Randolph said lessons on Africa in American classrooms too often stop at simplified narratives. Through outreach projects, many supported and led by Howard, students are encouraged to probe deeper questions.

On the Mali Empire and Mansa Musa, she added, “What did they use the gold for? They never get to that part. They built cities, bought books, and imported horses to build their empire.”

And as for Timbuktu, said Vanessa Oyugi (M.A. ’10, Ph.D. ’17), who co-directs the center’s outreach with Randolph, most people don’t know there is a real person behind the name. Historians believe Timbuktu means “the place of Timbouctou” and gets its name from a Tuareg woman named Tin Bouctou who established a camel rest stop along the Niger River in the 12th century. 

“People are often shocked to see how many other actors there were and how much more information we actually have,” Oyugi said.

That effort to reach teachers and reshape how African history is taught will be on display this week through “Following the Gold Road: Global Medieval Africa in the Time of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai,” a three-part virtual lecture series. The program will explore Africa’s role in the medieval world economy through gold while also highlighting its contributions to learning, governance, art, and architecture. The events are part of the 10th Annual State of Education on Africa Conference, hosted in partnership with the Center for African Studies, Boston University’s African Studies Center, and the Africa-America Institute. 

The conference is held virtually on Wednesdays between runs from Jan. 14-28. Register here for the three-part lecture series in January Wednesdays from 12.30 - 1:30 pm EST.

The series is structured as a discussion-driven program featuring scholars followed by open Q&A, with sessions recorded so educators can revisit the material and integrate it into their classrooms. Scholars connected to the programming include historian David Conrad, who helped shape the project’s historical framework, and Michael Gomez, whose work anchors the academic depth of the discussions.

This year’s lecture series unfolds amid tightened federal budgets, including recent cuts to Title VI African Studies funding, prompting a shift from a planned in-person conference to a virtual format.

The Center for African Studies at Howard University is one of roughly 100 federally designated area-studies centers nationwide, created to deepen U.S. understanding of world regions through language and cultural study. Howard is the only HBCU ever to receive a Title VI African Studies grant, first awarded in 1980 and renewed in 2014.

Krista Johnson, Ph.D., director of the Center for African Studies, said the outreach program has reached approximately 50,000 K–16 students and 1,200 educators nationwide over the past four years. The Center for African Studies also publishes Bouctou, an Africana magazine for teachers and students,

“This collaboration with the Africa America Institute reframes not only African history but medieval world history by centering Africa’s role in global commerce through gold and showcasing its profound influence on art, governance and education” Johnson said.

The Gold Road

Randolph led the effort to coin the term “Gold Road.” Before joining Howard University, she spent 22 years working in the Montgomery County school system, primarily at the middle school level. During that time, she noticed that instruction on the Sudanic empires, including Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, was often reduced to brief references to Mansa Musa and simplified trade narratives.

“It was not done well,” Randolph said. “We coined the term the ‘Gold Road’ so that we could quickly capture the attention of teachers.”

Her objective became to place the study of these empires on equal footing with the Silk Road, a framework familiar to nearly every history teacher. From there, the work expanded into a comprehensive Gold Road website designed to support classroom instruction. The site has logged more than 176,000 views, with consistent traffic throughout the year, reflecting its use as a reference point for educators.

Support teaching and learning about Africa and the Gold Road. Join the mailing list for the Center for African Studies to stay up to date with its programming. For more information, contact Vanessa Oyugi at vanessa.oyugi@howard.edu or Brenda Randolph at brenda.randolph@howard.edu

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