-(whooping) -And we're celebrating all month

with Roy Wood Jr. honoring the unsung heroes of black history

in another episode of CP Time.

(mellow jazz playing)

♪ ♪

Ah. Welcome to CP Time,

the only show that's for the culture.

Today we'll be discussing black explorers.

Now, I know when a lot of people think of explorers,

they only think of white people.

Like Christopher Columbus,

Lewis and Clark,

or that twitchy lady that drives the Magic School Bus.

But what many people don't know is that black people

have also been instrumental in discovering new lands.

We just don't get any of the credit.

Like how I discovered the Dougie,

and no one gave me credit.

I was covered in spiders,

and I was just trying to get them off me.

-(hip-hip playing) -And on my head.

(music stops)

Our first black explorer

is a man by the name of Matthew Henson--

the first man to reach the North Pole, in 1908.

It was an incredible feat,

not just because he discovered the North Pole,

but also because he was a black man

who wasn't afraid of going head-to-head against winter.

The only place I would want to discover

is Miami.

♪ Party in the city where the heat is on. ♪

Another black explorer

who doesn't nearly get the credit he deserves

was an enslaved man named York.

In 1804, he joined Lewis and Clark

on their famous expedition across North America,

making him the first black man

to travel across the U.S. continent.

York was a vital part of the expedition.

In fact, he was so trusted,

he was even given his own gun.

Which was a risky move on Lewis and Clark's part:

giving a slave a gun.

You know what you call a slave with a gun?

Master.

Interesting fact: after the expedition,

York requested his freedom from Clark,

but Clark denied him,

because he realized that without York,

he would just be another white dude lost in the forest...

(whispers): like a bitch.

And finally,

black people weren't just tagging along with white people

on these expeditions,

they were also making history themselves.

Like Abubakri II,

the ruler of the Mali empire.

In 1311, Abubakri set off on an expedition westward.

Eventually, he landed in Brazil.

Abubakri met the native tribes there

and made peace with them,

and even ended up marrying a chief's daughter,

a quest that many men know all too well.

Traveling to distant lands

for new booty.

'Cause them local girls are too familiar.

So the next time you think about explorers,

remember not to just give credit

to white men who discovered places people already lived--

Columbus.

But also give credit to those of the more melanin persuasion

who have explored the world.

Like my Uncle Bebo,

who, in 1990, traveled across the country

searching for the Dairy Queen with the best Oreo Blizzard.

And we haven't seen him since.

That's why every day I honor my Uncle Bebo

my eating one of these.

We're gonna miss you, Bebo.

(grunts)

(grunts)

-And I'm back. -(cheering)

Well, that's all the time we have for today,

I'm Roy Wood Jr., and this has been CP Time.

And remember, we're for the culture!

Somebody get me some hot tea to balance out this cold.

-♪ ♪ -(cheering, applause)