Black African Heritage Audiotapes
name: label: Producer
content: Elisofon, Eliot
label: Producer
content: Group W Productions
label: Producer
content: Westinghouse Broadcasting Company
label: Narrator
content: Angelou, Maya
label: Narrator
content: Davis, Ossie, 1917-2005
label: Narrator
content: Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006
label: Narrator
content: Bond, Julian, 1940-2015
place: label: Place
content: Congo River (Congo)
label: Place
content: Ruwenzori Mountains (Uganda and Congo)
label: Place
content: Niger River
label: Place
content: Africa, West
label: Place
content: Ghana
label: Place
content: Ivory Coast
topic: label: Topic
content: Hausa (African people)
label: Topic
content: Dogon (African people)
label: Topic
content: Tuareg (African people)
label: Topic
content: Yoruba (African people)
label: Topic
content: Drums
label: Topic
content: Senufo (African people)
label: Topic
content: Vibraphone
creator: label: Producer
content: Elisofon, Eliot
label: Producer
content: Group W Productions
label: Producer
content: Westinghouse Broadcasting Company
label: Narrator
content: Angelou, Maya
label: Narrator
content: Davis, Ossie, 1917-2005
label: Narrator
content: Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006
label: Narrator
content: Bond, Julian, 1940-2015
culture: label: Culture
content: Kuba (Bakuba)
label: Culture
content: Pende (Bapende)
label: Culture
content: Bambara (African people)
label: Culture
content: Dendi (African people)
label: Culture
content: Bozo (African people)
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: These materials were produced by Eliot Elisofon and Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting Company) in 1972, for a four-hour television series called Black African Heritage. The episodes, in order of broadcast date: 

1.	The Congo, narrated by Julian Bond, focuses on the "heartland of Africa" the equatorial area which encompasses rainforests, grassy plains, volcanoes, the great Congo River, lakes, and the snow-covered Ruwenzori, called the Mountains of the Moon. This episode encounters groups such as the Watusi, Bambenga, the Wagenia, the Bakuba, and the Bapende—and traces African art and history back 1,500 years.
2.	The Bend in the Niger, narrated by Ossie Davis, follows one of the continent's great rivers as it flows northward in West Africa from the home of the Bambara group, known for their music, dancing, and sculpture, to Timbuktu, where it turns eastward to the Atlantic Ocean through the home of the Dogon groups, famous for sculpture. Other groups met along the way are the Borora, the horseman of Muslim Hausa, the nomadic Tuaregs, and the Bozo and Dendi people of the Niger River. 
3.	The Slave Coast, narrated by Maya Angelou, focused on the tradition, cultures, beauty, and history of the people of the rainforest and the coast of West Africa. Watch dancers of Nigeria, examine sculptures made 2000 years ago, listen to the talking drums of Yoruba, see bronze portraits, visit the women warriors once known as Amazon, see golden treasures of Ashanti in Ghana, and marvel at the acrobatic dancers of the Ivory Coast.
4.	Africa's Gift, narrated by Gordon Parks, focuses primarily on the Senufo people of the Ivory Coast, their music, and their art. Mongo Santamaria, leading exponent of Afro-Cuban music plays the "Afro-blues." Lionel Hampton and his group play "Glad Hamp," to show the relationship of the vibraphone and the balaphone of the Senufo. Modern jazz star Randy Weston and a trio play a number rooted in the Ashanti music in Ghana.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 64 Sound tape reels (1/4 in., 5 in and 7 in reels)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1972
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Donated by Rena Kosersky in 2020, who received the tapes from Eliot Elisofon in 1972 for safekeeping while he was working on Black African Heritage. Elisofon passed away the following year.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: EEPA.2020-007
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound tape reels
scopecontent: label: Content Description
content: These original (64) magnetic audio tapes and reels were created for the Black African Heritage television series, produced by Eliot Elisofon and Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting Company) in 1972. These correspond with the film outtakes and original work prints held in the EEPA 1973-001 Collection.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Related materials include the Eliot Elisofon Papers and Photography Collection (PH-00066) at the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, the Time/Life Photographs Archives, and Broadcast programs collection (ACMA.09-037) at the Anacostia Community Museum Archives