Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950) is an American
literary critic, teacher, historian, filmmaker and public intellectual
who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director
of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at
Harvard University. He rediscovered the earliest African-American
novels, long forgotten, and has published extensively on appreciating
African-American literature as part of the Western canon.In addition
to producing and hosting previous series on the history and genealogy
of prominent American figures, since 2012 Gates has been host of the
television series Finding Your Roots on PBS. It combines the work of
expert researchers in genealogy, history, and genetics historic
research to tell guests about their ancestors' lives and
histories.Gates was born in Keyser, West Virginia, to Henry Louis
Gates Sr. (c.1913â€"2010) and his wife Pauline Augusta (Coleman) Gates
(1916â€"1987). He grew up in neighboring Piedmont. His father worked
in a paper mill and moonlighted as a janitor, while his mother cleaned
houses, as described in his memoir Colored People (1994).
literary critic, teacher, historian, filmmaker and public intellectual
who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director
of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at
Harvard University. He rediscovered the earliest African-American
novels, long forgotten, and has published extensively on appreciating
African-American literature as part of the Western canon.In addition
to producing and hosting previous series on the history and genealogy
of prominent American figures, since 2012 Gates has been host of the
television series Finding Your Roots on PBS. It combines the work of
expert researchers in genealogy, history, and genetics historic
research to tell guests about their ancestors' lives and
histories.Gates was born in Keyser, West Virginia, to Henry Louis
Gates Sr. (c.1913â€"2010) and his wife Pauline Augusta (Coleman) Gates
(1916â€"1987). He grew up in neighboring Piedmont. His father worked
in a paper mill and moonlighted as a janitor, while his mother cleaned
houses, as described in his memoir Colored People (1994).
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