1) Who is Dr. Henry Gates?
Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. is among a lists of many things. He is a literary critic, educator, scholar, writer, editor, and public intellectual. Currently he serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, where he is Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. In addition he s the host and co-producer of African American Lives and African American Lives 2 in which he details the lineage of predominant African Americans through genealogical resources and DNA testing.
African American Lives has led Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. to insurmountable discoveries of his ancestry. Since the program's first series airing he has learned about his European ancestry and in the second installment viewers learned that he was descended from the Irish king, Niall of the Nine Hostages. Also, he learned of his descent from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. In 2006, Gates was inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution, after he traced his lineage back to John Redman, a Free Negro who fought in the Revolutionary War.
2) Choose one of Dr. Gates interviewee and discuss the following: historical events of his/her family and their historical significance.
Unlike many slaves who gained freedom after the Civil War, Don Cheadle's ancestors were not free. In fact, Cheadle's ancestors were owned by the Chickasaw Freedman's, former slaves of the Chickasaw Nation. His ancestors were enslaved by Native Americans. His ancestors were one the few African Americans who were not enslaved by Caucasians. Thus, when the Civil War ended the Chickasaw refused to liberate their slaves. They were a self governing nation thus they were not subjected to the laws Americans abide by.
