“Jools TV,” a YouTube channel started by Chicago-based couple Justin and Patrice Brim, successfully fills a void when it comes to Black children and educational programming. An acronym for the ‘Js Of Our Lives,’ the channel was created after the loss of their oldest son, JJ.
The animated endeavor not only honors JJ’s legacy but also celebrates the pair’s three other children: Jaxon, Jett and Jhy. Each episode of the family-made series features important life lessons for young children that end in an upbeat “Trapery Rhyme” or a hip-hop inspired nursery rhyme.
Within four years, Jools TV has acquired over 500,000 YouTube subscribers and more than 100 million views. Stars like Cardi B, Michael B. Jordan, Missy Elliott and Ciara and Russell Wilson have praised the series, and The Brim Family published their first book, “JJ’s Affirmations,” earlier this year.
Justin Brim tells The Root that the connection his family has to education is personal. “My mom was a teacher, so we had a different relationship with our teachers,” he said. “I have a little bit of a background of being a kindergarten teacher as well. I taught some kids on the South Side of Chicago, so we just wanted to make sure that we created the things that we felt like we needed.”
He also laments the lack of representation he saw on television growing up. “Coming up in our time, we didn’t see any characters on TV that looked like us,” Justin said. “I think some of the only cartoons we’ve seen with Black kids were ‘Fat Albert,’ ‘Bebe’s Kids’ and ‘The PJs.’ Part of our story [for] creating this was making sure we had different options for our kids to learn from and be entertained.”
Patrice echoes this sentiment: “I just love the fact that we’re able to be more inclusive now and diverse and really incorporate everybody into [Jools TV] because I think it’s just so important,” she said. “It starts at a young age and they’re gonna be able to grow up with this, you know what I mean? Kids are gonna be able to look back and say ‘Hey, did y’all grow up on Jools TV?’ Then they get to look back at our videos and our books and familiarize themselves with it.”
From sharing to taking turns to learning the alphabet to understanding the solar system, “Jools TV” makes acquiring knowledge easy and fun for its young viewers. The existence of the channel also feels like a direct rebellion to a political climate that is determined to erase the accurate teaching of Black history in schools.
From affirmative action being eroded by the Supreme Court to Florida teaching students that slavery was “beneficial,” Black history is under attack in every sense of the word. Jools TV also commemorates figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Madam C. J. Walker, Malcolm X and Harriet Tubman by creatively incorporating their contributions into their content.
The couple recognizes that taking up space in the educational realm is more important than ever. “People [are] trying to bury the history because a lot of people aren’t on the right side of history. A lot of people are not doing things or didn’t do things that would make their their offspring happy,” Justin said.
“So I get it. You don’t want people to know the truth. I feel like it’s our job to make sure that our kids know about our ancestors, about the people who marched, people who fought and died for us.”
The Brim family remain steadfast in their commitment to Black youth.
“Even if [schools] try to erase our history, there are receipts. I’m just so grateful that we are so in tune with our culture that we’re able to incorporate our heroes and we will continue to do that,” Justin explains. “We are just grateful that we have that platform to do so. If they continue to erase us from the curriculums, children have other outlets and we’re part of that.”