Deutsche Welle African Roots

African Roots

DW's history project "African Roots" addresses young Africans

DW's new series "African Roots" uses online comics and radio broadcasts to highlight 25 important African personalities. The project, funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, is aimed at young audiences.
The portraits cover a long period of time, ranging from Dinknesh, the "Mother of Mankind" in present-day Ethiopia, to legendary rulers of the Middle Ages such as Mali's King Sunjata Keita to key figures from the African independence movement such as Patrice Lumumba.

These animated online stories by the successful Nigerian graphic design team "Comic Republic," will primarily be shared on Facebook once a week. DW’s Facebook platforms for Africa have more than four million subscribers. There will also be broadcasts of supporting content on radio, reaching nearly 40 million African listeners per week. Most of the content is available in six languages (English, Amharic, Hausa, Kiswahili, French, Portuguese).

DW users have raised concerns saying that public discourse on African history is often based solely on the perspective of the continent's former colonial powers. One commented on Facebook that "young Africans don't have easy access to historical documentation." "African Roots" hopes to help close this gap. The project, spearheaded by DW's Africa service, employs African sources, and was developed in collaboration with African historians, cultural scientists and writers. It targets Africa's young generation, which makes up the vast majority of the population on the continent.
Once-off English Germany History · Education
25 Episodes
20 – 25

Cheikh Anta Diop: Visionary scholar

Anthropologist, historian, specialist in nuclear physics and passionate about linguistics, the Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop laid the foundation for finally writing the history of Africa without racist prejudices. When did Cheikh Anta Diop live? Cheikh Anta Diop was born in 1923 in the village of Thieytou, about a hundred…
5 Nov 2019 3 min

Charlotte Maxeke, ‘Mother of Black Freedom

In segregated South Africa, Charlotte Mannya Maxeke dedicated her life to the struggle for women's rights and education for all. Her pioneering role is only now being rediscovered and more widely reported once again. When did Charlotte Maxeke live? She was born April 7, 1871, or possibly 1874, and given…
5 Nov 2019 4 min

Bayajida: The legend of Hausa land

Historians doubt that Bayajida existed, but the legend of Bayajida remains powerful. It refers to him as the man whose lineage founded the Hausa nation. The legend is re-enacted yearly in Daura, Nigeria. When did Bayajida live? Most of the Bayajida legend was transmitted through oral history. There is no…
5 Nov 2019 3 min

Amilcar Cabral: The collective liberation

Immersed in the pan-African struggle, Amilcar Cabral led Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde toward independence from the Portuguese colonial authorities, but was assassinated short of achieving this goal. When did Cabral live? Amilcar Cabral was born in 1924 in Bafata, Guinea-Bissau, to Cape-Verdean parents. He grew up in Sao Vicente,…
5 Nov 2019 3 min

Ahmed Baba: Timbuktu's famous scholar

Ahmed Baba was one of the great African intellectuals of the 16th century. A prolific writer and Islamic scholar, his works include a legal opinion on slavery and a number of biographies of famous jurists. When did Ahmed Baba live? Ahmed Baba was born in 1556. Some sources locate his…
5 Nov 2019 4 min
20 – 25