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Scholar and Activist Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Scholar and activist Henry Louis Gates, Jr. He's Professor of English and Chairman of Afro-American Studies at Harvard and one of Afro-American studies most visible and controversial proponents. Gates believes that Black studies should be a methodology, not an ideology, and that you don't have to be black to teach African-American literature. He defended the rap group 2 Live Crew in court in Florida testifying that the group was "parodying stereotypes of blacks, following the old African-American tradition of 'signifying,' or humorous put-downs." Gates has a new memoir of his early years, "Colored People," (Knopf).

22:35
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Other segments from the episode on June 1, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 1, 1994: Interview with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; Interview with Beck; Review of the television show "Unplugged."
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17:09

Beck Discusses His Music and Influences.

Beck is a 23 year-old hip/hop folk rocker, who goes by first name only and whose single, "Loser" has become the anthem for the underachievers of Generation X. His music has been described as "triumphantly anti-professional, idiot-savant music in which a heartfelt solo can be provided by kazoo as easily as guitar." Beck was part of the Los Angeles underground, with songs like "MTV Makes Me Want to Smoke Crack." Beck's first album, "Mellow Gold," (released on DGC) was recorded at home on four and eight-track recording equipment.

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27:16

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on the Social and Artistic Lives of Black Americans

Gates is the W.E.B. DuBois Professor of Humanities and chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Harvard University as well as a staff writer for "The New Yorker." In his new book, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man," Gates records the thoughts of some of society's most revered black American men. The men debate the current state of black men and the difficulties of race and gender relations in American society.

Interview
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22:52

Scholarship and Blackness.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is an African-American historian. He attended Yale University in the late '60s. The New York Times describes Gates as "a 41-year-old academic entrepreneur who has been one of the most sought-after scholars in the country in the last decade." Gates has taught at Yale, Cornell and Duke. Now he's been recruited to revitalize Harvard's African-American studies department, serving as its new chairman. He's written for Newsweek, Time, and The Nation.

Interview

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