Education
A Societal How-To For People Of Color: Watch “The Melanin Code†(Documentary)
July 10, 2018
Yessir. This knowledge is needed! Forty acres and a mule just will not do. People of color in America need generational wealth. Watch “The Melanin Code†and let’s learn to organize and get that. Trailer above. Link to the documentary (on demand) below.
How is it possible to thrive when history has shown that for over 300 years, where there have been steps taken to divide melanated people mentally? The answer is simple. We need to start over from scratch and go back to the basics. We need a Code of Conduct. We need an Instructional Video.
Yes, an Instructional Video that covers all areas of activity:
Economics
Education
Entertainment
Law
Labor
Politics
Religion
Sex
War
This is a “Solutions-Based†film. The diverse cast of business owners, financial experts, religious figures, well-known activists, educators, politicians and even members of the police force will identify the problems within our race, and will present solutions.
“The Melanin Code†will also decode hidden actions and keywords from the dominant society that are used to demean us.
All other ethnic groups have a code they abide by to get things accomplished. Let’s establish ours.
Being a White Student At A Historically Black College (Documentary)
June 25, 2018
“I feel like I belong here if I’m putting in the work. It’s that simple.”
Whew. When he asked dude, “Do you feel like you really belong here?” Tiago answered like that. VICE does it again! Really digs into this perspective of a White student attending an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).
On this episode of ‘MINORITY REPORTS,’ we met up with Tiago, a White freshman at Morehouse College, an HBCU in Atlanta that counts Martin Luther King, Jr. and Spike Lee as alumni.
We sat down with him to hear why he decided to enroll in the school, asked his peers for their thoughts on having white students on campus, and followed along as he showed us what it’s like to be one of very few non-black students at school.
– VICE
Now, if you are even thinking about reducing this topic to ‘any student can go anywhere’… Let’s not waste your time. Come back in an hour or something. This is deep exploration like VICE documentaries do. Gonna stay? Okay, press play.
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Human Interest, Investigation, Videos | 
Tags: Atlanta, Being a White Student at a Historically Black College, Georgia, HBCU, Historically Black Colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, MINORITY REPORTS, Morehouse College, non-Black, non-traditional, Tiago, VICE | 
No Comments »
Do You Even Know How Rich Bill Gates Is? No, You Don’t. Let Neil deGrasse Tyson Explain (Video)
June 5, 2018
I’m charmed by the fact that the ‘patron saint of geeks’ is the richest man in the world.
– Neil deGrasse Tyson
Wow. Just… wow. And this was back in 2016 (yeah, gimme that ‘late pass’). Probably only gotten richer since then.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Just How Wealthy Bill Gates Is
– Science Today
Guaranteed you haven’t thought of it like this #BetMoney
– @ojones1
Back Story Of The Israel-Palestine Conflict (Video)
May 23, 2018
Peace in the Middle East. We got used to saying the phrase; praying for it to become a reality. If you already know the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, good on you for being informed. I will admit to not knowing. I came across many storytellings like this on YouTube. Though I do not claim the expertise to declare it absolutely so, this one seems to speak to the true history in an even-toned manner.
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Film, History, Politics, Travel, Videos | Tags: gaza, intifada, Israel-Palestine conflict, Israeli Occupation, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Israelis, Occupation, Palestine vs. Israel, Palestinian uprising, Palestinians, The Gaza Strip, Vox, War, West Bank, Zionism | No Comments »
Did You Know That Bob Ross Did Much More Than Paint On PBS? (Video)
May 18, 2018
I thought about whether or not many of you are even old enough to remember how awesome “The Joy Of Painting” and host Bob Ross were. PBS was home to some great television. And if watching Ross paint ‘happy trees’ gave you joy back in the day, too, you will likely be as wow’d as I was (in a good way) when you learn even more about the PBS icon.
He inspired generations of young people to paint, but did you know these facts about him?
– George Takei Presents
– @ojones1
Posted in Art, Celebrity, Education, Human Interest, Recreation, Series, Videos | Tags: Bio, Biography, Bob Ross, George Takei Presents, PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, Public Broadcasting System, The Joy of Painting | No Comments »
Chadwick Boseman’s Uplifting Commencement Address To Howard University’s Class Of 2018 (Video)
May 15, 2018
Better to find PURPOSE than a JOB. PURPOSE drives you to make a mark on HISTORY! A JOB is how you make a living. Preach that truth brother Boseman! Hear (and feel) the words of the Howard University alum giving his address to the most recent graduates from his alma mater, The Hilltop aka #WakandaUniversity
Stop what you’re doing and watch Chadwick Boseman give powerful advice to the class of 2018.
– NowThis
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Advice, Celebrity, Education, EVENTS, Speech, Videos | Tags: Chadwick Boseman, Commencement Address, Howard University, Now This, NowThis, The Hilltop, Wakanda University | No Comments »
Baba Brinkman Is Dropping Science… Brain Science… In His “Rap Guide to Consciousness” (Trailer)
January 18, 2018
Not sure if you know like I know, but there are folks in Hip-Hop whose works I admire yet will probably never totally ‘get.’ Like, I know Raekwon is dope, but sometimes he goes into some bushes I have never seen before… and I can’t follow what he’s doing. I just chalk it up to him doing him doing Hip-Hop… and I stay on a Hip-Hop path because I know he will come back and stomp down a familiar path (or at least one I can follow) and we’re good. That kind of thinking is not just for Hip-Hop. I think about Neil deGrasse Tyson or Gary Vaynerchuk or some of the far-out science/tech articles I post here… not knowing all of what is going on, but knowing there is something there; that this is something I should be following.
This cat, Baba Brinkman. He’s like that; with his lyrical presentations about consciousness and such. I just dug some write-ups about him out of the inbox and peeped this trailer that came with them… I’m seeing critical acclaim, some building buzz, association with work I often follow into some of those aforementioned bushes (see Mega Ran – who I ran across while staying up on the moves of the homie SkyBlew). Yeah. So I subscribed. I get a good amount of what he is spitting about (yeah, like rapping about) in his rhymes that engage and explore the mind. And while I am sure Baba will head off into some bushes I’m not eff’n with from time-to-time, I get the feeling that he will brink it back (come, rewind). Like Chef Raekwon and Dr. Tyson do for me.
Check dude’s trailer out and see if you can keep up with what he’s putting down. One time for your mind!
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Hip-Hop, Performance, Science, Videos | Tags: Baba Brinkman, Consciousness, Rap Guide to Consciousness | No Comments »
Science: Earth’s Longest Living Lifeforms (Video)
January 4, 2018
I was just telling someone the other day: I think it is a good thing that we cannot talk to animals and plants. Some species have been around way long, and live way longer, than us. They could tell us about ourselves. Really tell us about ourselves.
And living that long, that ‘reading’ on us could get ugly. Still… thinking about how long they (e.g. non-human lifeforms) live. Hella interesting!
– @ojones1
Study More Effectively Utilizing “The Feynman Technique” (Video)
November 28, 2017
The world is overflowing with information. It’s impossible to learn deeply about everything.
So, that’s what the narrator is saying in the first part of this instructional video. Hmmm… not making me feel better about this training session I have to get ready to run soon… and I bet a LOT of students getting ready for finals will not be comforted by the ‘impossibility’ of deep learning about a LOT of stuff (especially given a limited time to do it, like by FINALS, in a couple of weeks)!
But hang on, true believers. The technique described in the video above outlines a process that makes sense. I’m banking on it to work (because I have some training to do for a gig VERY soon). It might help you, as a student of life, or some student you know who is facing finals soon.
Note: It is NOT magic. This involves discipline and hard work! But isn’t that always the path to true mastery?
So, click play, get insight on the Feynman Technique, and let’s get it!
– @ojones1
Posted in Advice, Animation, Education, Videos | Tags: deep learning, How to Study Way More Effectively, Richard Feynman, Study Tips, The Feynman Technique | No Comments »
Science: Neil deGrasse Tyson Offers An ‘Interstellar’ Explanation Of Reality Beyond Three Dimensions (Video)
November 23, 2017
That “Interstellar” flick was incredible by the way. A real mind trip, especially the way they viewed time and space in outer space. Crazy… until go-to astrophysicist and all-around smart guy Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson breaks it down for us. Then it makes much more sense.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson saw “Interstellar” and then came by Business Insider to explain what the ending means – and if it’s scientifically sound.
Time. Wow!
– @ojones1
Posted in Celebrity, Education, Science, Videos | Tags: Business Insider, Explanation, fourth dimension, Interstellar, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Time, time and space, time travel | 1 Comment »
PBS To Feature “The Story of Black Colleges & Universities” On ‘Independent Lens’ (Trailer)
November 20, 2017
Last year, we got the new mind-blowing documentary from Stanley Nelson about the rise and fall of The Black Panthers. This year, like right now, we get a trailer letting us know about the new new documentary due out 1st Quarter 2018 – “Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges & Universities.”
Stanley Nelson, the preeminent storyteller of the African-American experience and Firelight Films, the award-winning production company committed to making films about pivotal events, movements, and people in American history, unveil a new full-length trailer for the upcoming documentary Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities. The trailer provides a fast-paced, rousing overview of the complex history of how HBCUs, havens for Black intellectuals, artists and trailblazers, offered a path of promise toward the American dream, educated the architects of freedom movements throughout the decades and cultivated leaders in every field.
Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges & Universities premieres on the acclaimed series Independent Lens on PBS on Monday, February 19th 2018 at 9p ET (check local listings). For more details on the film and #HBCURising campaign go to www.hbcurising.com
– Firelight Films
Posted in Activism, Call To Action, Education, Film, History, Investigation, Television, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Black Colleges, Essence, HBCU, Historically Black Colleges, Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, INDEPENDENT LENS, PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, Public Broadcasting System, Stanley Nelson, Tell Them We Are Rising, Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story Of Black Colleges And Universities, The History Of HBCUs, The Story Of Black Colleges And Universities | No Comments »
Watch A PBS Documentary On The Late Rock & Roll Pioneer, Fats Domino (Video)
October 30, 2017
Man oh man. Rest in peace to the legendary Fats Domino!
Fats Domino was one of the most popular rockers of the 1950s and early 60s. His achievements and record sales during that time were rivaled only by Elvis Presley. With his boogie-woogie piano-playing rooted in blues, rhythm & blues, and jazz, he became one of the inventors, along with Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard of a revolutionary genre of music, rock ‘n’ roll.
– PBS
We might argue about that list of rock ‘n’ roll architects, but PBS is on point with this documentary. Good fodder for discussion and/or a primer for those who need to backfill knowledge about who the world just lost.
The Open Mind: Educating Hip Hop – 9th Wonder (Video)
October 26, 2017
The Hip-Hop Fellow of Harvard (yeah, see here)… and PBS… what an educational team-up! Must watch.
DJ, Producer, and Professor 9th Wonder on the preservation of a Hip-Hop archive and legacy.
– PBS Video
Posted in Celebrity, Education, Hip-Hop, Videos | Tags: 9th Wonder, Educating Hip Hop, Hip-Hop Rubric, PBS, PBS Video, The Open Mind | No Comments »
Civil Rights Activist James Baldwin At Cambridge University Union In 1965… Speaking Like He Is With Us Today (Video)
October 17, 2017
Is 400 years of slavery building this country (and oppression thereafter) plus many wars of service not enough to justify our right to have some say in its running… without having to hear, “You can leave it if you don’t love it”… Well, isn’t it? Answer: YES! Moreover, we are not going to be ousted by anyone. We helped BUILD this place ‘they’ say we can ‘leave’ (like it isn’t OURS, too)! Sure, this declaration has an angry tone. So I will let activist/scholar James Baldwin say it. Words from so long ago. Could he have known they’d still be so applicable today?
Prior to the UK release of the Oscar-nominated documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, we take a look at a seminal speech by the film’s subject – writer, essayist, poet and civil rights activist James Baldwin. At Cambridge University Union in 1965, Baldwin debates whether the ‘American dream’ has been achieved at the expense of African-Americans.
– The Guardian
Yeah. And Baldwin even has something to say about the flag in this. So on point.
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, History, Politics, Speech, Travel, Videos | Tags: activist, American Dream, Cambridge University, Cambridge University Union, Civil Rights, civil rights activist, essayist, I Am Not Your Negro, James Baldwin, poet, Respect for the flag, take a knee, TakeAKnee, The Guardian, UK, United Kingdom, writer | No Comments »
Science: What Is A ‘Category 5’ Hurricane Really? (Video)
September 20, 2017
We’ve been hit with hurricanes these past few weeks (Harvey, Irma)… hit badly. And it was reported that the weather events reached Category 5. But what does that mean actually? Anyone?
Hurricanes roll up the Atlantic basin every year, but they weren’t categorized until 1971. The system, called the Saffir-Simpson Scale, tracks wind speed, damage caused, power and water loss expected, and habitability of affected areas. Category 1 storms are usually the least destructive, with the scale topping out at Category 5 storms, which can cause areas to be uninhabitable for weeks or months.
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Nature, Science, Videos | Tags: Category 5, Category 5 Hurricane, Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Saffir-Simpson Scale, Vocativ | No Comments »
African History: Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, Dr. Yosef Ben Jochannan Tell It “Like It Is” (Video)
September 3, 2017
African History is WORLD History! Africa MADE history, not just as the Motherland for all humanity; but for all kinds of advances. Evidence of an astronomical observatory, calendars, advanced husbandry and metal works… way in advance of when man supposedly first ‘discovered’ them… Yeah, this is vintage footage of Black scholars telling us – and offering strong arguments to support – that Africa had all that on lock.
The scholars even speak of the cultural character of ancient African civilizations. When Africans invade, they do not wipe out others’ civilizations. But when others invade…
Well, just watch. Wonder. Learn. SHARE!
Black Men Trace Their Roots… Of Their Native American Heritage (Video)
August 31, 2017
You could get in a lot of trouble if you were caught ‘out of place’ or ‘talking out of turn’… Sound familiar, like familia? It should, especially for these gentlemen who have proven that they have ‘Indian in their blood’ (as my elders used to say). But this video is more about similarities in Native American and African American heritages. This is about linkages, bonds, relationships between our peoples. Set aside about a half-hour and get this knowledge!
On the next Another View, a history lesson on the Cheroenhaka-Nottoway Indian Tribe of Southampton County, Virginia – and how a man named Walter Ashby Plecker forever changed the relationship between Native Americans and African Americans in this part of Virginia.
– WHROTV
Posted in Activism, Call To Action, Education, Interview, Relationships, Series, Television, Videos | Tags: African Americans, Another View, Barbara Hamm Lee, Cheroenhaka, Cheroenhaka-Nottoway, Native Americans, Nottoway, Southampton County, Tribe, Virginia, Walter Ashby Plecker, WHROTV | 1 Comment »
Dr. Charshee McIntyre Lectures On The History & Science Of Afrikans and Native Americans (Video)
August 29, 2017
Strength, beauty, honor, AND knowledge! Pay attention as Dr. Charshee McIntyre breaks it down in spite of diagnoses that would have many think she is ‘diseased’… Nah, she is in a constant state ‘dis ease’ (as in, “ill at ease”). Through her lineage, Afrikan and Native American (Cherokee-Choctaw in her instance), she speaks truth to her (read: our) existence and how we have diminished our humanity.
Dr. McIntyre gets deeper in depth in her lecture above. Rep. Maxine Waters popularized ‘reclaiming my time’… Dr. McIntyre implores us all to ‘claim our heritage’ and reclaim OUR humanity!
Yes, OUR humanity – Black, Red, White – all coming out of Africa… all intermingled genetically now. Traced back many, many millennia to The Motherland.
(Oh, and several historical myths are getting blown up in here. Sorry, not sorry, Columbus!)
Posted in Activism, Education, History, Lecture, Science, Travel, Videos, Vintage | Tags: Afrikans and Native Americans, Charshee McIntyre, Dr. Charshee McIntyre, The Black Side, TV108 | No Comments »
History: Life In Roman Britain (Video)
August 16, 2017
Caught a BBC write-up on this Roman Britain history animation video. Intriguing – both that the animators/producers chose to mix in brown-skinned characters as something other than slave-level AND that there was much Twitter beef about the historical accuracy of including Black people in the mix. Well, that second part is not that ‘intriguing’ as you KNOW someone is gonna hate when folks give Black people anywhere near a fair shake.
Come on. Why can’t haters skip the arguments (which they just might lose, seeing some scholars clap back that there were Brit Blacks back then)? To historical accuracy… would this clip’s detractors argument against White actress Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra or all the non-Native players of Native Americans in the ‘classic’ movies? Want to go deeper? Okay, anyone want to tackle the ‘accuracy’ of Tom Cruise playing a White American Army officer who becomes the bad-azz sword-swinging ‘Last Sumerai’ in a year or so?
Yeah. Just watch the cartoon. LISTEN to the content. Maybe learn something about Britannia back in the day.
Posted in Animation, Education, History, Videos | Tags: Britain, Life in Roman Britain, Roman Britain, Roman Empire, The Story of Britain | No Comments »
Debunking The Myth Of Women’s Fast-Ticking “Biological Clock” (Video)
August 15, 2017
Hahaaa! She said she’s gotta get baking before her oven breaks down. Easy lady. Take it easy. Experts agree that you can still have a baby after 35. Above, Adam tells you why.
(You should know the ‘how’ by now.)
The data that “modern” fertility advice is based on is actually straight-up medieval.
– College Humor
– @ojones1
