Zeinab Badawi

Well, Dan, in a way, the book found me. And that is because having enjoyed a long career in broadcasting and making documentary films, I embarked on a project to make 20, 45-minute documentary films about the history of Africa. And I traveled to more than 30 countries in Africa over a period of about seven years.

Well, Dan, in a way, the book found me. And that is because having enjoyed a long career in broadcasting and making documentary films, I embarked on a project to make 20, 45-minute documentary films about the history of Africa. And I traveled to more than 30 countries in Africa over a period of about seven years.

Well, Dan, in a way, the book found me. And that is because having enjoyed a long career in broadcasting and making documentary films, I embarked on a project to make 20, 45-minute documentary films about the history of Africa. And I traveled to more than 30 countries in Africa over a period of about seven years.

And I interviewed dozens and dozens and dozens of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and so on. And I made the films, put them out. They're now available on BBC YouTube, free of charge. And I was very troubled by the fact that so much of what these marvelous African scholars had told me had, metaphorically speaking, hit the cutting room floor.

And I interviewed dozens and dozens and dozens of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and so on. And I made the films, put them out. They're now available on BBC YouTube, free of charge. And I was very troubled by the fact that so much of what these marvelous African scholars had told me had, metaphorically speaking, hit the cutting room floor.

And I interviewed dozens and dozens and dozens of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and so on. And I made the films, put them out. They're now available on BBC YouTube, free of charge. And I was very troubled by the fact that so much of what these marvelous African scholars had told me had, metaphorically speaking, hit the cutting room floor.

So I thought, you know what, I really want to do justice to what they told me. I want to ventilate their scholarship. And so I thought the only way I could do that was by writing a book, because I wanted to accord them the respect of bringing their vision, their perspectives, their scholarship, their research to the telling of the history of their own continent.

So I thought, you know what, I really want to do justice to what they told me. I want to ventilate their scholarship. And so I thought the only way I could do that was by writing a book, because I wanted to accord them the respect of bringing their vision, their perspectives, their scholarship, their research to the telling of the history of their own continent.

So I thought, you know what, I really want to do justice to what they told me. I want to ventilate their scholarship. And so I thought the only way I could do that was by writing a book, because I wanted to accord them the respect of bringing their vision, their perspectives, their scholarship, their research to the telling of the history of their own continent.

And so that's why I've written the book. And it's a passion, a mission for me. And I see myself as a kind of conduit, a facilitator for these African voices. I thought, let me use my international stage, as it were, to put them center stage and say at last, let us hear Africans telling their own story rather than having it being related by outsiders.

And so that's why I've written the book. And it's a passion, a mission for me. And I see myself as a kind of conduit, a facilitator for these African voices. I thought, let me use my international stage, as it were, to put them center stage and say at last, let us hear Africans telling their own story rather than having it being related by outsiders.

And so that's why I've written the book. And it's a passion, a mission for me. And I see myself as a kind of conduit, a facilitator for these African voices. I thought, let me use my international stage, as it were, to put them center stage and say at last, let us hear Africans telling their own story rather than having it being related by outsiders.

Undoubtedly, everybody in Africa knows that there is nobody on Earth today who cannot say that Africa is not their mother continent. The science is settled. It's accepted all over the world. I mean, there are obviously some people who perhaps find it rather unpalatable that all humans originated from Africa. But there we go.

Undoubtedly, everybody in Africa knows that there is nobody on Earth today who cannot say that Africa is not their mother continent. The science is settled. It's accepted all over the world. I mean, there are obviously some people who perhaps find it rather unpalatable that all humans originated from Africa. But there we go.

Undoubtedly, everybody in Africa knows that there is nobody on Earth today who cannot say that Africa is not their mother continent. The science is settled. It's accepted all over the world. I mean, there are obviously some people who perhaps find it rather unpalatable that all humans originated from Africa. But there we go.

And Africans, I think, do actually derive a great deal of pride from the fact that the story of humankind begins in Africa. If you're not living in Africa today or of African descent, you're an African export. Whether you've got blonde hair, blue eyes, there's no escaping that.

And Africans, I think, do actually derive a great deal of pride from the fact that the story of humankind begins in Africa. If you're not living in Africa today or of African descent, you're an African export. Whether you've got blonde hair, blue eyes, there's no escaping that.

And Africans, I think, do actually derive a great deal of pride from the fact that the story of humankind begins in Africa. If you're not living in Africa today or of African descent, you're an African export. Whether you've got blonde hair, blue eyes, there's no escaping that.

How far it marries back with oral tradition, that may be a bit of a stretch, Dan, because, I mean, just a quick, you know... snapshot of how we evolved. Modern humans, that's Homo sapiens sapiens, we were fully formed about 100,000 years ago. By about 90,000 years ago, we had populated the whole continent of Africa. Sometime around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, those first hardy pioneers left the

How far it marries back with oral tradition, that may be a bit of a stretch, Dan, because, I mean, just a quick, you know... snapshot of how we evolved. Modern humans, that's Homo sapiens sapiens, we were fully formed about 100,000 years ago. By about 90,000 years ago, we had populated the whole continent of Africa. Sometime around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, those first hardy pioneers left the