black History in Two Minutes (or so)
Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is the new way to immerse yourself in Black History. The digital video series features dozens of short, engaging and factually accurate videos about important historical events or people who have shaped American history. Like never before, people of all ages, backgrounds and educational levels can learn more about the African American experience.
Launched in 2019 by visionary Executive Producer Robert F. Smith, who is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, the media platform has covered topics from the beginning of American history to the present day. To ensure historical accuracy, the episodes are well researched and narrated by renowned historian and Executive Producer, Henry Louis Gates Jr. Teaching guides for educators also accompany some of the episodes, affording teachers the ability to incorporate the information from the videos, and the videos themselves, into their lessons.
As an award-winning series, Black History in Two Minutes has received numerous accolades, including two Webby Awards in 2020, 2 more in 2021 and yet again, 1 more in 2022.
Check out some of the episodes for yourself below.
November 1, 2019
Robert Smalls: A Slave Who Sailed Himself to Freedom….
Robert Smalls was born into slavery and pushed into fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. However, at the age of 23, he took a…
March 13, 2020
Ella Baker – ‘The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement’
After graduating from Shaw University, Ella Baker moved to New York City and began her career as a grassroots organizer. Joining the NAACP…
February 18, 2022
Brenda Travis
Brenda Travis of McComb, Mississippi, encountered the dangers of merely existing in Jim Crow’s America as a child after witnessing her…
January 7, 2022
Chicago Sound: The Birth of Modern Gospel
As Black families left the South, their migration allowed them to bring their religion and musical practices along with them. But it would…
May 8, 2020
Black Explorers
While history celebrates the explorations of many white voyagers, there are multiple black people who successfully explored sea, land, and…
September 27, 2019
The Tulsa Massacre | Black Wall Street
Fresh off an oil-boom, the black residents of Greenwood, Okla. built a booming community known as The Negro Wall Street. But in May of…

