African American Lives

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/

Watch:Channel 13 February 13, 2008 9:00

1. Who is Dr. Henry Gates?
Henry Louis Gates, Jr, is one of the most powerful academic voices in America. In 1997 Gates was voted one of Time Magazine's "25 Most Influential Americans." An article in Time asserted, "Combine the braininess of the legendary black scholar W.E.B. DuBois and the chutzpah of P.T. Barnum, and the result is Henry Louis Gates, Jr." He is most recognized for his extensive research of African American history and literature, and for developing and expanding the African American Studies program at Harvard University. The first black to have received a Ph.D. from Cambridge, Gates is the author of many books, articles, essays, and reviews, and has received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Gates, who has displayed an endless dedication to bringing African-American culture to the public, has co-authored, co-edited, and produced some of the most comprehensive African-American reference materials in the country. Booklist declared that Gates "is doing for African Americans in the U.S. what Tocqueville did for Europeans."

Gates was born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia, a city surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. Gates's father, Henry Louis, Sr. worked at the local paper mill during the day, and worked at the telephone company as a janitor at night. His mother, Pauline Coleman Gates, cleaned houses in addition to caring for her two children. Gates described his father as being an extraordinary storyteller and credited his mother with instilling a great deal of self-confidence in both he and his brother. She was fascinated by the teachings of Malcolm X but also wanted her children to be able to work and live within an integrated society. Pauline was involved with her children's education and was the first black PTA member in their community. As Louis entered his teenage years his mother began a long struggle with depression and was hospitalized. Profoundly affected, the young Gates made a deal with God: If his mother came home from the hospital, he would devote his life to Christ. His mother did come home and Gates became heavily involved with his church, but as the 1960s unfolded with race riots, assassinations, and anti-war movements, he turned his focus outward.

2. Choose an interviewee and discuss the following:
The historical events of his/ her family.
Discuss the historical significant.