Dr. Ali Mazrui

by Esther Ahn and Michael Bloodgood

Welcome to a website dedicated to presenting information on Dr. Ali Mazrui and his major work, the documentary series The Africans: A Triple Heritage.  The major sections of this website include 1) A Biography, 2) A Map of Africa, 3) A Summary of The Africans: A Triple Heritage, 4) Resources and Reviews, and 5) Summary Conclusions.

Biography

A biography of Ali Mazrui highlighting his achievements can be found on the Binghamton University website. An article entitled "Africana Resources for Undergraduates" gives information on his documentary series and two companions books. 

Map of Africa

          This map of Africa may be helpful in understanding the scope of the documentary series. 

Summary of The Africans: A Triple Heritage

Produced in 1986, there are nine, sixty-minute programs in this documentary series.  The title, The Africans: A Triple Heritage,refers to the focus of this series.  The programs tell the story of Africans as inhabitants of Africa, and of Africans as those whose heritage and culture stem from Africa.  The triple heritage refers to the three main cultural influences on Africa: traditional African culture, Islamic culture, and Western culture.  Important note: the summaries that follow present facts that were true as of 1986, when this program was released.

PROGRAM 1, THE NATURE OF A CONTINENT

PROGRAM 2, A LEGACY OF LIFESTYLES

PROGRAM 3, NEW GODS

PROGRAM 4, TOOLS OF EXPLOITATION

PROGRAM 5, NEW CONFLICTS

PROGRAM 6, IN SEARCH OF STABILITY

PROGRAM 7, A GARDEN OF EDEN IN DECAY

PROGRAM 8, A CLASH OF CULTURES

PROGRAM 9, GLOBAL AFRICA

Resources and Reviews

More information on the documentary series can be found on the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University website.  This website gives a link to the Annenberg/CPB website on the series.  Of note on that website is the link to the Spotlight on the Africans.  This website presents a summary and related links to each of the nine programs.  The Michigan Humanities Council website provides a general overview of the series as does a website entitled Ali Mazrui’s A Triple Heritage Series

There is An Amazon.com customer review which is anonymously written.  The writer highlights some of the strengths and weakness of the series.  The Annenberg/CPB website also offers a "The Africans: Views, Reviews, and Awards" webpage.

Summary Conclusions

There is a critique website, and there is also a comparison of the three series: 
    Ali Mazrui's The Africans: A Triple Heritage
    Basil Davidson's Africa
    Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s Wonders of the African World

Last updated:
26 April 2000 
redesigned June 2001