African American history began in a particular time and place and that was in Jamestown, Virginia in August of 1619 when about twenty Ndongans arrived through the Atlantic Slave Trade. African Americans were not seen as individuals but seen as an inferior group that was not important to history. Although many slaves came from different areas of Africa, they all shared common experiences that brought them together which lead to creating a common language (Painter). Therefore, African Americans created themselves through language, religion, and culture. In addition, African American culture is a mixture of many different traditions from West Africa in a European context. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, highly educated people believed that Africa was a “dark continent” that had no importance or …show more content…
He conquered Mali completely but after his death, Askia Mohammed overthrew Ali’s successor. Mohammed studied Muslim systems of education, law, and administration, which he introduced to Songhay. Eventually, he opened schools and universities. The universities of Timbuktu and Sankore soon gained international recognition and good reputation. The University of Timbuktu soon became known for its study of theology, law, mathematics, and medicine. Eventually this empire collapsed in 1951 when Moroccans invaded Songhay and their army was destroyed. Overall, the studies of these civilizations are significant in the study of African Americans because in the nineteenth century, Westerners believed that Africa had no capability to produce great empires like the European empire of Greece (Painter). According to the text, Europeans and European-descended people denied black Africa of any kind of history (6). In the end, Africans are not so inferior after-all due to the fact that they produced these great