Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author portrait
© Stephanie Berger

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. An award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, and institution builder, Professor Gates has authored numerous books, including most recently Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow and The Black Church, and has created more than twenty documentary films, including his groundbreaking genealogy series Finding Your Roots. His six-part PBS documentary, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, earned an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and an NAACP Image Award. This series and his PBS documentary series Reconstruction: America after the Civil War were both honored with the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award. His most recent PBS documentary is Gospel.
The Black Box
The Black Church
Stony the Road
100 Amazing Facts About the Negro
In Search of Our Roots
Finding Oprah's Roots
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man
The Future of the Race
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Colored People

Books

The Black Box
The Black Church
Stony the Road
100 Amazing Facts About the Negro
In Search of Our Roots
Finding Oprah's Roots
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man
The Future of the Race
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Colored People

Books for Juneteenth

Juneteenth, which is recognized on June 19th each year, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. We are highlighting books from Black writers that provide insight into the rich complexity of the Black experience through history, memoir, literature, and poetry. Find our full collection of Juneteenth titles here.

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A letter from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., author of The Black Box

Dear fellow educator, I’m delighted to share with you the paperback edition of my latest book, The Black Box: Writing the Race, which grew out of the Introduction to African American Studies course I’ve taught at Harvard for the last many years. It was exciting to transpose the magic that takes place in the classroom

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Books for World Religion Day

For World Religion Day on January 19th, we are sharing books from writers who practice various religious traditions and beliefs, with topics including the history of religion, using spirituality to approach life in a more ethical way, guidance on social change, nature and religion, and the current cultures within different religious communities. Find a full

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