Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Havard University; Editor-in-Chief, Oxford American Studies Center. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 'Skip' is one of the most powerful academic voices in America. In 1997 Gates was voted one of Time Magazine's '25 Most influential Americans'. He is most recognised for his extensive research of African American history and literature, and for developing and expanding the African American Studies program at Harvard University. The first black to have received a Ph.D. from Cambridge, Gates is the author of many books, articles, essays and reviews, and has received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Gates who has displayed an endless dedication to bringing African- American culture into the public, has co-authored, co-edited and produced some of the most comprehensive African-American reference materials in the country.
