Ninety years after W.E.B. Du Bois first articulated the need for "the equivalent of a black Encyclopedia Britannica," Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr., realized his vision by publishing Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience in 1999. This new, greatly expanded edition of the original work broadens the foundation provided by Africana. Including more than one million new words, Africana has been completely updated and revised.

The authoritative source for information on the people, places, and events of the African Diaspora, spanning five continents and five centuries. The field of African Diaspora studies is rapidly growing. Until now there was no single, authoritative source for information.