Education
What Happens After A Bullet Is Fired Straight Up (Video)
August 15, 2016
Straight up. The question of whether or not firing bullets into the air is harmless is one worth answering, especially with the occasions we have for revelers to pop that kind of firework on holidays. Well, most of us did not actually need a video to tell us but… if you are or aren’t sure, watch.
By the way, on this whole gun rights and gun control discussion: RESPONSIBILITY is part of it. Obey our laws! Beyond that, discussion of what criminals may or may not do is noise. For those who have the guns lawfully, though, responsibility is a MUST! Buy and use fireworks properly (or go to a ‘show’) if you just want to hear loud pop-pop-pop. Better yet, take in a movie. Rent “Heat” and watch Deniro and Pacino ‘n’em let them thangs go! Nobody gets hurt. But if you point and shoot in the air, chances are someone could.
(That music though. Whyyyyy?)
– @ojones1
Posted in Animation, Education, Science, Videos | 
Tags: celebratory gunfire, fireworks, Firing a bullet straight up, Gun Control, gun ownership, gun safety, gunfire, Tech Insider | 
No Comments »
How European Countries Like Germany, Britain, and France Plundered & Traded African Lands (Video)
August 1, 2016
Like taking candy from children… more like taking land, resource wealth, and freedom to move about and claim their homeland statuses… That was the European countries’ mad, blood-drunk ‘Scramble For Africa.’ Here is a documentary short that explains how African countries were conquered, plundered and even reshaped by France and the UK.
(Onward Christian soldiers, huh? Must’ve been reading from another ‘good book.’ And they disregarded the indigenous peoples as savages.)
Hit the jump, and prepare to get mad.
What Ever Happened To The Concorde Plane? (Video)
July 27, 2016
This plane could cross the Atlantic in 3.5 hours. In the time you’d take a cross-state bus trip, you’d be across the ocean on ANOTHER continent!! The Concorde gave us supersonic transport. So, with all that going for it, why did this supersonic plane fail? The answer is complicated. Vox’s Phil Edwards investigated.
The Myth Of Race (Video)
July 22, 2016
Race is not ‘real’ per se. It is made up… In medical science and diagnoses, it is actually ‘made up’ of (e.g. referring to) several contributing factors – like where your ancestors came from and social pressures exerted on the people considered to be part of the same cultural group as you. But just because it is not real (that is, having no distinguishing DNA identifier from person-to-person) does not mean it is not important.
You may know exactly what race you are, but how would you prove it if somebody disagreed with you? Jenée Desmond Harris explains.
– Vox
Posted in Education, Science, Videos | Tags: debunked, debunked in 3 minutes, Jenée Desmond Harris, Race, The myth of race, Vox | No Comments »
Al Elliott: We All Want To Matter (Video)
July 20, 2016
My dude Thed Weller! He goes by his born name, Al Elliott, when he is reaching and teaching the masses (Mr. Elliott when those masses are his 5th-grade students). So very proud of this brother. What a wonderful TEDx talk he gives about how important it is that we all feel like we matter and how we ALL play a role in making that happen. It’s probably not what you think, but it’s everything you could imagine or hope.
We all want to know that our ideas matter. In this touching talk, educator Al Elliott shares how was all have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to validate the ideas of others in our lives.
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Human Interest, Series, Speech, Videos | Tags: Al Elliott, TEDx Talks, TEDxBirmingham, Thed Weller, You Are a Validating Institution | 1 Comment »
The School To Prison, Explained (Video)
June 28, 2016
Damn. Vox breaks it down… how schools are breaking us down. Surely, you’ve heard of the ‘school-to-prison pipeline.’ Officers in classrooms, abundant and extreme zero-tolerance policies, Black students way more likely to be disciplined. In effect, our children are being set up, prepared even, to go to prison at some point. And it all starts in preschool. Watch the clip explaining it above. To get deeper in depth, check out Vox’s full write-up (linked below).
Posted in Education, Investigation, Videos, Youth | Tags: criminal justice, criminalization, discipline, expulsion, justice system, Juvenile, juvenile court, juvenile offender, police officers in classrooms, police officers in school, prejudice, Race, school officers, SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE, suspension, zero-tolerance | No Comments »
Build And Destroy: A Short History Of The Development Of The U.S. Highway System (Mini-Documentary)
June 21, 2016
A steady diet of VICE and Vox in your online reading and viewing can do real wonders for your perspective. Facts. Probably why we share their insights so often here. Check this short doc telling a different story behind the story of the development of the U.S. highway system. Sure you have to destroy to rebuild – a roadway to connect major cities, that allow fast traversal of the country in times of crisis – but we wouldn’t destroy neighborhoods to do it… not longstanding vibrant Black communities while preserving privileged White ones… on purpose… would we?
Yeah? Watch.
Maybe even check out Wikipedia to jumpstart a subsequent learning journey on highways. Key word parts: start and journey. DON’T let a quick Wiki run be the end of it. And make sure YOU drive your discovery!
WIKIPEDIA: INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM
Posted in Education, Film, History, Human Interest, Investigation, Politics, Videos | Tags: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, Eisenhower Highway, Eisenhower Highway System, How highways wrecked American cities, Interstate, Interstate Freeway System, Interstate Highway System, Interstate System, Vox | No Comments »
The DNA Journey: Where Are You Really ‘From’ (Video)
June 17, 2016
The one comment by the lady near the end – how DNA testing could force folks to understand that there is no pure race – is so compelling. No ‘pure’ race, no ‘superior’ race… no more motivation for the conflicts based on such dumbness worldwide. A peaceful world, far more related than we would have known otherwise; like we are all ‘cousins.’ Incredible viewing!
To celebrate diversity in the world Momondo presents The DNA Journey: a journey into who we are and how we are all connected as a global family. We asked 67 people from all over the world to take a DNA test, and it turns out they have much more in common with other nationalities than they would ever have thought.
Posted in Education, Human Interest, Science, Travel, Videos | Tags: DNA Testing, Let’s Open Our World, LetsOpenOurWorld, momondo, no pure race, Open World, The DNA Journey, we are all cousins | No Comments »
What Does The Future Look Like For Black People? (Mini-Documentary)
June 16, 2016
So dope! Afrofuturism. A way for Black people to see themselves in a bright future, almost in stark opposition to what most art forms hold for them. Seems like just what the people crave, has always been here… in our music. While movies and television beyond, say, Star Trek and the like, leave us out of the bright future, there is incredible music that puts us front, center, Black and strong!
Black people are rarely featured in sci-fi and fantasy films — that is, unless that Black person is Will Smith. How do Black people get to exist in the future? Afrofuturism, a scholarly and artistic movement that imagines the future through Black people’s experiences is one answer. The term was coined in 1994 by culture critic Mark Dery in his “Black to the Future” essay.
Parliament, Dr. Dre, Andre 3K, Janelle Monae… yeah, our music Afrofuturists are a good look… and help us look forward to a good place in the future!
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, History, Progressive, Videos | Tags: Afrofuturism, Black to the Future, Future, Mark Dery, social justice, What does the future look like for black people? | No Comments »
Travel: Cab Drivers Earn More Than Doctors In Cuba (Mini-Documentary)
June 13, 2016
Yep. You read that title right: As far as earning potential goes, Cab Driver > Doctor (or Engineer, for that matter). Where they do that at? Cuba (read the title)! But you may also think to ask, ‘WHY and HOW does the societal value of driver work out to be higher than that of a degreed medical practitioner?’ Well, the above mini-documentary will explain. But bet that you will still find yourself saying ‘wowwww!’ Especially when you hear what an average Cuban earns in salary each month…
In Cuba, cab drivers are the one percent.
Cuba’s economy works as a central planning model, where government ministries dole out resources and set everything from prices to inventories to salaries. The fact that a taxi driver can make so much more than a physician is a reflection of the Cuban government’s heavy focus on tourism. For years, the central planning apparatus has valued tourism as a key mechanism for both bringing in revenue as well as propagating the idea that Cuba is thriving. Many pesos are collected by the high prices on everything related to the tourism industry.
Rapping Deconstructed: What Is So Great About The Greatest Rhymes And Rhymers Of All Time?
May 24, 2016
Get your notebooks and get on your think caps. This is a scholarly pursuit of RAP (as in ‘Rhythmic American Poetry) knowledge. All kinds of rhymers and rhyme styles studied – MF Doom’s to Rakim’s to Kendrick’s and back. A thorough rap analysis is encapsulated in the lesson module above. Press play and dig in deep!
Special thanks to the research of Martin Connor who was interviewed in this piece. More of his rap analysis can be found here: http://www.rapanalysis.com/
Posted in Education, Hip-Hop, Poetry, Videos | Tags: deconstructed, Rapping, The best rhymers of all time | No Comments »
Education: Ronald Nelson Chose To Attend The University Of Alabama… Over EVERY Ivy League School (Video)
May 23, 2016
This hits, and hits ME, hard!
I was once a high school senior with eyes on an Ivy League acceptance prize. I was this close…THIIIISSS (like three out of seven admission board votes) close to getting in, too. However, I fell way below Merit-Based financial aid thresholds; and with out-of-state fees, had I been accepted to Cornell University, I might have been even further in college debt than I am now.
(Spoiler Alert: I’m DEEP in that debt sh!t, yo. So deep that my poor Tuskegee, Alabama accent just went BK NY. Even though I’m 4-6 ’til the deep-six… son! And before you ask, homie, hometown Tuskegee University’s fees got higher than folks on the best Cali Bud just when I was ready to apply there. I definitely would’ve got gaffled with that debt, homie… Oh no, my accent just went ’90s West Coast Hip-Hop… poorly. Haaaaaa!)
But I did not get accepted to the one Ivy League college I pursued, unlike Ronald Nelson – an incoming Freshman to The Capstone (aka The University Of Alabama). Ronald, wise beyond his years, has made a bold decision to turn down offers (and aid) from EVERY Ivy League school that accepted him (ALL of them), and several other colleges, to attend UA.
Ronald did the math, and he kept the faith about his post-graduate future which will be rife with so many options.
“With people being in debt for years and years, it wasn’t a burden that Ronald wanted to take on and it wasn’t a burden that we wanted to deal with for a number of years after undergraduate,” Ronald Sr. said. “We can put that money away and spend it on his medical school, or any other graduate school.”
Plus, though I do not know Ronald’s overall ‘tude at his current age, I would have been SUCH an Ivy League azz-jack. I believe I am a better person for going Crimson Tide (UA) instead of Big Red (Cornell). An Ivy League a-hole in the hole financially. And noooo, going Ivy League does not make folks ‘holes (ex: our hella cool U.S. President went to Harvard)… I am just talking about me.
And to Ronald, who I praise for exhibiting such wisdom at such an early age: Bravo, sir… and ROLL TIDE!
READ MORE: RONALD NELSON TURNED DOWN EVERY IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL
– @ojones1
Unforgivable Blackness (Documentary Trailer)
February 29, 2016
Sometimes it takes outsiders to tell you about yourself. PBS America – out of the United Kingdom – put out this documentary on the first Black American boxing champion, Jack Johnson. Dude was ahead of his time ways that would still scare a good amount of White people today. Just saying.
This film by Ken Burns tells the story of one of the greatest boxers of all time and his refusal to accept the rules of a society that considered people of his colour to be second-class citizens. This is the story of a man who refused to recognise racial differences and who forced America to reconsider its very definition of freedom.
Check out this trailer. Watching this documentary would be the way to end your Black History Month viewing with a bang…to the rib cage. Damn. Johnson was a baaaad maaan (Muhammad Ali voice).
Posted in Celebrity, Education, Film, History, Sports, Trailer, Videos | Tags: African American, black history, Black History Month, Boxing, champion, Jack Johnson, PBS, PBS America, Public Television, Unforgivable Blackness | No Comments »
PBS: Freedom Riders (Documentary)
February 28, 2016
Wow. Another moment in American History that just so happens to fall into the Black History category. You know how when someone gets in over his head and exclaims, “I did not sign up for this!” Well, in the first few minutes of this film you see that these young adults knew EXACTLY what they signed up for… and they went anyway. Civil Rights fighters of the highest caliber. Man, the courage it must have taken for CORE (Council On Racial Equality) to get on those buses.
Watch the story of the “Freedom Riders” – expertly told by PBS.
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, History, Television, Videos | Tags: American Civil Rights Movement, black history, Black History Month, C.O.R.E., Civil Rights, CORE, Council On Racial Equality, Freedom Riders, John Lewis, PBS | No Comments »
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross (Documentary Series)
February 27, 2016
Five centuries of history… Black History… our history. Encapsulated in an outstanding documentary mini-series you’ve gotta watch if your Black History Month is to be truly complete. Dr. Robert Louis Gates already does fine work helping celebs learn about their ancestries and themselves on “Find Your Roots.” But to teach a people, a nation, a WORLD about itself through something like this? Outstanding!
(Above is Episode 1 to get you started. Hit the jump for Episodes 2-6.)
Posted in Activism, Education, History, Series, Television, Videos | Tags: African Americans, American Civil Rights Movement, black history, Black History Month, Civil Rights, Many Rivers to Cross, PBS, Public Television, Robert Louis Gates, The African Americans, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross | No Comments »
4 Little Girls: Spike Lee Speaks On The Heart-Wrenching Decision He Had To Make (Video)
February 26, 2016
Another must-see before the focus on Black History for 2016 is lost…“4 Black Girls” (a real gut punch; but you still MUST watch). It will be hard to watch. Let Spike tell you (as he tells Oprah, above): It was hard to make.
In 1997, Spike Lee released “4 Little Girls,” a moving documentary about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, which killed four African-American girls. The film went on to earn an Oscar nomination for best documentary. Watch as Spike discusses one of the most difficult decisions he’s ever made as a director and how the birth of his daughter, Satchel, changed his perspective.
You can see a trailer for the actual documentary here.
Posted in Activism, Education, History, Interview, Series, Television, Videos | Tags: 16th Street Baptist Church, 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, 4 Little Girls, American Civil Rights Movement, Birmingham, black history, Black History Month, Civil Rights, Oprah, Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah's Next Chapter, OWN, Spike Lee on a Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement | No Comments »
The Murder of Fred Hampton (Documentary Trailer)
February 26, 2016
‘All Power To The People’ as a concept should not scare us. Fred Hampton’s stance in the above trailer comes through just as plain and clear on grainy archival footage as it would were he standing flat-footed saying it to our faces today: ‘If you are scared of socialism…you are scared of yourselves.’Â How deep is that?!
This trailer was made before Fred Hampton’s death when the film was to be called “Black Panther.” It shows Hampton (August 30, 1948 — December 4, 1969) giving a speech on revolution and racism in front of a large audience. Includes glimpses of Panthers Bobby Rush and Bobby Seale and filmmaker Howard Alk. This trailer is not included in the DVD release of the film.
– Chicago Film Archives
Black History is OUR history, all of ours (not just Black people’s). You should watch this; even after February 29th.
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, History, Speech, Trailer, Videos | Tags: American Civil Rights Movement, black history, Black History Month, Black Panther, Black Panthers, Bobby Seale, Chicago Film Archives, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, Fred Hampton, The Murder of Fred Hampton | No Comments »
Eyes on the Prize Parts 1 & 2 (Documentary Series)
February 23, 2016
Not to say that any print, audio, or audio-visual work is the end-all of what Black History Month should be… But if you have not watched the PBS American Experience documentary “Eyes On The Prize,” you have NOT had Black History Month! Above, you have your chance: Part 1 (“Awakenings”) and Part 2 (“Fighting Back”) are ready for your viewing and enrichment. Arguably, the best series on the decades-long American Civil Rights Movement. Filmmaker Henry Hampton and PBS have, no doubt, taken tremendous pride in bringing this presentation to the masses over the years.
Watch. Now.
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, History, Series, Television, Videos | Tags: American Civil Rights Movement, american experience, Assassination, Awakenings, black history, Black History Month, Civil Rights, Fighting Back, Henry Hampton, March, marches, PBS, PBS American Experience, Protest, Protests, Public Television, rallies | No Comments »
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (Documentary)
February 21, 2016
Found it! Right where it was supposed to be, at the PBS website. Guess other sources jumped the gun on putting it up and their videos got pulled down (delaying our sharing it with you here until now). Can’t blame them though: Viewers who missed the Public Television debut really likely really wanted to see this. Even some of those who caught it before probably wanted to see it again. Well, here it is “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of The Revolution.” Click play above; enjoy and be enriched and empowered. All Power To The People!
Directed by Stanley Nelson, this episode (and the above video embed) will be available from PBS online for watching until March 18, 2016.
Posted in Activism, Education, Film, Television, Videos | Tags: INDEPENDENT LENS, PBS, Public Television, Stanley Nelson, The Black Panthers, Vanguard of The Revolution | No Comments »
KRS-ONE – Black History Month: Lessons 1 & ​2 (Lecture Audio)
February 21, 2016
Black History Month: Lessons 1 and 2 is an eye-opening lecture of Black historical teachings by KRS-ONE. Narrated by Kris himself, this is a critique of Black History Month itself, re-frames the historical narrative of Black people in America properly, speaks of Black consciousness, cites and honors Black revolutionaries (past & present), and covers modern-day Black intellectuals. Mainly, Black History Month: Lessons 1 and 2 is meant to do away with misinformation regarding the African American ancestral narrative. Who better to do this with sharp intellectual analysis, retrievable facts, cited literature and poignant commentary than KRS-ONE? Nobody!
And what price is better than FREE? But, yeah, about that. Maybe… consider PAYING something for it; chipping in whatever you feel is doable financially. Because THIS is worthy work by a man who has been The Teacha to us all (Hip-Hop Nation, Black people AND Humanity) for so long. He did not have to do this. But once you click play you will be so glad he did!
