Ask any world history teacher and they will tell you that there is plenty of educational material available about European-centered history but far less about other parts of the world. The region that is perhaps most difficult to find information on is Africa, particular pre-colonial, Sub-Saharan history. This despite the fact that the African diaspora makes up a significant percentage of the population in most Western countries.
A group of independent history channels on YouTube with a combined subscriber count of almost one million followers are doing something to change this situation. On Saturday, October 26th at 12:00 GMT (8:00 am EDT), they will be releasing a total of 26 videos (one per channel) covering the history of the African continent from prehistoric times to today. The participating YouTubers come from 10 different countries and range from high school students to PhD holders and from hobbyists to full-time teachers and historians. Each channel will provide a video in their own unique style but together, the content will equal over 4 hours of material.
According to Jabari Walker, host of the From Nothing channel, “This project is important because African history is typically brushed aside as irrelevant or just not even considered at all in the education and entertainment industries. The majority of what we see and hear about Africa is overshadowed by things like wild animals, disease, and poverty and we seldom see material that touches on the positive or interesting aspects about the history of its people.”
Several of the history YouTubers involved in the project have worked together in the past on other collaborations, such as one about the Bronze Age and one on the topic of revolutions. But #ProjectAfrica is poised to become their largest collaboration yet and potentially one of the largest collaborations between educational channels ever attempted on YouTube.
Link: bit.ly/project-africa (do not use until Oct. 26)
