History
Making Of A Mural: Street Artists Honor A Tribe Called Quest (Video)
October 4, 2016
These are Hip-Hop hieroglyphics. Respect to Greg Poole. Been hearing good things about this happening, but this vid puts it in perspective. Back in the day… to now… on the Boulevard of Linden. A Tribe Called Quest. RIP Phife.
25 years after the release of their classic LP “Low End Theory,” watch as a mural honoring A Tribe Called Quest goes up at the site of their iconic 1991 video for “Check The Rhime.”
– OkayPlayer
Posted in Art, Celebrity, Hip-Hop, History, Human Interest, Interview, Videos | 
Tags: A Tribe Called Quest, Boulevard of Linden, Graffiti, Hieroglyphics, Hip-Hop hieroglyphics, Linden, Linden Blvd, Linden Boulevard, Low End Theory, mural, RIP Phife, Street Art | 
1 Comment »
The Lone Buddhist Monk Who Stood Against The Communists And Saved His Temple (Video)
September 30, 2016
One man can make a difference. Full disclosure: There is no fist fighting in this docu-vignette. This monk fought Communist aggression against his temple in a different way, but he definitely stood his ground.
Very few of Mongolia’s Buddhist temples survived the Soviet era. But one particular temple in Erdenetsogt still stands thanks to the efforts of one monk, who risked a long prison sentence to save it.
– Great Big Story
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, History, Human Interest, Travel, Videos | Tags: Buddhist, Buddhist Monk, Chulaanbat, Communists, Erdenetsogt, Gachen Lama Khiid, Gotovyn Dambibaljir, Great Big Story, Head Lama, Jungles, Jungles in Paris, Lama, monastery, Mongolia, Monk, TEMPLE, The Buddhist Monk Who Saved His Temple, The Last Temple Standing | No Comments »
Blank On Blank: Stevie Wonder 2005 Interview (Video)
September 29, 2016
Incredible interview of the legend, Stevie Wonder, by British journalist Barney Hoskyns. The audio is good enough, but you know PBS Digital had to juice it up with animation in the best way. It is short but impactful nonetheless, esp. with Wonder talking about his first brush with racism.
“I think I discovered, you know, the whole thing of color when I went down South once, when my grandmother passed away,” the musician says in the video. “There were some kids, White kids that lived nearby or whatever, [that said], ‘Hey, n!gger!”
Wow.
Posted in Animation, Celebrity, History, Series, Videos | Tags: Barney Hoskyns, Blank on Blank, Keys of Life, PBS, PBS Digital Studios, Stevie Wonder | No Comments »
13TH (Trailer)
September 27, 2016
Historical hooray for the 13th Amendment, right? Because it freed the slaves…right? But wait. Hold the Constitution a minute. What if the passage of the 13th Amendment actually gave way to 150 years of oppression of Black people? That’s what Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13TH” posits. And it’s not ‘what if’ rather ‘what it is.’ Watch the Netflix trailer above. Wow…
The title of Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary “13TH” refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.†The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.
– Netflix US & Canada
The Founder (Trailer)
September 24, 2016
Always heard this story told and retold (usually as part of an Amway pitch… no shots, just saying). Very interesting though, never thought of Ray Kroc as such a shark. Check out this trailer for “The Founder,” starring Michael Keaton.
The story of McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc.
Long way from Batman movies for Keaton. Looks good.
Posted in Business, Film, History, Trailer, Videos | Tags: B.J. Novak, Franchise, franchising, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini, McDonald's, McDonald's founder, Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, Patrick Wilson, Ray Kroc, The Founder | No Comments »
Jay Z Speaks On The Failed ‘War On Drugs’ (Video)
September 16, 2016
It’s only 4 minutes long, but it’s an impactful 4. Jay Z is speaking on the failures of the so-called War On Drugs, speaking specifically about its effects on New York (his hometown) and the double standards of the campaign.
Posted in Animation, Celebrity, Hip-Hop, History, Videos | Tags: DREAM HAMPTON, epic fails, Jay-Z, JIM BATT, KIM BOEKBINDER, MOLLY CRABAPPLE, The War on Drugs Is an Epic Fail, War on Drugs | No Comments »
Watch The First Flight Of The Largest Aircraft Ever (Video)
August 20, 2016
You see… it’s not the size of… Nah, #$%! that, homies. That Airlander 10 is a big azz airship; the biggest that ever took to the skies! Why’s any of this matter? Well, check this out:
The ship is part  helicopter, part blimp and at 92 meters (301 feet) long it is the largest aircraft in the world. Though its maiden flight was only 15 minutes, flights when it enters normal operations could be as long as five days and night with passengers or up to two weeks at a time when controlled remotely and unmanned.
– FastCompany
Posted in EVENTS, History, Technology, Travel, Videos | Tags: air cruise, Airlander 10, largest aircraft in the world, long-term flight | No Comments »
Hacksaw Ridge (“Believe†Trailer)
August 9, 2016
Mel Gibson is getting back into Tinsel Town through the front door (starring in “Blood Father”) AND behind the camera as director of this World War II epic “Hacksaw Ridge.”
HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
– Lionsgate Movies
This intense trailer is called “Believe.â€
Posted in Action, Film, History, Trailer, Videos | Tags: BELIEVE, Hacksaw Ridge, Hugo Weaving, Lionsgate Movies, Luke Bracey, Rachel Griffiths, Sam Worthington, Starring Andrew Garfield, Teresa Palmer, Vince Vaughn | 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.
General Steele Speaks On The History Of Legendary NY Street Gang ‘The Decepticons’ (Video)
July 27, 2016
Whenever you can get the real scoop from an OG, an Original Gangster for real, you should do that. That said, you should watch this interview featuring General Steele (of Tek & Steele, of Smif-N-Wessun a.k.a. The Cocoa Brovas).
If you lived through the late 80’s early 90’s in NYC you’ve heard of the ‘Decepticons’. Some might think I’m talking about the infamous villains led by Megatron from the cartoon ‘The Transformers’. The names of the actual people were the same, but nothing about these men walking around NYC was a cartoon. General Steele (a member of the crew Deceps aka The Decepticons) from the legendary group Smif-N-Wessun gives us a brief history on the street gang known as the ‘Decepticons.’
Images Exposing America’s Racism: The Murder Of Emmett Till (Video)
July 26, 2016
1955. Your parents and/or grandparents REMEMBER this. The killing of Emmett Till happened not even ONE full lifetime ago. Anybody wanting to tell you that revisiting such a ‘distant past’ is divisive, that you should just ‘move on’… well you should. They would have been the same people who would have believed Emmett was ‘flirting’ and that his death was his fault or just a fact of life. The fact is that the loss of Emmett’s life was a TRAGEDY. That a movement found life and strength provides some solace but in no way lessens our sadness and mourning.
Anyone telling you to move on is right. Do it. Move on… AWAY FROM THEM! Anyone telling you that to keep bringing up race, protest or even talk frankly about race-motivated violence against Black Americans that is going on in the same lifetime as the murder of Emmett Till is ‘divisive’… Move on. But remember who they are.
“The irresponsible rhetoric of our President, who has used the pulpit of the presidency to divide us by race and color, has made America a more dangerous environment for everyone.”
– Donald Trump
So, The President, a Black American (whose citizenship Trump consistently contested, remember?), even talking about what has happened to Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Walter L. Scott, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner or others divides us and makes for a dangerous environment? Hmmm… okay… Glad the cameras caught that tidbit in the midst of your nomination acceptance speech.
Yeah. I heard you RNC. I heard you, Donald Trump. And I am moving on!
But back to the video above: Watch. Grieve. Get focused. Get motivated. Get moving. Get more informed. And never forget Emmett Till!
#BlackLivesStillMatter
MORE: THE PHOTO THAT CHANGED THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (TIME)
– @ojones1
Posted in Activism, Film, History, Videos | Tags: Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Still Matter, BlackLivesMatter, BlackLivesStillMatter, Civil Rights, duty of the press, Emmett Till, images, Media, MURDER, photos, press, Racism, Violence | No Comments »
Sully (Trailer)
July 6, 2016
Surprised it took this long to make a Captain “Sully” saves-the-day movie, but it’s [finally] coming. And it’s a Tom Hanks film. Count on it to be a blockbuster; lock for some Academy awards.
The story of Chesley Sullenberger, who became a hero after gliding his plane along the water in the Hudson River, saving all of his 155 passengers.
– Movieclips Trailers
Posted in Action, Film, History, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Aaron Eckhart, Anna Gunn, Chesley Sullenberger, Clint Eastwood, Sully, Tom Hanks | No Comments »
Historical Brief: America Vs. Cuba (Documentary Short)
June 25, 2016
Bay of Pigs. Proxy warring between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Cold shoulders to Fidel Castro. An average American might know a little something about each or all of these pieces of U.S. vs. Cuba historic tension. However, the beef goes deeper and further back. Watch and learn what’s up and why Barack Obama’s Presidential visit to Cuba was so unprecedented.
Posted in History, Politics, Travel, Videos | Tags: A brief history of America and Cuba, America, Cuba, foreign policy, interventions, US-Cuba relations | 1 Comment »
The Birth Of A Nation (Official Trailer)
June 24, 2016
Okay, get ready for the why-can’t-you-just-let-it-go rhetoric… OR… the quiet silence/avoidance of some folks who are not ready to ‘read’ the pages left out of the history books. Regardless of how ‘they’ feel, Nate Parker is bringing it RAW to the big screen. We posted a teaser trailer earlier, but this is the full official trailer for this must-see Nat Turner story set to hit theaters in August – “The Birth Of A Nation.” Who’s ready??
REBEL!!!!
#StandWithUs
(You know, they mentioned Nat Turner’s Revolt in the “Roots” reboot that aired on The History Channel a few weeks back. This movie is going to show what had ‘massa’ and his kin jumping like they were.)
Posted in Film, History, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Armie Hammer, Nat Turner, Nate Parker, Revolt, slave, The Birth of a Nation, uprising | 2 Comments »
20 Years Later: Doe Or Die (Full Documentary)
June 23, 2016
Man, AZ is talking about being inspired by Stetsasonic in this documentary! That’s how far back the story goes. And Rakim is narrating this work for BET, with commentary from a powerful Who’s Who in Hip-Hop. That’s how deep the RESPECT goes! Watch the FULL “Doe Or Die” documentary on AZ Tha Visualiza after the jump.
Posted in Celebrity, Film, Hip-Hop, History, Television, Videos | Tags: 20 Years Later, 20YrsLtr, Anthony Cruz, AZ, BET, Doe Or Die, Rakim, Tha Visualiza | 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 »
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 »
Ali: The Mission (Mini-Documentary)
June 6, 2016
Even before The Champ’s passing, you’ve probably heard about his nobility and heroism outside the ring. Given that, this 30-For-30 documentary short’s content may not shock you; but the story should warm your heart and make you miss him a little bit more.
Ambassador Ali. Fighting Parkinson’s all while winning over folks worldwide including Saddam Hussein; which was key. You’ll see why when you watch.
(Narrated by John Legend.)
Posted in Activism, Celebrity, Film, History, Politics, Series, Sports, Travel, Videos | Tags: 30 For 30, 30 for 30 Short, Ali, ESPN, ESPN Films, Hostage negotiation, Hostages, iraq, JOHN LEGEND, Muhammad Ali, Saddam Hussein, The Mission | No Comments »
Deepwater Horizon (Trailer)
June 2, 2016
A star-studded cast, telling a compelling story that viewers do not have to ‘get’ to get into. Wahlberg and all-star crew did the do with this one. Summer blockbuster written all over this trailer. Hope it does the numbers needed with all the superhero movies out and coming out. A great action drama looms on the Horizon (yeah).
On April 20th, 2010, one of the world’s largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.
Oh sh!t… this actually happened????
Posted in Action, Film, History, Trailer | Tags: Deepwater Horizon, Dylan O’Brien, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, Mark Wahlberg, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand, Peter Berg | No Comments »
Free State Of Jones (Trailer)
May 31, 2016
Should be really dope. I remember author Sally Jenkins’ appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart years ago… talking about “The State Of Jones” book (see that here). Great story. The trailer above teases a movie that seems like it will do the story justice.
Written and directed by four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross (THE HUNGER GAMES, SEABISCUIT, PLEASANTVILLE), and starring Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey. FREE STATE OF JONES is an epic action-drama set during the Civil War, and tells the story of defiant Southern farmer, Newt Knight, and his extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy.
Banding together with other small farmers and local slaves, Knight launched an uprising that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a Free State of Jones.
Knight continued his struggle into Reconstruction, distinguishing him as a compelling, if controversial, figure of defiance long beyond the War.
In Theaters June 24, 2016.
– @ojones1
Posted in Action, Book, Film, History, Interview, Trailer, Videos | Tags: Civil War, Confederacy, Free State Of Jones, John Stauffer, Jon Stewart, Jones County, Matthew McConaughey, Mississippi, Newt Knight, Sally Jenkins, State Of Jones, The Daily Show, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, uprising | No Comments »
