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.
Soul Train
Taking cues from American Bandstand, Soul Train became a black cultural phenomena. Created and hosted by Don Cornelius, a Chicago radio…
The Birth of Jazz
Born in the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana, jazz made its way onto the scene. With African-Americans at the helm, the red-light district…
W.E.B. Du Bois: The New Negro at The 1900 Paris Exposition
At the turn of the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois curated an exhibit at the Paris Exposition in France entitled “The Exhibit of…
Elite Black Public High Schools in Jim Crow America
In November 1870, four Black students created their own safe space to study in a Washington D.C. church. That space would eventually become…
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…
Father Divine
As the nation dealt with the darkness of the Great Depression, a Black leader by the name of Father Major Jealous Divine (Father Divine)…