[1] Yankah was awarded a Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford, earning a Bachelor of Civil Law at Lincoln College.
He believes that the American legal system fails Black communities, with a particular focus on opioid addiction,[3] mass incarceration and police brutality.
He is co-chair of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council (NYDLC), a coalition of attorneys who look to protect a citizen's right to vote.
[11] In particular, he believes that the vague language of the Constitution of the United States leaves too much scope for dangerous interpretation; systematically supporting police brutality.
[16] In 2017, Yankah penned an opinion editorial for the New York Times questioning whether he could allow his children to befriend white people in the era of Donald Trump's presidency.