Nonprofits & Activism

How dirt bikes and STEM ignite ingenuity in Baltimore | Brittany Young

Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows. Dirt biking is more than just a pastime — it’s an opportunity to disrupt the cycle of poverty and provide enriching STEM education, says TED Fellow Brittany Young. In this perspective-shifting talk, she shares how her team is working with students and street riders to…

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Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows.

Dirt biking is more than just a pastime — it’s an opportunity to disrupt the cycle of poverty and provide enriching STEM education, says TED Fellow Brittany Young. In this perspective-shifting talk, she shares how her team is working with students and street riders to create safe spaces, transferable skills and community.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

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71 Comments

  1. As Above So Below

    May 26, 2021 at 4:48 pm

    Lol this is some sub 60 iq bullshit, if they were as good at math as they were at making excuses for their dumb behaviour we wouldn’t be having this problem.

  2. Phil Urbaniak

    May 26, 2021 at 4:48 pm

    Looking like great opportunities and a foundation for success ❤️

  3. Richard Baker

    May 26, 2021 at 4:49 pm

    Get the people to sign a paper to get land to build a track and have people in force rules to keep rider’s safe. Then parents can say if you do bad in school you don’t ride this weekend. If you drop out of school we sale your dirt bike. This is how my mom keep me from getting into trouble. Like what you are doing. God Bless

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      May 26, 2021 at 11:21 pm

      That’s white supremacy buddy

    • Richard Baker

      May 27, 2021 at 12:39 am

      @𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗 helping out children do better in life is bad . Don’t label me. Fake woke buddy

  4. Anthony jit

    May 26, 2021 at 4:57 pm

    Its not just cus of your skin colored poverty turns anybody into a criminal its color blind

    • Leftie Snowflake

      May 26, 2021 at 10:16 pm

      With a lot of blacks it’s always me, me, me. Im so oppressed. Don’t know how lucky they have it.

  5. C J

    May 26, 2021 at 5:02 pm

    💯💯💯💯

  6. Linda Mitchell

    May 26, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    Thank you, Brittany Young! I love people like her that find solutions to the issues to help their community.

  7. DDPWE

    May 26, 2021 at 5:38 pm

    CC options are off quite a bit

  8. Louis Price

    May 26, 2021 at 6:03 pm

    We should be careful on money useage,if you are not spending to earn back,then stop spending.

    • Stanley Smith

      May 26, 2021 at 7:11 pm

      placing my trade with expert Felix Hartmann ASAP

    • R Won

      May 26, 2021 at 7:13 pm

      @Noah Griffiths the money you ‘earned’ someone else lost!

    • Neritan Baku

      May 26, 2021 at 7:14 pm

      I’m 70, I do hope Mr Felix Hartmann can help me.

    • Noah Griffiths

      May 26, 2021 at 7:19 pm

      @R Won sometime you got to loss to gain, so if someone else lost, my advice to that person Is to keep on going never stop, then one day I promise you will be amazed at your profit

    • Jared Hunter

      May 26, 2021 at 9:39 pm

      scamsters spamming scams

  9. Free My Grandma

    May 26, 2021 at 6:15 pm

    What am I supposed to do with this?

  10. xIpyschoIx

    May 26, 2021 at 6:56 pm

    BALTIMORE STAND UP.

  11. Michael Garcia

    May 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    Those bikes are made to be driven on the dirt!

    • Leftie Snowflake

      May 26, 2021 at 10:14 pm

      Exactly.

    • Steven

      May 26, 2021 at 10:50 pm

      the road is comprised of dirt ya nerd

    • Michael Garcia

      May 26, 2021 at 11:59 pm

      @Steven I use to ride dirt bikes. They are riding on asphalt!

    • 5KdaKing

      May 27, 2021 at 12:56 am

      Its a different style of riding

  12. Matthew Reeds

    May 26, 2021 at 7:54 pm

    Great job Brittany!

  13. La'Shell Jones

    May 26, 2021 at 8:28 pm

    Love this !!! 💕🎉💪🏽

  14. B O

    May 26, 2021 at 8:39 pm

    Taiwan urgently needs a COVID-19 vaccine, please help us! !

  15. immanuel godson

    May 26, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    Shes black….im not watching this….i dont want to hear another single word from a black person ever again…..im tired of their anti white racism

  16. Rashaad thegr8

    May 26, 2021 at 10:06 pm

    Misdemeanor for bike riding? Man white people why are some of yall so racists?

  17. 0xDEADBEEFD00D

    May 26, 2021 at 10:32 pm

    No. Dirt bikes are illegal in Baltimore for very good reasons. Its not because we don’t want inner city kids to have fun, it’s because they aren’t tagged, titled, or insured. Ignoring the fact they are a crime itself, they are the subject of theft and are used to commit crimes. I’ve seen dirt bikes damage cars in Baltimore and just drive going. Mike was riding dirt bikes illegally at 6. 6! Is a 6 year old going to have insurance? Are they even going to stop to exchange their parents insurance after they do a wheelie into a car? You’ve got to be 16 and have insurance to ride a motorcycle. Nope. Nope. Nope. I’m fine with the STEM thing. But If they want to work on small engines have them fix lawnmowers and other small engines.

    • Daithi

      May 27, 2021 at 5:02 am

      100%

    • rdormer

      May 27, 2021 at 7:42 pm

      Philadelphia here. Pedestrians getting hit by these effing things, kids getting killed blowing stop lights and stop signs. To say nothing of the *obnoxious* and deafening noise as they ride around in groups of 20 or 30, all day and all night whenever the weather permits. Yeah, no, if you want kids to learn STEM, on behalf of the residents and pedestrians of the city, find some other way to do it.

    • Daithi

      May 27, 2021 at 8:39 pm

      @rdormer Excellently put

    • 0xDEADBEEFD00D

      May 28, 2021 at 1:45 am

      Why don’t we get the meth heads and crackheads into chemistry of while we’re at it?

  18. Adam Bainbridge

    May 26, 2021 at 10:56 pm

    This video hit home to me. I know in an American context it’s about black rights. In England I ride bikes and race cars. I’ve never been accepted (I’m white, middle class background and have a university education). It doesn’t matter. My passion isn’t widely socially acceptable.

    There are plenty of programs in England to get disadvantaged kids into football and rugby. The kids their learn about teamwork. It’s laudable.

    If you want to get your kids to follow their passion into Motorsport… Well. Mummy and daddy better be rich… And unless the kid has some handle to play on via social media. They are unlikely to be widely respected (assuming they drive cars). If they wish to be a mechanic or ride “dirt bikes”. Well. Those kids are just pariah’s.
    You can be a respectable engineer. But don’t tell people you design parts for something as degenerate as a race car. How’s that curring cancer.

    I applaud the message here. But I wish it was recognised that kids do not suffer from lack of opportunity just because of race.

  19. 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

    May 26, 2021 at 11:15 pm

    Hilarious! she is trying to spin roving packs of criminally inclined street gangs on stolen dirt bikes riding illegally as a positive.
    Get real lady 😂

    • Daithi

      May 27, 2021 at 12:17 pm

      @5KdaKing The videos I’ve seen showed a very unsavoury gang of lawless, title less, tagless, and insurance less gangsters taking over entire streets.

    • 5KdaKing

      May 27, 2021 at 12:45 pm

      @Daithi search “Leak gt” on YouTube and watch the his two latest videos. A common mis conception is that there are bike “gangs”. There are no gangs, everyone is just familly. The goal isn’t to cause any trouble, and most of the time they stop if the front of the pack hits a red light. Most of the bikes are not titleless and were bought with real money, and not all of them are gangsters but the cops won’t usually ask and will just arrest them and take the bikes. Also, biking and gang issues stay separate, especailly since you got people from many different states at one rideout.

    • Harshit Jain

      May 27, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      Exactly! Shame on the system for convicting criminals. Let’s release all criminals, and blame the system for rise in crime.

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      May 27, 2021 at 4:30 pm

      @5KdaKing LOL Nah dawg, that’s just one guy that makes videos, desperately trying to put a positive spin on a negative thing, just like this woman. I know what time it is LOL don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining 😂

    • 5KdaKing

      May 27, 2021 at 5:07 pm

      @𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗 It easy to say that when you have money, are financially stable, didn’t grow up in poverty, around drugs, murders, watch your friends go to prison, or even go to prison yourself, have familly issues, lose loved ones to the streets, be a minority, and to have the system against you. You choose to not see the positives from a thing that has a lot of negatives. We don’t want problems with anyone, we just want to ride. The way that the news explains it is negative, but they are run by white people with money. You never hear from the people who grow up where Bikelife is. Would you rather them shooting each other? BTW there is also another category called stunt riding where guys on legal bikes do much more dangerous things on the street.

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      May 28, 2021 at 8:20 am

      @5KdaKing Wow, keep blaming the entire world for your problems. It must be pretty complicated to be black and to remember how many ways society oppresses you 😂

    • 5KdaKing

      May 28, 2021 at 5:27 pm

      @𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗 I’m not blaming the world I’m blaming the systems of America. It’s been decades of suppression that has pushed many people of color far down. It’s like kids who grow up in war ridden area’s and grow up the same way because they don’t know any better. All there lives they have had to struggle. If you grow up around drugs, murder, and gangs then you are all the more likely get stuck in that environment. I’m the first person in my familly to not have to grow up in poverty and live in a good middle to upperclass town. Both of my parents did have it great growing up and my dad grew up in the hood. My dad has told me stories of his experiences, and as far as he’s concerd, riding dirt bikes in the street is 1000x betters then kids shooting each other, or doing drugs. You don’t have time for that when you ride a bike.

  20. 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

    May 26, 2021 at 11:16 pm

    1:33 “ASK* yourself”…lady, the word is “ask”; not aks or axe 😂

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      May 28, 2021 at 8:21 am

      @Meg Darien wtf?

  21. 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

    May 26, 2021 at 11:19 pm

    1:35 now ask yourself, if the thing you are doing to “relieve stress” is actually just a criminal activity that puts your safety and the safety of others at risk, would you just blame society, or be an adult and find a new “stress reliever”.

    Imagine someone using that same argument about heroin or crack rock as a stress reliever 😝

    The notion that black teenagers are “stressed out”, and that’s why they are riding dirt bikes, is as ludicrous of an idea as I can imagine 😂

    • Richard Baker

      May 27, 2021 at 12:56 am

      Build a dirt track for all Americans to go so they won’t be on the Streets hurting people in the streets. But what you said to me all I can say is peace 🤣

    • 5KdaKing

      May 27, 2021 at 12:58 am

      Drugs are different becuase you have to get hooked on that first. When you ride, you forget about poverty, familly struggles, or any other problems you’d run into in the hood. It also keeps you away from drugs since you can’t be high and riding at the same time. It’s very similar to riding a pedal bike.

  22. Dharamveer Singh

    May 26, 2021 at 11:32 pm

    Congrats Brittany! Poly Engineers!

    • Meg Darien

      May 27, 2021 at 10:36 am

      What’s your drive,in making some critical decisions on relationships, just curious and I wanna know more about some facts in my life😟😟

  23. Michelle LL

    May 26, 2021 at 11:44 pm

    To those of us who are building our lives from zero, with no backups, no inheritance, no connections, Just us and our plans. May the Almighty God bless you financially and Give you the strength to fight through all obstacles that comes your way

  24. JPR Create

    May 27, 2021 at 12:55 am

    Yes Britt!!! So happy for you and B360. Thank you TED for featuring such an important story. Also, amazing to see that some of my footage was included in this!!

  25. Michael Patrick

    May 27, 2021 at 1:06 am

    Amazing how people find opportunities to become victims!

  26. Huy Mạc

    May 27, 2021 at 1:39 am

    Amazing!!
    I like dirt bike and the presentation too!

  27. SWEETGA BROWNIN

    May 27, 2021 at 2:36 am

    Such a beautiful and innovative way to pay it forward. Great job Brittany, Mike and B360💙🙏🏽

  28. Kazeem Anifowoshe

    May 27, 2021 at 2:52 am

    As a 23 year old and a 23 year Baltimore native all I have to say is, ❤️🙏🏾.

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      May 27, 2021 at 7:52 am

      What is framing your statement with your age supposed to do? Wow, 23, full of wisdom LOL

  29. chas ames

    May 27, 2021 at 3:21 am

    Good presentation. Good production.

  30. Nandyz Soulshine

    May 27, 2021 at 6:47 am

    Wow, That’s solution-oriented! 🙏🏼

  31. takwa

    May 27, 2021 at 8:59 am

    “And whoever puts all his trust in Allah, He will be enough for him” (Holy Quran 65:1-3)

  32. Cool Robot

    May 27, 2021 at 9:47 am

    Race, race blah blah…

  33. Harshit Jain

    May 27, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    You lost your brother to the prison system. Shame on the system for convicting a criminal.

  34. Александр Воробьёв

    May 28, 2021 at 4:37 am

    The N – …

  35. masi awe

    May 28, 2021 at 10:37 am

    I love this!!!!!! “The people closest to the problem are the solution”

    • 𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗

      May 29, 2021 at 8:26 pm

      Yeah, the solution is they stop being the problem.

  36. Mike W

    May 29, 2021 at 4:40 am

    Weeds criminalized where I live and I still do it. It helped me get off hard drugs, and has helped distract me from my depression and other mental illness(es). 1.5 years sober from dope 😀 ❤

  37. Love The Earth

    May 30, 2021 at 9:14 am

    Hello
    I’m Vietnamese. I likes watching your videos and I want people in my country who don’t know English can watch these videos in Vietnamese.
    How can I translate these videos into Vietnamese.
    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Thank you so much.

    • Nexzor

      May 31, 2021 at 1:28 pm

      I mean, the auto-generated subtitles work okay-ish. So as long as they can read vietnamese you can use the subtitles.
      Ý tôi là, phụ đề được tạo tự động hoạt động. Vì vậy, miễn là họ đọc được tiếng Việt, bạn có thể sử dụng phụ đề.

    • Love The Earth

      May 31, 2021 at 1:43 pm

      @Nexzor yeah, I know that. But we only use subtitles on PC, not on phones :((

    • Nexzor

      May 31, 2021 at 1:54 pm

      @Love The Earth To small to read or don’t you know how to activate them on the phone/tablet? Most browsers on the phone have a “view as desktop” function and there you also have all options as on your pc/desktop. Make sure to not automatically use the youtube-app, but the browser-app (e.g. mozilla) in desktop-mode.

    • Love The Earth

      May 31, 2021 at 2:06 pm

      @Nexzor Ohhh, I’m so foolish. I never thought about desktop mode in browser. Thank you so much bro^^
      Where are you from?

    • Nexzor

      May 31, 2021 at 2:55 pm

      @Love The Earth You’re welcome, Bro ^^” Ger.

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