Because Lincoln is so closely identified with what it is to be American, everyone wants to claim him, to rewrite his story… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I knew that there were black people in Africa, of course, unfortunately because of movies such as 'Tarzan.' — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I think that the roots of racism have always been economic, and I think people are desperate and scared. And when you're… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
It's no surprise that White people say things when they are together about Black people. — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
There haven't been fundamental structural changes in America. There's been a very important symbolic change and that is the election of Barack… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
The story of the African-American people is the story of the settlement and growth of America itself, a universal tale that all… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I find that people today tend to use them interchangeably. I use African-American, because I teach African Studies as well as African-American… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
But you see, our society is still trapped in this binary, black/white logic and that has had some very positive implications for… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
Mama and I would go to a funeral and she'd stand up to read the dead person's eulogy. She made the ignorant… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
The biggest surprise for me, without a doubt, was that the first black people who came to the United States weren't the… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
So, Mexico, Brazil, they wanted their national culture to be 'blackish' - really brown, a beautiful brown blend. And finally, I discovered… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I believe in the law. I think we have a great system of justice. But I do think that system of justice… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
It's important to debunk the myths of Africa being this benighted continent civilized only when white people arrived. In fact, Africans had… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I use African-American, because I teach African Studies as well as African-American Studies, so it's easy, neat and convenient. But sometimes, when… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
So many people of color who made major contributions to American history have been trapped in the purgatory of history. — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
Very few Black people ever embraced back to Africa movements, and very few actually, a tiny number actually went back to Africa.… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
We can see that the complexity we witness inside the African-American community today has always been there. Black people were just as… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
In Ethiopia, the black people became Christians 1700 years ago, hundreds of years before Northern Europe turned to Christianity... And here, most of the… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
Politicians will not put forth programs aimed at the problems of poor blacks while their turnout remains so low. — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I'm a tech geek. Whenever I read about something new, I think to myself, How can I take this and make it black? — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I think that the implication of King's assassination has not been fully appreciated. — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
I want to be remembered as someone who tried to bring the story of our ancestors to the broadest possible audience. I want to… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
In 1957, when I was in second grade, black children integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. We watched it on TV. All… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
Since the day Martin Luther King was killed, the black middle classes have almost quadrupled, but the percentage of black children living on or… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
Because Lincoln is so closely identified with what it is to be American, everyone wants to claim him, to rewrite his story to satisfy… — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
My grandfather was coloured, my father was Negro, and I am Black. — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
Wherever you go in the history of America, there have been Black people making contributions, but their contributions have been obscured, lost, buried. — Henry Louis Gates Copy Share Image
