- But this is not about a dollar value.

This is about the value of true education, y'all.

Education is way more important than school.

- See, I think it is our job to learn mental health terminology within education, within schools, within the community, amongst each other, and to speak with precision, fairness, and expertise.

- Though some would shut down explorations of Black history, life, and culture, we seek to expand.

(bright jazz music) (audience applauds) - Thank you.

Five years ago, I recorded a talk for "Blackademics Television" entitled "Ants in Storms".

It was about how ants build big, new ant piles during thunderstorms that rage so strong, that even humans stay out of the way.

So "Ants in Storms" was a metaphor for how educators often have to build for ourselves what we need for our work, despite crazy climates way bigger than us and way beyond our control.

Now, that 2017 presentation may be more relevant today than it was back then.

Yet, my message has evolved.

My method, however, it hasn't changed.

Comes in the form of another extended metaphor about what we need to build next.

So first, a bit of background.

See, long before I was ever a formal educator, I was an MC, a master of ceremony, straight outta the hip hop generation.

So prior to being a classroom teacher, I dropped lessons on the mic.

Sometimes, I dropped the mic.

I'd done six shows with Snoop Dog and six more with The Roots, and hundreds more shows with all kinds of folks you know, and way more than that with artists you've never even heard of.

So by my fifth year in the classroom, lightning struck and I had the great fortune of teaching on the same social studies team as my former DJ, a dear friend of mine.

So in one of our many times hanging out after school, he said a few words that I've been thinking about ever since: "The Netflix of Education."

So not only have I held onto that phrase, but I've processed it so much that I've set a personal and professional goal of being a part of the Netflix of Education.

Now, when you hear that term, especially after a certain virus has changed our lives forever, don't just think about online school.

I mean online school, that could be a useful part of what I'm talking about, right?

But that's not what the Netflix of Education means.

To be clear, education is way more important than school.

And in order to understand the Netflix of Education, first, you have to understand the historical context of Blockbuster Video.

Now, Blockbuster was founded in 1985 in Dallas, Texas.

And by the '90s, if you ever wanted to watch movies in the comfort of your home, you probably went to Blockbuster.

Hmm, now, like the public school system, Blockbuster was dominant, omnipresent, and seemingly permanent, but it had limitations in its ability to serve its customers.

We had to drive to Blockbuster, pick up a movie, drive back home, play the movie on our own machines, and then drive it back up there again to turn the movie in.

And you know what made things worse though?

If we returned our movies late, or we forgot to rewind our tapes, we got charged extra fees.

And that weakness would eventually be the death of Blockbuster.

Now, Netflix started as the world's first online DVD service in 1997, and moved from rentals to a subscription service in 1999.

Now, when we think about public school, let's think about Blockbuster in the year 2000.

Blockbuster, 2000.

So right there at the turn of the century, Blockbuster could have bought Netflix for a paltry $50 million.

That's all, 50 million, okay?

But when you're the dominant, omnipresent, and seemingly permanent institution that most people have to go to, do you really need to invest in something new?

Let's fast forward this tape.

So by 2005, Blockbuster peaked in value.

They'd stopped charging late fees.

They started trying to copy the subscription by mail model.

By 2006, Blockbuster had lost most of its value, and Netflix had 6 million subscribers.

In 2007, Blockbuster was fighting off Netflix, trying to emulate video on demand, trying to get into the streaming video service.

When idols become rivals, hmm.

You know it was too late when they started becoming a cheap copy of their competition that they could have owned from the very beginning, plus they had too much debt.

So in 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection.

You get the idea, right?

Blockbuster shut down, Netflix made a fortune.

But this is not about a dollar value.

This is about the value of true education, y'all.

Education is way more important than school.

So what do Blockbuster and Netflix have to do with schooling and education?

Well, let's walk through the Netflix experience step-by-step.

So when you first open the app, what happens?

(Netflix logo hums) Hmm.

Now, besides that funny intro sound, a screen display shows everybody else who's on your same account for the price of one.

So before you do any business with Netflix, they acknowledge your greater family and community context, that they're not just serving you.

And then you click on your name.

And once they know it's you, this customized screen of recommendations appears based on your personalized data.

They know what you've watched before.

So from the beginning of your relationship, they give consideration to your tastes, your preferences, your background knowledge, your experience, your cultural context, basically.

So in a Netflix model, learning is on demand.

It's based on who you are, where you are, and what the details in the data show about your educational needs.

So there's no late fee for the students who are behind grade level, those who the system is struggling to school up to standards.

Because in a Netflix model, you aren't charged extra for what you haven't finished.

Your content stays paused on a list that says, "Continue watching."

It doesn't count against you.

You don't get a negative, special label.

Also, there's no rewind fee for students who are well ahead of the standardized test expectations when they show up on the first day of school anyway.

So if you're ready for more than average, good 'cause we don't do average, so you won't be bored.

The Netflix model, it's a code of ethics, a code, a responsive algorithm that I believe human educators can do even better than machines.

Education is how we lead students, how we guide them, how we draw out from inside of them their ability to solve problems, not test problems at the end of the year, but real-world math, science, social studies problems.

Problems that matter to their identities, to their families, to their communities, to their stake in this complicated world that they're inheriting.

Education is way more important than our school system, any school system, any schooling process.

So after 20-plus years of talking about schooling gaps, the Netflix of Education allows us to meet the needs of the marginalized, this ugly, nasty word for students whose identities exist outside of the white, dominant, mainstream, middle class culture of curriculum instruction, curriculum and instruction positioned as normal.

Just the way it is.

So the Netflix of Education can center the decentered, a better word for marginalized, which by the way describes most public school students.

So I believe the business of education to be an LLC, which stands for Literacies, Learning, and Cultures, but that's a whole nother talk.

The business of education, the calling of education is at its tipping point today.

School systems will never be the same after what we've experienced in this season.

School systems are to Blockbuster in the year 2000 what education is to Netflix in the year 2000.

We are probably about to watch one take over while we watch the other slowly, pitifully die.

Don't shoot the messenger.

Now, needless to say, the founders of Netflix have a massive fortune, but no one owns the Netflix of Education.

We need everything.

Teachers, resources, new ideas, new institutions and so much more.

Anyone can be a part of the Netflix of Education in many different ways.

One example is "Blackademics Learning".

It's an offshoot of "Blackademics Television".

Folks need accessible Black studies content to supplement their learning.

So we made some.

I'm just doing my part.

Thank you.

(audience applauds) (bright jazz music) (audience applauds) - I started directing when I was 27 years old.

I had just directed my first short film, "Love in the Shadows" which follows a young, Black girl dealing with the suicide of her brother while also coming to terms with her sexuality.

See, my goal as a director is to highlight mental health within Black communities, and it just stems really from my childhood.

Dealing with a father, he dealt with alcoholism, depression, a mother who dealt with epilepsy, loneliness.

My brother who turned 22 got diagnosed with schizoaffective.

See, when I was 27, I did not expect five months later, I, myself would be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder.

And for me, I remember just being devastated, embarrassed, honestly just never to share this truth with a soul.

Because from how I was brought up, I must be the Black, strong, confident woman who's always put together.

So to feel connected, I started doing some research, trying to look for articles, anything I could watch on TV, anything online to just help me deal with my mental illness.

But to my surprise, I was disappointed, and I was hurt by the representation I had witnessed in film such as "Frankie & Alice" starring Halle Berry, a Black woman who suffers from multiple personality disorder.

Or "Call Me Crazy", featuring Jennifer Hudson, a Black female war veteran suffering from PTSD.

See, both films neglected to showcase the most common expressions of mental illness, and instead, amplified their toxic coping mechanisms such as drug, alcohol, and sex addiction.

So I panicked because in my mind I thought, "Oh my God, is this my future?

Will this be me?

Is this where this illness will lead me to?"

I just couldn't wrap my head around believing in this negative portrayal of Black women struggling with a mental illness.

And unfortunately, this is not new.

There is a stigma around mental illness, which I feel in the Black communities are either avoided or characterized as something someone brought on themselves.

See, this can lead to negative experiences for those living with mental health problems, as well as for their families and caregivers who can feel ignored, isolated, criticized, or even blamed.

And when it comes to Black men and Black women, we must work extra hard to show up and present ourselves in a way in which that does not come off as a threat to those who are not of color.

And don't get me wrong, because although I appreciate the recent shift in the way people view and talk about mental health, unfortunately, media biases are prominent in featuring portrayals of minorities primarily as what, criminals, terrorists, uneducated, highly sexualized people, and more.

See, these depictions penetrate the minds of viewers, and create unconscious biases, which negatively affects the way individuals interact with each other.

So for me, I asked you all how can we break mental health barriers in communities of color and influence our next generation via media?

Let me share some statistics.

Less than 2% of all film characters, and roughly 7% of TV experience mental health conditions on screen.

And when mental health issues are portrayed on screen, the characters are usually shown as violent.

I mean, look at the Joker.

And then, you have more statistics following within the Black community, Black people between the ages of 13 of 15 and 34 saw double-digit increases in suicide rates in 2020.

Within the past year, just over 1,800 Black children died by suicide.

The suicide rate for Black girls have increased by 59%.

We need more content, including articles, TV shows, movies, books from Black voices like mine that highlights mental illness in Black communities, but in a healthy way.

But before we could make such moves, we should create solutions, right?

In our educational spaces, our community spaces, our workspaces regarding mental health.

And I feel like that would then allow us to hold these fruitful discussions and raise awareness regarding mental health, especially mental health within the entertainment industry.

So I believe the first steps to making a change are portraying people and families of color that work through mental health in a constructive way.

Productions holding mental health seminars in schools.

People like me to share more personal stories of their mental health or their mental illnesses that they struggle with.

To create a position or on-set therapists to analyze mass media production procedures to better understand the current practices, the needs, values, and economic realities of screenwriters, producers, and journalists.

For instance, just understanding the balance between being newsworthy or emotionally arousing.

Implementing a mental health short course within pre-production and production, including expert input from a Black psychiatrist during a film's production.

Preferring non-individualized descriptions of mental illness, and instead, focusing on the societal aspects.

And honestly, just presenting mental illness only when relevant to the story.

See, I think it is our job to learn mental health terminology within education, within schools, within the community, amongst each other, and to speak with precision, fairness, and expertise.

I stand here today as an African American woman, successful in film, diagnosed with bipolar I disorder.

We must bring awareness and tell our stories to inspire a future of the next generation of Black girls and Black boys.

And to anyone watching this and struggling with their mental health, you are not alone.

You are not.

You are beautiful.

You are courageous.

Your brain is amazing.

And honestly, I know that there might be days that are so hard to bear.

Trust me.

Woo, Trust me.

But you must keep fighting.

All right?

You have a beautiful mind, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Thank you.

(audience applauds) (bright jazz music) (audience applauds) - This is a special year.

The 10th season of "Blackademics Television".

Sure, the dance and music show, "Soul Train", under Executive Producer Don Cornelius ran 35 years.

So we're far from his example of Black independent media.

A few years, ago I spoke about Mr. Cornelius as an entrepreneur, as a Black cultural arbiter, and as a mentor to countless Black musicians.

In fact, I welcome you to go back and watch old episodes of Soul Train.

They're fun.

And I welcome you as well to go back and watch that particular talk, which was in Season 6, Episode 5 of our show.

As we come to set each year, my producer, Kendra Chambers, my creative consultants, and our staff live into a legacy of Blackness.

Blackness as thought, as celebration, and as, to the best of our ability, Blackness as excellence.

Our presenters have come from universities and communities across the United States.

They've represented a diversity of ideas and intellectual traditions.

Most presenters have been Black, but all who come with the knowledge, passion, and intellectual rigor are welcome.

So we've, of course, had presenters from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

In the next few minutes, I wanna highlight some of these amazing presentations, and I wanna end with where our journey might take us next.

I once heard our dynamic blues guitarist.

She spoke about how passion and purpose are synonymous.

In her young life, she had experienced both happiness and depression, but she lived as a joyous person because she had found her purpose, which was to support people through music.

That was Jackie Vincent speaking and playing on "Blackademics" in Season 5, Episode 6.

Jackie had conceptualized support and joy, but then, the journey took a serious turn when providing support through music meant standing for Black lives.

In a moment, she risked her career by refusing to play the premier annual blues event in Austin, Texas until there were more Black folk in the lineup of this blues show.

It's a strange world that she would have to do that.

The next year, recording for a national television audience, she wore the words, "Say their names" on her sleeve, and a black dress with the names of victims of police violence.

She shared the message that needs to be heard, and in the process, affirmed and encouraged countless people.

Jackie, appearing on "Blackademics" and since, has shown us how passion and purpose are synonymous and affirming.

And our recording in the last month before we were gripped by the global pandemic, Dra.

Aurora Chang from Loyola University Chicago spoke about how documentation is power.

She encouraged us to write down our own stories, and to live into a positive sense of self based upon where we've been and who we dream to be.

Way back in Season 1, Dr. Aimee Cox, the Alvin Ailey dancer who went on to earn her doctoral degree and now teaches at Yale University, spoke of how she operationalized her identity as an anthropologist and as a dancer in order to research, understand, and support the lives of Black girls and women.

And then there was a story of Jeremy Hill, Season 5, of Kerrie Patterson-Brown, Season 8.

Jeremy had been a collegiate running back stated, slated, excuse me, for the NFL until he was derailed by injury.

Kerrie was an elite athlete whose partner suffered a life-threatening injury on the field playing for the NFL Detroit Lions.

Jeremy went on to leverage his study in school with his athletic experience to training facility for elite athletes that he runs to this day.

Kerrie went on to found a middle and high school that focuses on preparing student athletes for careers beyond sports, even as they live into their aspirations as elite athletes.

Others have focused on more somber topics, including Huston-Tillotson University professor Dr. Sanford Jeames on Black men's health, and Terrell Jermaine on racism and imperialism in US diplomacy.

The talk by this journalist and Fulbright Fellow was about how the most apt lessons he learned about international diplomacy came from a TV show about Baltimore's drug world.

And Dr. Courtney Morris of the University of California, Berkeley spoke about environmental racism, or more specifically, about the destruction of small Black towns in Louisiana and across the nation through the placement of pollution-producing industrial sites in their midst.

Of course, the health crisis and quarantine associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic threatened everything.

But we found a way to safely record Season 9.

We shot on a closed set with no audience and an intense COVID protocol.

The studio where we are now was dark.

Our historic partner, Austin PBS, had literally left the building.

But their new studio was badly damaged before opening.

It was a casualty of the extended winter storm that wreaked havoc across Texas in February of 2021.

For 2021, we worked with our friends in the University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication with different cameras than we were used to, a different studio, and a student crew, which is super exciting in its own right.

And we got it done.

Season 9 is a one-hour episode that features the emergency first responders, doctors, epidemiologists public health historians, and others in healthcare fields bringing their data, perspectives, and analyses to the issue of Black and minority public health in the midst of a global pandemic.

It is a unique and important episode.

So this is just a sample.

"Blackademics Television", so far, is over, excuse me, is exactly 110 talks over 10 seasons.

It's a treasure trove.

So what's next?

It's not time to let up.

It's time to re-up.

We'll continue with the strong presenters, the great coaches.

And though some would shut down explorations of Black history, life, and culture, we seek to expand.

The next step is "Blackademics Learning", taking clips from the presentations and using them as the basis for lesson plans to support social studies, Black studies, and ethnic studies at the high school level.

Our students have shown an incredible appetite for thinking about the full range of experiences among the people in our lands.

So as "Blackademics Television" continues, "Blackademics Learning" will be our next frontier.

In the end, the joy is in the intellectual exploration, bringing great people together and ensuring their ideas is spread, or in that they are spread, excuse me, is a dream come true.

I'm grateful to all who made "Blackademics" possible.

And so at the risk of going too deep into a Don Cornelius-style "Soul Train" metaphor, we are going to keep this train running.

We're going to add more cars, and we will welcome any sincere, curious thinkers who want to come on board.

Thank you.

(audience applauds) (bright jazz music) (cheery flute music)