Insightful talks that offer fresh, thoughtful perspectives on Black identity.

Have you ever recalled a story only to have someone point out "that's not how it went"? Well, what happens when what we misrepresent are our historical narratives? David Ikard is a professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University. In this episode of How to Be a Better Human, another podcast from the TED Audio Collectiv...

The Bean needs to move over — there's a new art movement in Chicago, and it's led by artists who are completely reimagining how residents think about the spaces around them. Join Far Flung host Saleem Reshamwala on a bold, creative and winding road trip to witness the power of place-based art. From abandoned homes that turn into artwork when the...

Margot Lee Shetterly used to be an investment banker, a business owner and a content marketing and editorial consultant. Now she's the author of the number-one New York Times bestseller "Hidden Figures," which chronicles the challenges and contributions of the Black women who worked at NASA from the 1930s through the 1960s. In this episode of Re...

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington to nearly a quarter million people. None of it would have been possible without the march's chief organizer – a man named Bayard Rustin. Christina Greer details his life of advocacy as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and the challenges he face...

In the 1960s, the FBI amassed almost 2,000 documents in an investigation into one of America's most celebrated minds. The subject of this inquiry was a writer named James Baldwin, one of the best-selling Black authors in the world at the time. What made him loom so large in the imaginations of both the public and the authorities? Christina Gree...

In the late 1800's, lynchings were happening all over the American South, often without any investigation or consequences for the murderers. A young journalist set out to expose the truth about these killings. Her reports shocked the nation, launched her journalism career and a lifelong pursuit of civil rights. Christina Greer details the life o...

Amanda Gorman made history at the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, becoming the US’s youngest inaugural poet.

About this event: This Black History Month event will feature Speakers delivering TEDx talks on all things associated with The Metaverse from the world famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY. Tedx Harlem invites our community and the world watching to learn more about the technologies that are evolving and how these technologies will impact our future. The Metave...

About this event: Everyone has a story to tell. Many of our stories are intertwined by events that have affected each of us differently. The lens through which a story is told has a profound impact on the audience, and often an audience is told a story through just a singular lens. Unfortunately, much of our history has been taught this way; stories passed down ...

At the center of a galaxy more than 55 million light-years away, there's a supermassive black hole with the mass of several billion suns. And now, for the first time ever, we can see it. Astrophysicist Sheperd Doeleman, head of the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, speaks with TED's Chris Anderson about the iconic, first-ever image of a bla...

Educator Sharif El-Mekki advocates for the revival of the Black teaching tradition — a set of educational practices grounded in philosophies, values and actions that stretch from pre-colonial Africa to historical African American leaders. He posits that this tradition can help teachers better serve Black students and create a more equitable lear...

Cady Coleman draws from her time at NASA and her missions on the International Space Station to share insights about team building, leadership and innovation.

Twerking is mainstream now ... but do you know where it came from? Superstar Lizzo traces booty shaking to a traditional West African dance and tells how Black women across generations kept the rhythm alive, from blues and jazz singers to modern rap and hip-hop performers. With her characteristic energy, she shares how twerking empowered her to ...

Leah Chase's New Orleans restaurant Dooky Chase changed the course of American history over gumbo and fried chicken. During the civil rights movement, it was a place where white and black people came together, where activists planned protests and where the police entered but did not disturb -- and it continues to operate in the same spirit today...

In the 19th century, the California gold rush brought thousands of settlers to America's west coast. But finding gold may have been easier than transporting it back east. The only hope for avoiding a grueling six month wagon journey was to travel the narrowest portion of the continent — the 48-kilometer Isthmus of Panama. Alex Gendler details th...

Born out of a social media post, the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked discussion about race and inequality across the world. In this spirited conversation with Mia Birdsong, the movement's three founders share what they've learned about leadership and what provides them with hope and inspiration in the face of painful realities. Their adv...

Brewster Kahle is building a truly huge digital library -- every book ever published, every movie ever released, all the strata of web history ... It's all free to the public -- unless someone else gets to it first.

In a time of mourning and anger over the ongoing violence inflicted on Black communities by police in the US and the lack of accountability from national leadership, what is the path forward? Sharing urgent insights into this historic moment, Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon, Rashad Robinson, Dr. Bernice King and Anthony D. Romero discuss dismantling t...

Cultural theorist Brittney Cooper examines racism through the lens of time, showing us how historically it has been stolen from people of color, resulting in lost moments of joy and connection, lost years of healthy quality of life and the delay of progress. A candid, thought-provoking take on history and race that may make you reconsider your u...

Since its founding in 1851, the "New York Times" has published thousands of obituaries -- for heads of state, famous celebrities, even the inventor of the sock puppet. But only a small percentage of them chronicle the lives of women and people of color. In this insightful talk, "Times" editor Amy Padnani shares the story behind "Overlooked," the...

The Ho Chi Minh Trail not only connected North and South Vietnam during a brutal war but also aided Vietnamese soldiers. The trail shaved nearly five months of time off of the trip and was used as a secret weapon of sorts. Cameron Paterson describes the history and usage of the infamous trail. [Directed by Maxwell Sørensen, narrated by Cameron P...

Uninvited hair touching, an issue that primarily affects Black women and girls, is an invasion of personal space. To raise awareness of "hair attacks," activist Mena Fombo started the "No, You Cannot Touch My Hair" campaign, showing how unwanted hair touching is an issue that has been and still is rooted in racism. She shares three steps to end ...

Michael Anti (aka Jing Zhao) has been blogging from China for 12 years. Despite the control the central government has over the Internet -- "All the servers are in Beijing" -- he says that hundreds of millions of microbloggers are in fact creating the first national public sphere in the country's history, and shifting the balance of power in une...

Who deserves to be in a museum? For too long, the answer has been "the extraordinary" -- those aspirational historymakers who inspire us with their successes. But those stories are limiting, says museum curator Ariana Curtis. In a visionary talk, she imagines how museums can more accurately represent history by honoring the lives of people both ...

Trivia whiz Ken Jennings has made a career as a keeper of facts; he holds the longest winning streak in history on the US quiz show Jeopardy. But in 2011, he played a challenge match against IBM's supercomputer Watson -- and lost. With humor and humility, Jennings tells us how it felt to have a computer literally beat him at his own game, and ma...

With candor and cunning, sex historian Kate Lister chronicles the curious journey of an ancient, honest word with innocent origins and a now-scandalous connotation in this uproarious love letter to etymology, queens, cows and all things "cunt." (This talk contains mature language.)

Here's a list of specific steps you can take, as recommended by members of the TED community. Educate Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's New York Times bestseller How to Be an Antiracist is one of the most important books I've ever read. (Watch Dr. Kendi speak on "how to build an antiracist world" here.) He provides an empowering lens and language to unders...

About this event: TEDxGöteborgLive will return this month with a live-streaming of the first TED conferences of the third day of TED 2013, straight from Long Beach Performing Arts Center in California. In 2013, the TED line-up will have the largest number of speakers in the conference series' history, as a result of TED's first-ever global talent search. Thr...

The TED Interview How do we fix the restaurant tipping system? with Saru Jayaraman August 25, 2022 [00:00:00] Steven Johnson: Welcome to the TED Interview. I'm your host, Steven Johnson. For most Americans, it's almost second nature. You eat a meal at a restaurant, get the bill, do a little mental math, and add a tip for the server. But that se...