There Are No Girls on the Internet - How Estella’s Brilliant Bus is bridging the digital divide + Bridget’s Birthday

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00:01:19.460 I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive

00:01:26.780 what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files.

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00:01:55.540 There Are No Girls on the Internet is a production of iHeartRadio and Unbossed Creative.

00:02:03.660 I'm Bridget Todd, and this is There Are No Girls on the Internet.

00:02:06.400 so in true nerd fashion i have a birthday on pi day this weekend on march 14th and to celebrate

00:02:14.920 i wanted to honor one of my heroes estella pie from you might have seen her story in a super

00:02:20.480 bowl commercial in 2015 miss estella spent 50 years in public education serving low-income kids

00:02:27.160 in a title one school now while teaching she saw that many of her kids couldn't always do their 0.99

00:02:32.600 assignments because they didn't have access to a computer or reliable internet at home. 0.97

00:02:37.080 So she created Estella's Brilliant Bus to bring the computers to them.

00:02:41.240 My name is Estella. I'm the owner, the creator, and founder of Estella's Brilliant Bus.

00:02:49.940 Estella's Brilliant Bus is a mobile learning center where we provide education and technology

00:02:57.800 for underserved communities, to children in underserved communities.

00:03:02.900 And that's what we've been doing since we started,

00:03:06.920 but realizing that the children have other siblings and other relatives that need our service,

00:03:16.100 we have expanded our service to include not just children but adults in underserved communities.

00:03:24.420 That's what the Brilliant Bus is all about.

00:03:26.080 It's not just a tech center. It's a learning center where we use a bus to provide the technology

00:03:32.300 to accomplish the mission that we set out to do in the communities.

00:03:37.460 After retiring in her 70s, Mrs. Stella spent her life savings on a bus

00:03:41.920 that she turned into a mobile learning center to help bridge the digital divide

00:03:45.840 and help bring technology to the communities who need it most.

00:03:48.880 Knowing that I was getting older and I was pretty much, I would say, well over seven through one,

00:03:56.080 And I knew that if I was going to do anything other than work at the school, I needed to look at what that option might be.

00:04:05.580 And when the hurricane devastated all the people in New Orleans and other places, it sharpened my idea about going out into communities and doing something that I thought would be worthwhile.

00:04:23.040 I had the idea of creating something to take out in the community, but put it on hold because I wasn't really sure what I was going to do.

00:04:35.880 But after that hurricane, I thought about, this is it.

00:04:40.180 According to Pew, a quarter of lower-income teens don't have access to a home computer.

00:04:45.000 And one quarter of Black youth said they often or sometimes can't do their homework assignments because they don't have reliable internet access or a computer.

00:04:52.920 Compare that to just 13% of white youth.

00:04:55.640 This is sometimes called the digital divide,

00:04:57.460 and it presents a big barrier to kids in all communities being able to succeed.

00:05:01.340 I figured if I could create a project that I could take out into the community,

00:05:07.980 because we knew that this was age of technology,

00:05:11.720 and I knew from working with Title I schools that there was that digital divide.

00:05:18.660 So I wanted to keep that going because I know as far as our communities are concerned, that we serve the children that attended the Title I school was missing at home the technology.

00:05:36.920 Mrs. Stella was relentless, and she also dreamed big. 0.74

00:05:39.960 Her first thought was to use her old minivan, and she even toyed with the idea of trying to get her hands on a semi-truck to turn that into a mobile computer lab.

00:05:48.660 So in putting my ideas together, the first thing I asked myself,

00:05:54.300 how can I provide technology to these undeserved communities?

00:05:59.980 And I've been thinking about it a while. 0.92

00:06:03.360 I knew that the band that I had would not be enough

00:06:07.920 because it was just not big enough to serve more than four or five children

00:06:15.060 at one time, if that many.

00:06:16.860 So I decided, after thinking about it, what is it that I would be comfortable with,

00:06:24.140 knowing that I didn't have a lot of money, but how could I make it work?

00:06:28.620 Because I was of the failure is not an option mindset.

00:06:35.280 So I knew what I was going to do had to be successful because failure was not an option.

00:06:43.740 So I thought about the band, and I ruled that out.

00:06:47.640 I thought about a semi-truck, and I said, I can't drive that.

00:06:52.860 I'm on the back to one out for my lifetime.

00:06:56.720 But then the bus came up.

00:06:59.340 I said, now, if I use a bus, I have a lot more space.

00:07:03.840 And, of course, I can drive a bus because I learned to drive a bus during my childhood

00:07:09.480 because my daddy had no boys.

00:07:12.780 I had six girls, and I was the only girl that was brave enough to learn how to drive the truck and the bus.

00:07:23.780 So I figured I could save some money if I used a bus, because that was something that I could drive when I needed.

00:07:33.460 So I grabbed some paper and a pencil, sketched out a drawing, figured out what I wanted to do.

00:07:42.780 And I started working on it.

00:07:46.900 And it was an idea that I put together on paper.

00:07:52.320 And then I was successful in lifting that idea off the paper and put it into reality.

00:07:59.600 I didn't know that you actually drive the bus yourself.

00:08:02.660 My goodness.

00:08:03.960 Yes, I'm going to drive the bus.

00:08:06.040 And when we first got started, I drove the bus.

00:08:09.720 and most of the videos that's on the website or on YouTube,

00:08:15.700 they didn't believe I could drive the bus either.

00:08:18.400 They all made me drive the bus.

00:08:21.700 You see me driving, I'm driving the bus.

00:08:24.540 But I have someone to help me drive the bus.

00:08:27.140 The producers didn't want that.

00:08:29.040 They wanted me to drive the bus, I guess, to prove that.

00:08:33.220 My age, that I could drive that bus.

00:08:36.500 Do you mind me asking how old you are?

00:08:38.540 You don't have to say if you don't want to.

00:08:40.620 No, I'm 84.

00:08:42.180 It was Mrs. Stella's father who instilled in her the importance of helping others

00:08:45.760 and sharing with your community, even if you didn't have a lot.

00:08:48.560 My father was a migrant contractor.

00:08:52.640 And we traveled from Florida to New York for 19 years to harvest produce,

00:09:01.500 chicken beans, corn, potatoes, and things of that sort.

00:09:06.180 And my dad was a very kind-hearted man who really enjoyed giving and helping people, even though he was a poor man.

00:09:18.020 And we would travel up north, leaving Florida during the month of May, mid-May, and sometime come, we would come back in October.

00:09:31.200 because if you don't have any skills,

00:09:36.740 then you have to do unskilled labor and jobs.

00:09:41.720 And that was what was going on with my parents.

00:09:44.000 Neither one of them ever finished elementary school,

00:09:47.840 so they didn't have skills,

00:09:49.280 but they were very smart and hardworking people.

00:09:53.560 Growing up poor in a government housing project,

00:09:56.300 Ms. Estella knew that not much was expected of her,

00:09:58.580 But the power of community helped her subvert those low expectations.

00:10:28.580 And a smaller percentage of us would probably not make it to college because we would be stuck in that rut and that government project.

00:10:41.180 But I'm proud to say that many of us who went to school out there, graduated from high school, went to college, and obtained advanced degrees.

00:10:57.360 Now, in the project where I lived, it was the ideal of it takes a village to raise a child, and all of us were poor.

00:11:10.740 Most of our parents were working far away in the fields, but there was always someone home in that project during that day,

00:11:24.960 and they would look out for each other.

00:11:28.160 If we got hungry during the day, we could go to that neighbor's house

00:11:32.300 and they'd give us some bread and cheese or bread and mayonnaise

00:11:36.280 or bread and peanut butter.

00:11:37.640 So it's one of those things where the village actually helped raise a child

00:11:43.780 and we learned to share whatever we had, whatever resources that we had.

00:11:50.220 So we just grew up with that mentality.

00:11:52.900 him. Do you feel that that's why you're inspired to give back to the kids in your community with

00:11:58.980 the bus to make sure that they have the same kind of village that helped raise you and your

00:12:03.640 sisters? I'm sure it has something to do with that. And that experience is, I think, what

00:12:10.380 transformed me into the person who I am today, giving and sharing with other people who need us

00:12:20.540 the most. Now summers can worsen the divide between low-income kids and kids whose families

00:12:26.200 can afford things like summer camp. The learning loss that students sometimes experience when

00:12:30.620 they're out for summer break is sometimes called the summer slide, and a John Hopkins study found

00:12:35.240 that by ninth grade, the summer slide makes up for two-thirds of the reading achievement gap

00:12:39.440 between low-income kids and middle-income kids. To combat this, Ms. Estella spent her summers 0.98

00:12:45.260 taking kids on educational trips in her bus. 1.00

00:12:48.640 She self-financed them, looking for deals on hotels and meals

00:12:51.820 so the trips wouldn't cost the families a dime.

00:12:55.100 But then, COVID hit.

00:12:57.500 And now her bus is in Park.

00:12:59.900 We would go take the bus and go into communities.

00:13:05.560 We had worked with churches, community centers, schools, and county organizations.

00:13:12.220 and we would just schedule our activities and we would go out in the community

00:13:18.380 and make things happen.

00:13:20.440 There was no problem.

00:13:22.400 When COVID came along, everybody was afraid of everybody,

00:13:27.000 so business was shutting down.

00:13:29.620 People were afraid of their children and other family members,

00:13:34.000 and, of course, you know, they were dying.

00:13:36.660 So we adhered to what the community was doing.

00:13:41.700 When they shut down businesses, we parked the bus.

00:13:45.000 And now we have two buses now, and we would take these kids across the country

00:13:52.780 to travel the Freedom Trail and also get more exposure to technology,

00:13:58.500 education and technology.

00:14:00.300 And we would get on the road for 10 or 12 days with 100 teenagers,

00:14:05.960 going across the country to get more exposure

00:14:10.060 because many of the kids who live in those low-income communities,

00:14:15.020 they don't get to go to town, so to speak,

00:14:19.060 because sometimes their parents can't afford to take them.

00:14:22.520 Many of them are working,

00:14:24.300 or they just can't afford the other expense that go along with it.

00:14:29.760 So three years in a row,

00:14:32.240 I was very successful in taking the kids across the country for 10 or 12 days,

00:14:39.340 giving them the exposure and not having to charge them one cent.

00:14:44.940 And then we were able to expose them through technology and address the summer slide.

00:14:53.320 But this past July, we did not, because we were right, going into or involved with COVID.

00:14:59.740 So, again, we didn't want to be responsible for exposing kids to COVID

00:15:09.240 because they were just learning a little bit more about it.

00:15:13.840 But they didn't know anything about it.

00:15:16.060 They didn't know very much, I would say, about it.

00:15:19.940 So we just decided we'll just stay in, close up like the other businesses

00:15:26.520 until they find out more how to keep people,

00:15:31.100 and I'm talking about adults and their children,

00:15:34.320 safe from the coronavirus.

00:15:37.860 COVID has only shown how important it is

00:15:39.760 for all kids to have access to technology.

00:15:42.160 If low-income kids didn't have computers

00:15:44.620 or reliable internet at home before,

00:15:46.620 how are they supposed to keep up

00:15:47.940 with remote learning during COVID?

00:15:50.200 Pew actually found that one in five parents

00:15:52.360 with kids at home because of COVID

00:15:53.760 say it is very or somewhat likely

00:15:55.780 that their kids won't be able to complete schoolwork

00:15:58.220 because they don't have access to a computer or internet.

00:16:01.380 It's so important to support community leaders like Miss Estella,

00:16:04.880 who won't let a generation of kids get left behind

00:16:07.440 because of their economic circumstances.

00:16:09.960 In Miss Estella's community,

00:16:11.560 they looked after little ones like a village,

00:16:13.860 sharing what little they had with one another.

00:16:16.280 She's a living legend,

00:16:17.580 and her work and legacy is a testament to the fact

00:16:20.620 that anyone can make a lasting difference.

00:16:23.680 Ms. Estella, what a life you have lived.

00:16:26.460 What an inspiration.

00:16:28.220 What do you want to say if somebody is out there and they think, gosh, I want to make a difference, but I don't know what I can do.

00:16:35.140 What's your message to them?

00:16:36.280 Because you've made, you're one woman and you've made such a big difference on your community.

00:16:41.040 What is your message to other people who might be listening who want to do what you're doing and make a difference in their communities?

00:16:48.100 Don't let age interfere with your dreams.

00:16:51.140 is one thing

00:16:52.940 and the other thing is

00:16:55.480 if you can believe it

00:16:57.020 and willing to work you can achieve it

00:16:59.760 I so appreciate it

00:17:01.360 I appreciate you I appreciate all

00:17:03.500 that you do Miss Estella

00:17:05.320 you are an icon

00:17:06.660 friend of Oprah Winfrey

00:17:08.720 yes and she

00:17:10.900 wrote the fall forward in my book

00:17:13.360 oh my goodness

00:17:14.720 I have a book out there that's called 0.96

00:17:17.320 The Legacy of a Humble

00:17:19.380 Black Woman

00:17:20.080 from fear to factory to Estella's Brilliant Bus.

00:17:24.560 It's on the website too.

00:17:26.700 For my birthday, I hope you'll consider supporting Miss Estella's vision for the future

00:17:30.500 by making a donation to Estella's Brilliant Bus if you're able.

00:17:34.500 Go to tangoti.com slash bus to donate. 0.92

00:17:37.300 That's tangoti, T-A-N-G-O-T-I dot com slash bus.

00:17:42.220 If you're moved by Miss Estella's story and want to donate but aren't in a position to do so right now,

00:17:47.340 hit me up at hello at tangoti.com

00:17:49.160 and we'll donate in your honor.

00:17:51.320 We keep us safe and we keep us strong.

00:17:54.460 So let's all keep striving to be the change we want

00:17:56.740 for our communities, just like Miss Estella.

00:17:59.920 You are a living legend,

00:18:02.060 such an inspiration to me personally.

00:18:04.840 When I saw your Super Bowl ad, I cried.

00:18:07.500 Before we spoke today, I watched it again

00:18:09.920 and I had the same feeling.

00:18:11.600 There's just something so beautiful

00:18:13.160 about what you've done for your community.

00:18:14.780 So I'm so very grateful for you.

00:18:18.120 And at 84, I'm still doing everything that I can do

00:18:21.440 to make a difference during the time that I'm here.

00:18:28.740 Got a story about an interesting thing in tech

00:18:30.820 or just want to say hi?

00:18:32.280 You can reach us at hello at tangody.com.

00:18:34.540 You can also find transcripts for today's episode

00:18:36.380 at tangody.com.

00:18:37.980 There Are No Girls on the Internet was created by me,

00:18:39.840 Bridget Todd.

00:18:40.720 It's a production of iHeartRadio and Unbossed Creative.

00:18:43.460 Jonathan Strickland is our executive producer.

00:18:45.500 Tari Harrison is our producer and sound engineer.

00:18:48.120 Michael Amato is our contributing producer.

00:18:50.120 I'm your host, Bridget Todd.

00:18:51.940 If you want to help us grow, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

00:18:55.540 For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:19:12.760 I survived nine months in captivity,

00:19:16.680 and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them.

00:19:22.500 I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files.

00:19:26.000 Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable,

00:19:29.800 abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced.

00:19:33.620 These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive.

00:19:37.460 Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app,

00:19:41.960 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:19:45.480 If your bookshelf and your For You page

00:19:47.380 are equally important to your personality,

00:19:49.600 welcome home.

00:19:51.220 Pro Society is a weekly podcast

00:19:53.040 that's part book club, part group chat

00:19:54.980 for anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice

00:19:56.660 and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse.

00:19:59.460 Each week, we're connecting the dots

00:20:00.840 between books, the internet, and pop culture

00:20:02.940 with your favorite writers, book talk creators,

00:20:05.660 and plenty of overthought opinions.

00:20:07.720 Yeah, I'm obsessed, I'm obsessed.

00:20:09.080 Listen to Pro Society on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:20:15.620 I'm Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb.

00:20:20.020 You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy.

00:20:25.360 Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out.

00:20:32.360 You're not hired just to fill time and space.

00:20:35.160 You're hired to fill the space with you.

00:20:38.020 Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:20:46.500 Our hometown is not a test tube.

00:20:49.140 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town.

00:20:55.180 Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land.

00:20:58.860 We need cities on a shining hill.

00:21:00.820 This is Our Town, a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. 0.97

00:21:09.100 Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you?

00:21:11.800 Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0.98

00:21:20.440 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:21:23.320 Guaranteed human.

There Are No Girls on the Internet - March 13, 2021

How Estella’s Brilliant Bus is bridging the digital divide + Bridget’s Birthday

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