Education
Marvel’s RiRi Williams Delivers On 3.14 (Pi Day 2017) [Video]
March 17, 2017
Not all heroes wear capes – but some carry tubes (Pi Day 2017)
They don’t make words for how dope this is. Get excited about higher education; esp. about the prospect of attending one of the United States’ most prestigious – M.I.T. They sent out the admissions decision letters on March 14th, or 3.14 (known as Pi Day, for reasons any who have/had any shot of getting into the pinnacle engineering school understand).
And before you non-nerds push a hand up and out and let out a “pssshhhtt, so what?” Recognize the levels of geek-ohol M.I.T. admissions poured into this years batch of Kool-Aid. Dude, Iron Man, dude! Well actually, they put together a 3-minute vignette featuring a Marvel character, an M.I.T. teen prodigy that built her own super suit and subbed for Iron Man when Tony Stark fell ill that time. The character, RiRi Williams (played by MIT student Ayomide F.), picks up a ‘special delivery’ in the video in her Iron Maiden suit. The special delivery? It’s a tube containing someone’s M.I.T. admission letter. Learn more about the backstory after watching the clip above by following the link below.
MORE: MIT ADMISSIONS VIDEO FEATURES BLACK WOMAN SUPERHERO (NEWSONE)
Posted in Comics, Education, Human Interest, Videos | 
Tags: Ayomide F., Iron Maiden, Iron Man, M.I.T., M.I.T. admissions, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, MIT admissions, Pi Day, Pi Day 2017, RiRi Williams | 
No Comments »
Chance The Rapper Speaks On His Frustration Over Chicago Public School Funding (Video)
March 7, 2017
Chance The Rapper clip above; saying he was feeling a kind of way (not the good kind either) after his conversation with the Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner about funding from Chicago Public Schools. Chance is not the first in Hip-Hop to go hard for his hometown, for the kids & community; but the occasion is still too rare among folks with the bully pulpit and the bucks in our culture. And if you peep after the jump, you will see that Chance is putting his money on the table… even as the Governor and his ilk are taking money ($215 million) off it.
Salute to Chance The Rapper. He put up. Hope he doesn’t shut up until the state does right and puts some bread up, too!
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Celebrity, Cover Story, Education, Hip-Hop, Human Interest, News, Politics, Videos | Tags: 1 million dollars, ABC News, Arts & Enrichment Programming, Arts And Enrichment Programming, Chance The Rapper, Chance The Rapper Donates $1M, Chance The Rapper Donates $1M to Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Public School, Chicago Public School Funding, CPS, education funding, one million dollars, Press Conference | No Comments »
How Microaggressions Are Majorly Offensive (Video)
March 6, 2017
Still don’t fully understand what microaggressions are?
Here’s a metaphor you won’t forget!
Ohhh! So that’s what you call it when folks who don’t know any better (or who actually do, but wanna be azzholy-on-the-lowly) poke and pester you with patronizing platitudes that are actually coded putdowns… microaggressions!
You know, like if you are actually surprised that a Black guy, or a ‘blogger’ for that matter, actually knew those words I just used, could onomatopoeically employ them thusly, or even want to comment how surprised you are that I know a sesquipedalian word like ‘onomatopoeically’… Yeah, you’d be one of those microaggressors!
– @ojones1
Watch The First 2 Hours Of PBS’ Documentary Series “Africa’s Great Civilizations” (Video)
March 2, 2017
Yes indeed. PBS’ 6-hour documentary series “Africa’s Great Civilizations†(hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.) hit the airwaves as advertised, February 27th through March 1st; shedding light on the stories, kingdoms and cultures of Africa. Groundbreaking and enriching. Fertile soil for fruitful discussions.
Got the first two hours for you here; hour one embedded above, with hour two after the jump. Take it as seed to build with your bretheren, your family… your human family. Africa’s history is WORLD history. Enjoy!
Posted in Education, Film, History, Investigation, Series, Television, Travel, Videos | Tags: Africa’s Great Civilizations, black history, Black History Month, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., Henry Louis Gates, Henry Louis Gates Jr., PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, Public Broadcasting System | No Comments »
Smart Money: Millennials & Money (Video)
February 21, 2017
This is the year to level up the #BankBlack and #BuyBlack Movements. Nice work doing so here by OneUnited Bank, the African American Film Critics Association and BMe Community; bringing us their “Smart Money” financial literacy video series. Set to cover topics from saving money to building credit to creating jobs and supporting community development.
Financial literacy and stability, for ourselves and our community. Yes, we STILL can… together!
Bill Nye Saves The World (Trailer)
February 9, 2017
Now that’s what we’re needing more than ever! Damn right, Bill Nye “Saves The World” and drops the science… AND the mic! With a White House and U.S. Congress that are sure to place ‘good business’ before good sense and what is good for the planet (note: good for the planet can be, and usually is, good for business), we need the return of Saturday morning Science to bring fun and knowledge to bear against all the anti-science out there.
Bill Nye – science guy, educator, mechanical engineer, and curator of curiosity – returns with a new show. Each episode of Bill Nye Saves the World tackles a specific topic or concept through lively panel discussions, wide-ranging correspondent reports from a crackerjack team, and Bill’s very special blend of lab procedure and sly personality.
Bill Nye Saves The World arrives April 21, only on Netflix.
Plus, look at all the guest stars that will be coming through. Score for Netflix. We’re ready for April already. Peep the trailer.
Posted in Education, Science, Series, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Bill Nye, Bill Nye Saves The World, Bill Nye The Science Guy, Netflix, The Science Guy | No Comments »
Africa’s Great Civilizations (Documentary Series Trailer)
February 3, 2017
#AfricasCivilizationsPBS premieres February 27 on @PBS. Will you be watching? pic.twitter.com/zAQ60ctWRr
— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) January 16, 2017
It’s February. Black History Month to those who want to celebrate it as that. But since we make history every month, and we predate history, let’s go with the LOVE theme (not even waiting until the 14th *wink*).
So, on everything we LOVE, the late author & renaissance man Dr. Henry Louis Gates is at bringing us this POWERFUL docu-series on “Africa’s Great Civilizations.†Stirring, speaking truth for the ages… A must-watch when it drops Monday, February 27th on PBS. Peep the trailer above.
(And don’t let “them”… any “them” tell you YOUR history. “They” should not determine YOUR place in the universe. YOU should!)
Posted in Education, Film, History, Investigation, Series, Television, Trailer, Travel, Videos | Tags: Africa’s Great Civilizations, black history, Black History Month, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., Henry Louis Gates, Henry Louis Gates Jr., PBS, Public Broadcasting System | No Comments »
‘Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo’ Documentary Covers His Rise From Prison To Hollywood
January 7, 2017
The video above is not the trailer for actor Danny Trejo’s upcoming documentary, but its interesting to provide you all an appetizer for the upcoming documentary ‘Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo’. There was another documentary on Danny Trejo called “Champion” that we posted the trailer to after the jump.
“The big screen tough guy is currently in production on Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, a documentary that will chronicle his life and career — from his early days on the streets that led him to prison, to getting clean and working with directors like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez and appearing in films such as Heat, Con Air and Machete.
Today, Danny Trejo is temperate, benevolent and likely one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. But he wasn’t always this wayâ€, says producer Adam Scorgie in a statement. “Growing up in the mean streets of Pacoima, California, he was raised and mentored by his uncle, a drug addict and armed robber. By the age of 12, he had tried heroin. By age 15, he was introduced to his first jail cell. At 23, he was sentenced to San Quentin for selling a $30,000 bag of heroin to an undercover agent.”
Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo is expected to be released in 2018.
James Baldwin: ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (Official Trailer)
January 6, 2017
“In his new film, director Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished – a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words. He draws upon James Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America.”
“One of the best movies you are likely to see this year.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
In theaters February 3rd
IAMNOTYOURNEGROFILM.COM
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, History, Human Interest, Interview, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, James Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson, Trailer | No Comments »
NYFF: ’13th’ Documentary Film Panel Discussion (Video)
January 5, 2017
The day after Ava DuVernay’s new film, 13TH, opened the 54th New York Film Festival, subjects interviewed in the film came together for an extended conversation exploring the many issues explored in this powerful documentary about race and criminal justice.
From the portrayal of black men in popular culture, dating back to D. W. Griffith’s 1915 Birth of a Nation, to the progression from slavery to mass incarceration and the persistent demonization and killing of black men by police in our cities today, the discussion will consider how the past connects with our present reality. Participants will include Ashley Clark (BFI), Jelani Cobb (The New Yorker, The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress), Malkia Cyril (Center for Media Justice), Kevin Gannon (Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning), and Khalil Gibran Muhammad (Harvard Kennedy School; former Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture). 13TH is a Netflix original documentary.
PREVIOUS: 13TH DOCUMENTARY TRAILER (VIDEO)
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Activism, Cover Story, Education, History, Human Interest, Interview, Investigation, Politics, Progressive, Videos | Tags: 13th, 13th Documentary, Documentary, New York Film Festival, NYFF | No Comments »
Marcus Garvey Inspired MLK & Mandela; Today His Son Is Asking President Obama To Pardon Him (Video)
December 23, 2016
“Today we look at another request for a presidential pardon, this one from the family of Marcus Garvey, a pioneering figure in the Black Freedom struggle in the early 20th century who inspired generations of civil rights activists around the world. In the 1920s, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover targeted Garvey for his political activity as a leader of the Pan-African movement. Garvey was convicted in 1923 on a charge of mail fraud and sentenced to five years in jail. His charges and conviction effectively ended Garvey’s political movement and eventually led to his deportation back to Jamaica. We speak to Marcus Garvey’s son, Dr. Julius Garvey, who is leading the Justice4Garvey effort.”
JUSTICE4GARVEY.COM
PART 2 OF THIS INVERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP BELOW…..
Read the rest of this entry »
The Step Team Building an Unbeatable Legacy (Mini-Documentary)
December 16, 2016
Wow. The brother said he and his team destroy their bodies preparing for a show they’ve won 11 years running! Wow…Â No let up, no chill! You can see why this is part of ‘The Greatest Homecoming On Earth.’ And you can see the rest of the ‘Great Big Story’ above.
The art of stepping—choreographed stomping and clapping—has been practiced by historically Black fraternities and sororities for decades. It’s a performance of skill and precision. And every year at North Carolina A&T’s “Greatest Homecoming On Earth,†Greek organizations hit the stage to compete for a coveted title. The brothers of Phi Beta Sigma have won the step show 11 years in a row. This year, as pressure to maintain their legacy mounts, step master Byron Hannah tries to lead his brothers to another victory.
– @ojones1
Posted in Dance, Education, Human Interest, Investigation, Videos | Tags: Byron Hannah, Fraternities, GHOE, Great Big Story, Greatest Homecoming On Earth, Greeks, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina A&T University, Phi Beta Sigma, Sororities, step master, Step show, stepmaster, Stepping, The Step Team Building an Unbeatable Legacy | No Comments »
StarTalk: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Sits Down With GZA (Of Wu-Tang Clan)
November 28, 2016
I’m continually impressed that much of the GZA content we share on here places just as much a premium on high intellect and science as it does on skillz. Watch world-renown new school science guy Neil deGrasse Tyson talk with GZA; really getting into real-life love of science, being inspired by it, and how it can (and should) inspire others.
– @ojones1
Posted in Celebrity, Education, Hip-Hop, Interview, Podcast, Radio, Science, Series, Videos | Tags: Gza, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Star Talk, StarTalk, Wu-Tang Clan | No Comments »
Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise (Trailer)
November 16, 2016
New docu-series from noted history scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Debuted last night. Next scheduled national broadcast next Tuesday, November 22, 2016. Check local listings for other air times.
In his new four-hour series, BLACK AMERICA SINCE MLK: AND STILL I RISE, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. embarks on a deeply personal journey through the last fifty years of African American history. Joined by leading scholars, celebrities, and a dynamic cast of people who shaped these years, Gates travels from the victories of the civil rights movement up to today, asking profound questions about the state of Black America — and our nation as a whole.
– PBS
NASA: Futuristic Aircraft Design (Video)
October 31, 2016
Airlines are going so far nowadays as to ask passengers to go ‘potty’ before takeoff to make the plane lighter overall. Every little bit counts. Ha!
Seriously. Lighter… as well as more powerful & efficient, more resilient, less pollutant-producing… all goals for airlines. Such are also hallmarks of futuristic air transportation tech. So you gotta know NASA is all over it. Matter of fact, it is likely that research-heavy NASA is leading in many ways. Watch this documentary on how.
Posted in Business, Education, Environment, Science, Technology, Videos | Tags: Advanced Aircraft, aircraft design, Educational Videos, Full Documentary, Future, Futuristic, NASA | No Comments »
Neil deGrasse Tyson Speaks On How Politicians ‘Cherry-Pick’ What They Want From Science (Video)
October 21, 2016
Come here kids politicians. Uncle Neil is NOT happy with you. Stop abusing the science. Matter of fact, if you aren’t gonna use it right, DON’T TOUCH IT!
Science is often the topic of heated debates between politicians, but Neil deGrasse Tyson really dislikes it when politicians do this one thing when it comes to science.
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Celebrity, Education, Politics, Science, Videos | Tags: cherry picking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, POLITICIANS, Tech Insider | No Comments »
College Football Field Transforms Into Tuition-Paying Farm (Video)
October 10, 2016
Now, I’ll holler at any TV screen showing a college football field being put to good use. Before now, I thought that that was filling the field with high-powered, pounding offense and aggressive defense, with all the scores and collisions that come along with those. Gotta admit though. This…pretty good idea. Greens will grow, just like grass did. If you’re not pushing a sled down that field, dig it up and push a plow up it. Sow and harvest. Address the nearby food dessert (where residents have very limited access to fresh produce) AND fund higher education to boot.
Awesome. Simply awesome.
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Business, Education, Food, Human Interest, Nature, Sports, Videos, Youth | Tags: College Football, College Football Field, Dallas, farm, farming, food desert, Historically Black Colleges, organic vegetables, Paul Quinn College, raising organic vegetables, Texas, Tuition, tuition-funding, Tuition-Paying Farm, work tuition | No Comments »
How Can You Tell If Someone Is Lying? (Video)
September 26, 2016
Okay. This is FASCINATING! Being able to divine the truth, or at least determine when someone is lying is the stuff of great spy stories, war movies, epic action-dramas, even sci-fi/superhero blockbusters… Captain America and the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. could have certainly used a lot more of lie spotting early on in “The Winter Soldier” right?
(By the way, if you haven’t already, you reeeeally should check out the BEST MARVEL UNIVERSE FILM TO DATE – “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”)
Deception can destroy confidence. Pamela Myer, the author of “Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception” and one of the most popular Ted Talks of all time, has made a career developing interview techniques and identifying verbal and non-verbal cues a person trying to lie to you might exhibit.
But let’s bring this skill back down to Earth. Consider how your parents (or you readers who are parents) utilize lie spotting day-to-day. How does a mom know when her child is lying about where she was this afternoon? How does pops already know about those scratches on the car door did NOT just ‘happen at the supermarket’? Or let’s get real-life: How can an investigator know if a person of interest is telling the truth or not… or how might a spy counter lie spotting techniques?
Or to get really real… How will you determine whether the candidates are answering truthfully during the U.S. Presidential Debate?
(Tonight at 9PM EST. I’ll be watching on PBS – available on TV or online here.)
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Human Interest, Lecture, Politics, Science, Videos | Tags: Baseline, Baselining, Body Language, cognitive load, cues, cues to drill down further, Detect Deception, equivocating, euphemisms, How to spot a liar, How to watch the first presidential debate, How to watch the presidential debate, Indicators of Deceipt, leakage, Liespotting, Liespotting: Proven Techniques to Detect Deception, Non-contracted denial, non-verbal cues, nonverbal cues, overemphasizing truthfulness, overly specific denial, Pamela Myer, proof of deception, Proven Techniques to Detect Deception, qualifying language, Tech Insider, tells, The Keys To Lie Spotting, verbal cues | 1 Comment »
Why Racism Isn’t Just a Southern Problem (Video)
August 22, 2016
Sure, Harriet Tubman led slaves away from the South to escape slavery… the Jim Crow and Civil Rights black & white photos and videos show the South as the true ‘home’ of racism… BUT, let Franchesca Ramsey hip you to fact that racism ain’t just in the South good buddy!
While the stereotypical racist in the US might be a southern good ole boy, the reality is that “progressive” Northern and Western states have had a pretty long and terrible history with racism as well. Whether it’s the history of sundown towns that threatened violence against people of color if they were found there after dark, the incredibly racist founding of Oregon, or the long history of redlining to prevent home ownership, it seems like racism certainly wasn’t and isn’t just a southern phenomenon.
Go Franchesca! Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show was cancelled, but you’ve got too much to share with the world to stop now. No joke. Keep it pushing!
Posted in Activism, Education, Politics, Progressive, Series, Videos | Tags: Decoded, Institutionalized racism, MTV News, Racism, redlining, systemic racism, Why Racism Isn't Just a Southern Problem | No Comments »
John Oliver Gives Us The Low-Down On Down & Dirty Auto Lenders (Video)
August 15, 2016
WOW! Did y’all know about the car loan beeper??? Car loan folks are out of f*cking control. But so are John, Keegan and Bob. Ha!
Auto lenders can steer vulnerable people into crushing debt. Keegan-Michael Key and Bob Balaban help John Oliver show exactly how.
– Last Week Tonight
Learn from this and be wary of the Buy-Here-Pay-Here bloodsuckers.
Posted in Activism, Celebrity, Comedy, Education, Series, Television, Videos | Tags: Auto lenders, Auto Lending, Buy Here Pay Here Loans, HBO, high-interest lending, high-interest loan, John Oliver, Keegan-Michael Key, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, predatory lending, predatory loan, sub-prime lending, sub-prime loan | No Comments »
