 to reframe how we think about reparations. This event wasn’t just an update—it was a movement-building moment, weaving together history, narrative power, and a vision for a future rooted in true repair.
The live session featured a book reading from Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for Black Reparations, where Media 2070’s Joe Torres and researcher Trevor Smith shared insights from their chapter “More Than a Check.” Together, they walked attendees through the ways reparations have been imagined, demanded, and—in some places—delivered.
During the live, Mañón and her guests also updated viewers on the growing momentum for reparations nationwide. While over 75% of Black Americans doubt this country will ever deliver reparations, cities like Evanston, Illinois, and Asheville, North Carolina are proving local change is not only possible—it’s already happening. These initiatives go beyond symbolic payouts, addressing housing, education, and community investment. They’re rewriting the narrative and showing that repair can happen right now, not in some distant future.
But the conversation didn’t stop at progress reports. Mañón and her guests challenged viewers to think deeper—because cash alone, even a federal payout, cannot transform the structures that created harm in the first place. Reparations have always been about more than money. Even the historic promise of “40 acres and a mule” wasn’t merely financial compensation; it was a radical push for land ownership and power redistribution—a direct challenge to a system built to keep Black Americans economically dependent.
That context reframes what’s at stake today. True reparations require dismantling systemic barriers in housing, education, media, and governance. As Smith put it, “If we only redistribute cash but not power, we’re just funding the same inequity that harmed us in the first place.”
By bringing together history, local victories, and forward-looking strategies, Media 2070’s IG Live reminded us that the fight for reparations is also a fight for transformation. As Mañón closed out the session, she left attendees with a charge: “We can’t settle for repair that leaves the old systems intact. Reparations have to build something new.”
For those who missed the live, you can watch the full conversation on @Media.2070’s Instagram and join the movement to push for reparations that are more than a check—they’re a pathway to a new world.
Comments