Best of "Person of the Week" • Henry Louis Gates, Jr. • Presenting The Past

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a renowned historian, author, scholar, filmmaker, and is the Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. This week, Gates joins host Charlotte Alter and reflects on his formative years in the working-class mill town of Piedmont, West Virginia, his early education during the pivotal era of school desegregation, and his experiences watching the civil rights movement unfold in America. The pair delve into the power of genealogy, as Gates shares insights from his groundbreaking series "Finding Your Roots," and discusses how uncovering family histories can provide profound understanding of American heritage, individual identity, and the interconnectedness of all people beneath the surface of skin color. In discussing Gates’ latest book, “The Black Box: Writing The Race,” the pair unpack the significance of "checking boxes” in today’s shifting landscape of racial discourse and cultural identity, the history and future of affirmative action, and how the backlash to America’s first Black presidency has impacted how Gates teaches African American studies. Tune in for a deeply informative look into the narratives that shape our understanding of race, history, and ourselves.

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