African American History Month is here. This year, how about doing some deep excavating on subjects that you might not ordinarily think about, but are fascinating to learn about?
Online Resources
You can explore the cities and cultures of ancient Africa with Ancient and Medieval History Online, one of CPL's Online Resources.
Start by learning about three of the greatest African empires in the ancient world, Ghana, Mali and Songhai. These three city-states were part of the trade route that moved merchandise such as gold, salt and, their most valuable commodity, books! Scholars from Europe and the known world studied mathematics, art, music, astronomy and literature at The University of Timbuktu, the most famous university of the day.
Books
African American author and scholar Lerone Bennett, Jr.'s Before the Mayflower covers African American history from the empires of West Africa through slavery, Jim Crow and the civil rights movement.
Stolen Legacy explores the idea that much of the philosophy that is attributed to the Greeks actually came from ancient Egyptians. He highlights Greek philosophers such as Plato, Socrates and Aristotle, explains their doctrines and traces their origins back to the teachings that are found in earlier writings in Egypt.
Edited by Ivan Van Sertima, Blacks in Science is a collection of articles written by various authors covering the achievements, findings and discoveries of Africans and African Americans. One article in particular discusses the people of Yoruba and the advanced number system based on 20.
World's Great Men of Color by J.A. Rogers, with commentary/introduction written by John Henrik Clarke, is the definitive book on African figures in antiquity. Volume 1 discusses such historical figures as Hannibal, Aesop, Queen Hatshepsut (the first female pharoah) and Imhotep, the designer of the pyramids. Volume 2 highlights people like Alexandre Dumas, Benedict the Moor and Alessandro de'Medici, the First Duke of Florence. It is a fascinating read and will introduce you to people you likely have never heard of.
You never know what gems you'll find when you go exploring!
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