MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world’s best across a wide range of subjects, today announced that for the first time ever it will offer free streaming of one of its classes during Black History Month on MasterClass.com and IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming service.
It will also be available to all U.S. Prime Members on Prime Video.
Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love is a three-part, 54-lesson class that examines the past, present and future of race relations in America.Taught by Jelani Cobb, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, Angela Davis, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Sherrilyn Ifill, John McWhorter and Cornel West, all three parts of Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love are now available on the MasterClass platform.
As part of a $2 million commitment at MasterClass to make content
that inspires and educates on social justice and against systemic racism, Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love will be available at no cost on MasterClass.com and IMDb TV during February, Black History Month.“Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love is the most important and comprehensive class MasterClass has ever created,” said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass.
“This class teaches us how to build a society that honors Black voices, love and joy — lessons everyone can and should hear, which is why, for the first time ever, we are making a full class available for free on MasterClass.com. We are also teaming up with Amazon to make the class available to all Prime members on Prime Video, as well as on IMDb TV.”
With 54 lessons and ten hours of content, the class provides a foundational understanding of the historical and cultural context of white supremacy and its lasting impact on modern societal structures in the United States. The class also provides the knowledge and skills necessary to begin dismantling it and discovering a path forward, according to a press release.
“This class provides an uncensored and unfiltered version of Black history that is not typically taught in school,” said Nekisa Cooper, VP of content at MasterClass.
“Our groundbreaking instructors teach us the context of timely and important topics, hopefully delivering powerful lessons that will inspire action and help solve the problems we still face as a society today.”
“We’re
proud to offer our Prime Video and IMDb TV customers access to MasterClass’ Black History, Black Freedom and Black Love led by thought leaders in the Black community who offer tools and techniques to empower change,” says Latasha Gillespie, Amazon Studios & Prime Video Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.“This three-part class provides our customers access to in-depth learnings as we celebrate Black History Month.”
Covering 400 years of American history, the class informs, contextualizes and challenges how we think about race and racism, reconciles gaps in traditional education about U.S. history and offers tools and techniques to empower change in our own lives.
— Part I: The Past explores the ties between slavery and American capitalism; the 14th Amendment and how the law acts as an agent of white supremacy; the history of voter suppression; and equality in education.
— Part II: The Presentexamines important topics such as the origin of critical race theory; the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case; and the legacy of Thurgood Marshall.
— Part III: The Future discusses how members can take what they have learned to move forward and create a society built on justice.
“These great voices for truth and justice are indispensable in our turbulent times,” said Dr. West.
“You want to be able to have a comprehensive and all-embracing way of seeing what’s going on in the world, and this class will show you how to feel deeply and act courageously.”