This work, by one of the champions of the early civil rights movement in the U.S., pulls together the various elements of African history and highlights the distinctive and complex cultures existing in Africa before the slave trade, citing evidence of architectural development, iron working, writing, and numerous other cultural advances.

"Important by any standard."—Kirkus

"The book ought to be generally read, for it contains more than mere information. It gathers and sets forth authentic data which form the kind of historic background essential to race consciousness."—James Weldon Johnson

"The whole is written with an intellectual force, a breadth of learning, and a judicial poise that compel respect."—New York Times