In this series Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes a look at the history of Africa, from the birth of humankind to the dawn of the 20th century. This is a breathtaking and personal journey through two hundred thousand years of history, from the origins, on the African continent, of art, writing and civilization itself, through the millennia in which Africa and Africans shaped not only their own rich civilizations, but also the wider world.

ANGELS IN THE DUST is the inspiring story of Marion Cloete, a university-trained therapist who-with her husband and two daughters-fearlessly walked away from a privileged life in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb to establish Boikarabelo (formerly Botshabelo), an extraordinary village and school that provide shelter, food, and education to more than 550 South African children.

The West African country of Mali is a birthplace of the blues, a musical tradition later carried by the transatlantic slave trade to America's cotton fields. Yet today, the music and musicians of Mali are in grave danger. As fundamentalist Islam and sharia law become more widespread, dance and secular music are prohibited, musical instruments are destroyed, and musicians are forced to flee their homeland. The vibrant documentary MALI BLUES follows...

Based on an incredible true story, SKIN follows Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo), a distinctly mixed-race South African woman born to white parents (Sam Neill and Alice Krige) during the apartheid era. Despite her upbringing as a white girl, Sandra is eventually classified as 'Coloured' by the government and stripped of the rights with which the rest of her family is privileged. And when she begins a love affair with a local vegetable dealer, Sandra...

How did South Africa come to be the first country in the world to embody LGBT rights in their post-apartheid Constitution? It was in large part due to the unsung hero Cecil Williams, whose moving life story is told in the feature documentary, The Man Who Drove With Mandela. Featuring Corin Redgrave as Cecil Williams, in a tour de force performance In 1962, at the height of oppression in apartheid South Africa, a gay white theatre director was arrested...

Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. introduces viewers to the African continent through a series of expansive views and myth-busting revelations. His six-hour exploration of the African past begins at the origins of human existence. Through anthropological and scientific discoveries viewers learn that Africa is the genetic home of all currently living humanity.

This is an unprecedented undercover investigation into one of the world's most repressive regimes. Exclusive secret footage and testimony shed new light on shocking allegations of torture, arbitrary detention and indefinite forced conscription.

This film documents an exceptional fifty-year artistic career, from Accra's streets to Ghana's villages to international TV. In fifteen delightful puppet shows, Mr. Abbey is joined by musicians Nii Noi Nortey and NiiOtoo Annan and filmmakers Nii Yemo Nunu and Steven Feld to chronicle Ghana's music since independence in 1957. The marionettes perform ethnic songs, dances and stories, but equally the sounds of highlife, Afrojazz, Afro-rock, reggae, and...

Imagine a kingdom where an entire populace is being devastated by an invisible plague, leaving only children to reign. Here, hundreds of thousands of children are raising children and are left to fend for themselves in a cruel and frightening world. This is not a fairy tale. This kingdom is Swaziland, Africa's last remaining absolute monarchy.

The world's preeminent giraffe researcher, Dr. Francois Deacon, is embarking on the most ambitious project of his career. On the rugged and untamed plains of South Africa's Rooipoort Nature Reserve, Dr. Deacon will set out to capture and GPS collar 20 giraffes, a project that will enable him to study these giraffes' every move and behavior over the next year. Joining him on this wild expedition are renowned researchers from various parts of the world....