Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. An influential scholar in the field of African American Studies, he is the author of twelve books and has hosted and produced nine documentaries for PBS and the BBC. He is the recipient of 50 honorary degrees and numerous awards, including the MacArthur Genius Grant. He was named to Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Americans” list in 1997 and to Ebony magazine’s “Power 150” list in 2009.