![]() ![]() ![]() It took a long time for black scholars and filmmakers to feel comfortable representing black historical figures in three dimensions. ![]() ![]() What I’m curious about is your opinion on the limits, if there are any, of that combination. There’s no arguing that popular storytelling and factual scholarship can be combined in useful ways. “My brother asked me once,” says Gates, 69, recalling a time when he and his work were less well known, “‘When are you going to write a book that Daddy and Mama can read?’” Which is apparently what happens when you’ve written and edited dozens of books of popular history had a guiding hand in 18 major documentaries on black history, the most recent of which was “Who Killed Malcom X?” and spent six seasons uncovering the genealogical mysteries of famous people as host of PBS’s “Finding Your Roots.” Gates’s desire to reach beyond the ivory tower - in addition to writing landmark works of literary criticism like “The Signifying Monkey,” he’s the director of Harvard’s Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research - was motivated by some very personal feelings. is one of a handful of academics who have crossed over into something approaching true celebrity. ![]()
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