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It's important to debunk the myths of Africa being this benighted continent civilized only when white people arrived. In fact, Africans had been creators of culture for thousands of years before. These were very intelligent, subtle and sophisticated people, with organized societies and great art.

It is unfortunate that so much of the history of Africa has been written by conquerors, foreigners, missionaries and adventurers. The Egyptians left the best record of their history written by local writers.

Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel prize.

It did occur to me that certainly African-Americans are not underserved in picture books, but those books are almost all about specifically black experiences.

Writing about Africa by Africans has been part of my literary apprenticeship, standing alongside works by authors such as Joseph Conrad, Joyce Cary and Graham Greene as influences.

I don't think there's enough breadth to the stories told about African-Americans.

I made a lot of friends at school, and they were all Africans. I could have felt very different. I didn't feel different, I didn't notice the color of their skin, I didn't notice the color of my skin and I have remembered that all my life.

I knew that there were black people in Africa, of course, unfortunately because of movies such as 'Tarzan.'

Take the time to discover how African-Americans have had a great impact on this country. In science, education, literature, art, and politics.