n 1890 a twenty-four-year-old African American missionary named William Henry Sheppard departed for what was then the Belgian Congo, where for more than twenty years he ran a mission staffed by black Americans. Returning to America periodically, he was billed as the "Black Livingstone" and traveled the country telling tales of his adventures to packed auditoriums. An anthropologist, photographer, big-game hunter, and art collector, he helped expose the atrocities that occurred under the reign of King Leopold, eventually helping to break Belgium's hold on the Congo. "Black Livingstone" is the untold story of this extraordinary historical figure, a remarkable man who personified the adventure and ambiguities of his time.