African Founders

David Hackett Fischer's 2022 magnum opus — examining how enslaved Africans, through the specific cultural heritages they brought from distinct African regions, shaped the development of American culture, language, music, food, and values.

Demonstrates that African Americans were not culturally erased by slavery but adapted specific cultural heritages from their African regions of origin — and that these regional African cultures (Wolof, Akan, Igbo, Bantu) left permanent marks on American Southern culture, language, and values.