Elexus Jionde from Intelexual Media is the history teacher everyone needs

It all started with a Twitter thread. On September 11, 2016, Elexus Jionde decides to post a series of tweets about black history post-slavery events that she thinks to deserve to be remembered just as much as 9/11. A vague of threats and 25,000 new followers later, the viral tweet shines a light on the young Ohio-state university graduate.

Elexus Jionde decides shortly after to start a Youtube channel: Intelexual media. A channel that would cover parts of history that are never taught in American schools.

While she was a history student at Ohio-state University, Jionde’s interest in non-fiction writing grew as her knowledge expanded. After the murder of Tamir Rice, she became more interested in social justice and decided to share the knowledge she acquired. Through her tweets and two minutes videos, she began discussing rarely known topics regarding black history and systemic racism. The launch of her Youtube channel in January 2017 came as a logical continuation of her work and aspirations. The 2016 presidential election made her realize how much the country needed more education and critical thinking, and Youtube was the perfect platform to try to spread it.

Before and to this day, Elexus Jionde walked some more conventional teaching paths. She has given lectures in Charlotte and Kinston North Carolina and spoke at Loyola University Chicago or the Ohio State University. She also self-published three books: The A-Z Guide to Black Oppression, Angry Black Girl, and ‘Who Said Dat?: 500 Black A** Quotes From Intellectuals, Historical Figures, Celebs, and Everyday People’.

The A-Z Guide to Black Oppression is a collection of 26 essays packed with references to books and articles, that tackle the inner workings of Black oppression. Angry Black Girl’s essays discuss the intersection of racism and sexism through a range of topics that emerge from her own experience. The fetishization of black bodies, Twitter’s effects on black power, and white feminism are all subjects she goes through in this raw, honest, and eye-opening essay collection.

A master of popularization, Elexus Jionde’s concise and clear writing makes her essays and videos accessible to most. As many people stop learning after high school, never challenging what they know and believe in, and misinformation is rapidly growing, Intelexual media appears critical. However, it is not without obstacles that Elexus Jionde built this channel. She discusses the need of having thick skin while dealing with the aftermath of virality and hypervisibility, a need emphasized by her job as a digital sex worker. Elexus Jionde has been on Only Fans for more than three years, using the money for equipment, research, and employees for Intelexual media.

On Intelexual Media, she discusses history through a racial and gender lens, as well as sexuality, pop culture, and politics. Her series ‘Let’s talk about sex…history!’ addresses forced sterilization, how America failed sex ed or queer love during the Harlem renaissance. She also studies history per era, with ‘Lexual does the 70s’ and currently the 80s, where she comes back on major events, political dynamics, and more niche subjects. From all of the well-documented, captivating video essays of her channel, one subject will certainly pique your curiosity. Scroll down below to discover some curated videos, and go discover more on her Youtube page. You can also support her Patreon!