Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The little-known heritage of the Negro is explored in this premiere program. Host Ossie Davis, Basil Davidson (British writer and historian on Africa), and John Henry Clarke examine the civilization and achievements of ancient Africa and their significance to the American Negro today. Footage shot on location in Africa reveals traces of the old African cultures - Nubian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, and the West African civilizations of Mali, Songhai, Ashanti, Ife, Benin, and Timbucktoo. Mr. Davidson, author of "The African Past," "Black Mother," and other books on Africa, emphasizes that African history as recorded by white historians has traditionally ignored the old civilizations of Africa below the Sahara.
The little-known heritage of the Negro is explored in this premiere program. Host Ossie Davis, Basil Davidson (British writer and historian on Africa), and John Henry Clarke examine the civilization and achievements of ancient Africa and their significance to the American Negro today. Footage shot on location in Africa reveals traces of the old African cultures - Nubian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, and the West African civilizations of Mali, Songhai, Ashanti, Ife, Benin, and Timbucktoo. Mr. Davidson, author of "The African Past," "Black Mother," and other books on Africa, emphasizes that African history as recorded by white historians has traditionally ignored the old civilizations of Africa below the Sahara.
