Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on October 20, 2013

Henry Louis Gates is on a mission to change how race is taught in America.

The Harvard professor of African and African-American studies is among the most public thinkers on the issue of race in the nation; his stature is only set to grow with the PBS series Many Rivers to Cross, which begins airing on Oct. 22. The six-part series considers the black experience in America from many angles, starting from the beginning of the North American slave trade.

Gates intends the series to help teach race in what he considers to be an utterly ineffective school system; hes quick to cite studies indicating that black history is not being taught well in schools. Indeed, in a conversation with Salon, Gates indicated that he believes certain states ought to mandate black history education in schools.

But the real conversation Gates wants to be having is one about class. He spoke to Salon about the degree to which the end of legal segregation led to the splintering of the civil rights movement as well as to further inequities on a national level, and what the government needs to do to ensure a fair shot for all citizens. Heres a hint its not a conversation on race of the sort convened after Gates was arrested trying to enter his Massachusetts home. In fact, he hates the term. A meaningful conversation, Gates told Salon, can only happen if nobody uses the worlds conversation about race.

I really enjoyed watching the first episode.

You know, I just watched it myself, with my girlfriend. And I really liked it.

Were you surprised that you liked it? Do you sometimes not like things that youve done as much?

No, no; I always like them. But I always wait. You know, I write the script, Im the host, Im the narrator. But seeing the final package is always a completely different experience. This one I put it off, put it off, put it off and finally said, OK, Im going to watch it. So my girlfriend and I watched it this morning, in preparation for you and I was really delighted. It was just great.

Im kind of curious the degree to which you think we as a nation especially students are at risk of forgetting slavery. I wonder if this series has to exist and things like it have to exist to remind people?

I think of this as a black history series for your generation. A generation that didnt see Roots when it was being shown every night creating a national phenomenon. A very cosmopolitan generation, technologically savvy. Less concerned about race as an individual basis than any generation before it. And more integrated socially integrated, whether its images on television or as the definition of American popular culture adds the African-American element as its lingua franca.

More here:
Henry Louis Gates: “Since slavery ended, all political movements have been about race”

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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