Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Gates writes in a scholarly, but never dry; informative, but never preachy style that gives his subject matter an excellent showing. This book is assembled from lectures Dr. Gates has given (revised many times over the years, in accordance with the kind of questions and responses he has received from his students) in his Harvard African American Studies courses. The basic topic here is how the Black community has worked toward acceptance, respect and identity through literacy and the arts since before the Civil War. He discusses in some detail the many sides of the question "What does it mean to BE African American?", including the evolution of both Black and white stances over time, and the moral, ethical and political complexities of even trying to define what it means to be Black in America. Exceptional, and difficult to process with a single reading, through no fault of the author. Highly recommended.… (mehr)

In the preface to Stony The Road, historian Henry Louis Gates recalls his early interest in Reconstruction during college and how that ultimately led to this book all these years later. Readers and history buffs looking for a detailed and documented — if somewhat dry — look at the period following the Civil War into the early 20th century need look no further than this small but packed book. Gates dissects and explains the history with buckets of primary sources from the famous (W.E.B. DuBois, etc.) to the unknown and leaves no theory unexamined. Not a light read, but definitely worthwhile for those interested in a deep dive into the period.… (mehr)

This was a book on the DAR Book Club list, and is an expanded version of a lecture the author Henry Louis Gates gave back in 2002 on the subject of poet Phillis Wheatley. Gates covers the trials of Phillis Wheatley -- several, including Founding Fathers and Thomas Jefferson -- had doubts that a young woman brought from Africa aboard a slave ship could not only learn to read and write, but compose poetry as well. Gates also delves into the changing views, both positive and negative, towards Wheatley over the years. Although this is a small volume (90 pages not including bibliography), it is big on substance.… (mehr)