​​This week on Lessons From the Screen we will be looking at the Independence Day Project, a documentary film that seeks to change the way Black People look at our struggle for equality.  It does this by shifting the narrative away from all the problems we face at the hands of White Supremacy and plants the narrative directly on the Black Community and things we can do now to change our situation.  The film looks at 10 areas of human activity and gives us a little something to swallow and ponder on all of them.  As usual we will look at this film, likes, dislikes, and its potential impact In this episode of Lessons from the Screen.   

​Ending off Black History Month with a bang is always an interesting subject simply because it’s rarely done.  After the first week of February the heritage designation because even more invisible with award shows and championship games.  With all that being said, we are going to try to end this Black History Month off with an outstanding project that’s different from most anything else we’ve seen associated with Black People and our fight for Equality.  After years of work, Professor Carl Tone Jones premiered his Independence Day Project to the world in Philadelphia on the 18th of this February.  A documentary that ask 2 questions essentially, what does an independant Black Community look like, and how do we get there. 

​We are always at a critical juncture in history.  That is one of the deeper lessons of history that you don’t get until you start connecting the dots between major past events and the minuscule things that proceed them.  There is more to learn in some cases from the long and peaceful periods of history, aka the boring bits, than there is to learn in the eventful war filled periods.  History is fluid, as is the present and the future, ever-changing based on the actions of the present and the perceptions of the future.  That being said we find ourselves at a critical juncture in history. 

For the last 30 years, we have been engaging in an increasingly hostile political environment that seems to have been pushed over the edge by 2 recent occurrences, the election of Barack Obama and the subsequent election of Donald Trump.  Both of these events triggered massive increases in political incivility not seen since the years before the war of succession, and contrary to popular opinion it wasn’t the war that changed politics it was the compromise of 1877.  That brings us to the point of this show, is democracy dying, and if it is, why are we so willing to kill it? 

A more timely book couldn’t have been produced than the one Steve Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt released in January of this year. A book that at its core takes a look at democracies across the globe and analyzes how they transformed into authoritarian states.  It does this in a very comparative and analytical way bringing every discussion back to what we see in America today.  In this episode of Lessons from the Screen we will be taking a look at How Democracies Die.

​This week on Trending Tuesday  We will take a look at the top 10 trending topics according to Google Searches. Addition to a bonus listing from the week prior.   Today being the 24th of July we will be going over the top 10 and giving you some insight as to whether or not we think these stories are worth your time based on whether or not we feel that they have a potential impact on your life and of course our own bias and interest.  This Trending Tuesday we will be looking at the following topics:

1. Goldfish Recall
2. Yanet Garcia
3. Fortnite Birthday Challenges
4. Jimmy Garoppolo
5. Mila Kunis
6. National Tequila Day 2018
7. Daily News
8. Gary Sanchez
9. Henry Cavill
10. Jesse Camp

​Education is indoctrination.  It shouldn’t be that way, the difference between the terms is supposed to be imparting the ability to critically think about a subject matter versus simply being told that something is true.  However, in modern society, education is indoctrination.  Even in societies where education is practiced correctly, there is a part of the education process that involves indoctrination that simply can’t be separated from the educational process.  The passing on of culture and values as well as the continuation of a society requires that all members have certain levels of acceptance and agreeableness to the world they live in.   Otherwise, everything breaks down.  These are some of the philosophies we will be talking about today

In 2010 Carol Black released her documentary Schooling the World with a focus on getting people to think about the impact of foreign education on indigenous peoples all over the world.  In this episode of Lessons from the Screen we will be looking at this documentary, what is in it, what is it about, and should you watch it.  Obviously all from our perspective.  This show is all about Schooling the World, the White Man's Last Burden.

This week on Trending Tuesday  We will take a look at the top 10 trending topics according to Google Searches. Addition to a bonus listing from the week prior.   Today being the 17th of July we will be going over the top 10 and giving you some insight as to whether or not we think these stories are worth your time based on whether or not we feel that they have a potential impact on your life and of course our own bias and interest.  This Trending Tuesday we will be looking at the following topics:

1 Home Run Derby 2018
2 Netflix Stock
3 Valsartan
4 Maria Butina
5 Annabelle Neilson
6 Manny Machado
7 John Schnatter
8 Ninja
9 Le’Veon Bell
10 Jeff Bezos
Bonus: Rugrats

​We live in a world of genetics now more than ever.  For the past 30 years, DNA has become an increasing part of our criminal defense system, our family research into our ancestry, and even our workout and fitness plans.  In certain locations, law enforcement has begun to create their own databases of DNA in addition to partnering with some ancestry companies to access their records and DNA profiles (think about that for a moment).  A cheek swab is considered a lawful part of a standard search and they can keep your DNA whether you are guilty of something or not.  But thus far all of the focus has been on reading and navigating DNA to acquire the information already written into who you are.  Now, however, it is possible to erase that DNA in a way that is probably far too simple, genetic cut and paste have become a real thing and it has become available to any consumer without any oversight. 

Matters have come to such a point that the  Department of Defense ordered a study to review the field of synthetic biology and the report has some alarming things in it.  In this episode of Lessons from the Screen we will be looking at the technology that allows you to modify your genetic code as well as looking at the report commissioned by the department of defense.  We will be giving you some information in this episode, but we will leave the takeaways for you to gather for yourself and share with us on our website or through the Freedom Train Social Media Handles.  In this episode of lessons from the screen, we will be talking about, The Age of Synthetic Biology.

Click Below to Stream or Download

​In September of 2016 students in Detroit decided enough was enough.  They filed a class action lawsuit against the State of Michigan declaring that their fundamental rights were being violated on the basis of race.  In addition to being taught in classrooms filled with rodents, insects and mold, buildings with non-functioning A/C, and in some cases being taught by other students because teachers weren’t available, they had to contend with textbooks that were 20 years old and falling apart.  They didn’t even have enough of those textbooks to go around.  In the case 5 schools were listed, 3 public schools and 2 charter schools, each with horrible ratings representing the worst schools in the state.  Going from a scale of 0 - 100 the schools are rated 1, 2, 4, and 6 with one of the schools being closed.  Less than 5% of students scored proficient or above in the third grade of one school compared to 46% statewide.  At another school, 12.5% of students scored proficient or above compared with 49.2% statewide both with regards to English proficiency. 

The Schools lacked adequate teaching, with one of the schools going out and recruiting Latino children and telling them they would provide English instruction only to not have any teachers that could provide the service.  Amidst all of this Governor Richard Snyder appointed Darnell Earley to administer the DPS Schools. This is significant because Darnell is largely blamed for the flint water crisis.  It has to be mentioned that he claims that the plan to switch to Flint River was decided before he arrived and what fell to him was to carry out the plan.   With all that in mind and after nearly 2 years of legal battles, Judge Stephen J. Murphy has made a ruling on the case. 

In this episode of Lessons from the Screen, we will be going over that ruling as well as some of the details of the case itself.  As always we will be giving some of the takeaways from this case.  Stick around as we dig into Literacy, a Fundamental Right.

​In 1849 a book was published in a niche but growing genre that would become one of the most powerful sections of American Literature and the most damning for American Historical Pride.  That Genre was dubbed:  Slave Narratives.    Not only did these books serve to vilify a major force in American Culture and a major source of American Wealth, but they also pushed back heavily on American Propaganda which sought to convey an image of pride and dignity with regards to the owning of human beings.  And after more than 150 years these books are still serving the same purposes as America continues to resist accepting it’s cultural legacy and continues to push propaganda that promotes the pride and dignity of the darkest sections of American History.

Today on Lessons from the Screen we will be taking a look at the Narrative of Henry Bibb an American Slave.  The book was written in 1849 by Henry Bibb himself and reveals a lot about slavery in America, in addition, the overall American Culture at that time that it would accept such an institution.   We will give a brief review of the book and interesting points about it, we will also give one of the biggest takeaways for us from the reading of the book. This is definitely a book you should read and its one that you can find for free at that, the link will be provided on this post. ​

​It's the day before the 4th and every year its time to re-evaluate what this year's celebrations mean.  Taking a look back at Frederick Douglass's 1852 speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," we simply ask the question: Have things changed?  This is not a question we seek to answer during this show, we simply provide the lecture to be digested, and ask the question.  Getting together for the holidays is significant and we should enjoy any opportunity to enjoy each other.  But we should also take those opportunities to have real discussions about what is going on in our families and in our larger communities.  Has America changed, or is it the same America Frederick Douglass blasted over 150 years ago?  What do you think?