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.
Convict Leasing
Although the 13th Amendment passed the Senate in 1864 and the House in 1865, the loopholes that exist continue to wreak havoc on the…
Black Explorers
While history celebrates the explorations of many white voyagers, there are multiple black people who successfully explored sea, land, and…
Brenda Travis
Brenda Travis of McComb, Mississippi, encountered the dangers of merely existing in Jim Crow’s America as a child after witnessing her…
Sojourner Truth: ‘Oprah’s No. 1 Black History Heroine’
Isabella Baumfree was born into slavery in the late 18th century. Despite this, she’d go on to prove that enslavement was only a state of…
Hank Aaron: Breaking the Home Run Record
Born Henry Louis Aaron, baseball legend Hank Aaron swung his way into the history books in 1974. While the Atlanta Braves enjoyed the…
Protesting the Birth of a Nation
In 1915, D.W. Griffith, released a film that would go down as one of the most disturbing representations of black Americans ever, The Birth…