6 Black Explorers That Will Transform How You See the Ancient World

By Kiersten Willis | Published on May 10, 2017 | Updated on February 15, 2019 9:26 PM EST

The Great Mosque of Djenné (Wikimedia Commons)

West African Ruler Abubakari II Brought Africans to America Before Columbus

Christopher Columbus wasn’t responsible for Africans ultimately coming to America. Abubakari II voyaged to America almost 200 years before the Italian colonizer, as scholar Gaoussou Diawara says in his book, “The Saga of Abubakari II.” In the 14th century, Abukari II, also known as Mansa Qu, ruled Mali, which experts believe was one of the richest and largest empires in the world. Diawara says, in 1311, the monarch handed his ruling duties over to his brother, Kankou Moussa, so Abubakari could explore across the Atlantic Ocean.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way