This three to four-week high school anthropology unit examines the African heritage of black Americans. The unit was written for students in an inner city all black public high school. Objectives are to foster a sense of pride in black Americans' heritage, learn how black Americans can discover their roots, examine causes and consequences of the African slave trade, and learn about the Mandingo population in Guinea. Five topics comprise the unit. The first is an introduction in which students discuss African and American stereotypes and the book "Roots" by Alex Haley. The second topic focuses on the slave trade. Students read a handout from "Roots" and analyze statistics on the African slave trade to the Americas. The third topic examines Mandingo culture and history. Students read from "Roots" and from "The Dark Child" by Camara Laye, and view slides of art, crafts, music, and dance. The fourth topic concludes the unit by correcting and discussing the African myths presented in the introduction and helping interested students work on their genealogy. Reading handouts for students and student and teacher bibliographies are included. (KC)