Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The “The African Americans” Interview
with Kam Williams

Gates Unlocked!

Born in Keyser, West Virginia on September 16, 1950, Dr. 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. He is the author of 16 books, has made 12 documentaries, and is the editor-in-chief of The Root, a daily online magazine.

In 1981, he was a member of the first class awarded “genius grants” by the MacArthur Foundation, and in 1998, he became the first African-American scholar to be awarded the National Humanities Medal. He was named to Time’s 25 Most Influential Americans list in 1997, to Ebony’s Power 150 list in 2009, and to Ebony’s Power 100 list in 2010 and 2012.

Here he talks about his new PBS series, The African Americans, and its companion book of the same name. The show is set to premiere on Tuesday, October 22nd at 8 pm ET/PT. (Check local listings)

 

Kam Williams: Hi Dr. Gates, thanks for another interview. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates: Hey, Kam, I appreciate it. You’re doing me the favor, brother.

 

KW: The last time we spoke to you was before the Boston Marathon. Were you in town that day?

HLG: Yes I was. In fact, my girlfriend, who’s a history professor in Cuba, was over there because she had left her wallet in a restaurant right nearby. I couldn’t reach her after I heard the news about the bombing, because all of the cell phones in that area were immediately jammed. So, I freaked out, of course, until she called. But what a horrible tragedy.   

 

KW: I’m glad she was okay. What was the biggest challenge in covering 500 years of African-American history in a six-hour PBS-TV series?

HLG: Precisely that, covering 500 years of African-American history in six hours. [Chuckles] Well, I’ve been working on this for seven years. The biggest challenge was deciding which stories to tell. In a one-hour documentary, you can tell maybe ten stories. That’s how the documentary is structured. I wrote to forty of the greatest historians of both African and African-American history, and hired them as consultants. I had them submit what they thought were the indispensable stories, the ones they felt this series absolutely had to include. And we got about a thousand different suggestions which we had to boil down to seventy. So, my producers and I worked with these consultants and came up with seventy which we think are exemplary of the larger arc of African-American history between 1513 and 2013. We covered half a millennium, and it’s amazing.       

 

KW: What was your biggest surprise?

HLG: The biggest surprise for me, without a doubt, was that the first black people who came to the United States weren’t the 20 who arrived in Jamestown in 1619. All of us had been taught that. Well, guess what? The first African came to Florida in 1513. And the huge shock is we know his name, Juan Garrido, and that he wasn’t a slave. He was free! This brother was a conquistador who came with Ponce de Leon. He was looking for the Fountain of Youth just like the white people were. Then, the first slave came to Florida in 1526. The first one we know by name, Esteban, which means Stephen, came a couple of years later. So, we start with the stories of Juan Garrido and Esteban to show that African-American people have been here a century longer than anyone thought, and that the diversity we see in the African-American community today has existed since the beginning. You had one guy who was a slave, and another who wasn’t. And I actually know what happened to them. Garrido ended up getting good jobs and a pension in Mexico which was the center of New Spain, as it was called. Esteban ended up being killed by the Zuni Indians. 

 

KW: I haven’t seen any of the series yet, but I found the book very informative and surprising, and I majored in Black Studies.

HLG: Yeah, like the amazing story of Anthony Johnson. This man was a slave, then became free, accumulated 250 acres, and even had his own slave, a black man who took him to court in Virginia in 1654. That man argued that he should be freed like an indentured servant. But Johnson, who we believe was a pure African from Angola, said, “No way, you’re my slave.” And the court agreed, ruling that the man was a slave for life. So, we can see that the complexity we witness inside the African-American community today has always been there. Black people were just as noble and just as ignoble as anybody else.

 

KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier says she considers your Africana Encyclopedia one of the most important literary contributions to the black world. She hopes it will be translated into other languages and that there will be a junior version because the youth definitely need to know our history and heritage. As an Afro-Canadian, she’d like to know whether the new PBS series will touch on the stories of escaped slaves who fled to Canada.

HLG: Thanks for the kind words, Patricia. As far as covering Canada, absolutely! We go to Ontario where we recount the feats of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Many people don’t know that she left the United States to live in the Province of Ontario. We go to her church in the small town of St. Catherines. So, yes, Patricia, we do tell the story of the escaped slaves who moved to Canada.  

 

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: Three researchers have just been on the news explaining what it was like when they heard they’d won the Nobel Prize. What’s it like to unearth, authenticate and publish a previously undocumented historic manuscript?

HLG: Harriet, that’s a wonderful question! It’s like finding a treasure chest hidden in a cave. It’s the ultimate rush! Finding and authenticating “The Bondwoman’s Narrative” by Hannah Crafts was one of the greatest thrills of my whole life. [Chuckles] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446690295/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20

 

KW: Harriet also observes that in your memoir, “Colored People,” you evoke an extraordinary sense of community at the annual picnics. How can we look back and recapture that sense while at the same time moving forward to a more multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society?

HLG: Well, I think that is what we do by preserving and telling our stories. If you don’t tell your stories, other people will tell their story about you. It’s important that we nurture and protect these memories. Things change. Existence means change. So, the kind of precious memories about being black for my generation won’t exist for my kids’ and grandkids’ generations unless we preserve them through fiction, through film, through comic books, and every other form of media we can possibly utilize to perpetuate the story of the great African-American people.   

 

KW: Bernadette Beekman asks: If you were giving advice to a high school senior with equal ability in the arts and sciences, which field of study would you encourage the student to pursue in college?

HLG: I’d say imagine that you wake up one morning when you’re going through a midlife crisis. You’re getting divorced. Your kids won’t speak to you. Their faces are covered with acne, and you have to decide why you should get out of bed. That’s the career you should pick. The one that keeps you going no matter what, even if your life is falling apart. That’s how I feel about my career. The truth is I would do my job for free! I love it every day. If you can possibly choose a vocation that’s an avocation, a job that’s really a hobby, then you’ll be way ahead of the game. You should not pick an occupation because your think your parents want you to do it, or because you think it’s the noble thing to do. You should only pick a job because it turns you on.

 

KW: Documentary director Kevin Williams says: While making our film, Fear Of a Black Republican, and also while screening it around the country, we have come across multiple divides, political affiliation, age, education, geographic, over the use of the term "black" versus "African-American." Have you encountered different preferences in your travels around the country?

HLG: No, I find that people today tend to use them interchangeably. I use African-American, because I teach African Studies as well as African-American Studies, so it’s easy, neat and convenient. But sometimes, when you’re in a barber shop, somebody’ll say, “Did you see what that Negro did?” A lot of people slip in and out of different terms effortlessly, and I don’t think the thought police should be on patrol.

 

KW: Dinesh Sharma says: In my forthcoming book, “The Global Obama,” Professor Ali Mazrui refers to the president as a "great man of history." Do you agree?

HLG: Yes, without doubt, President Obama is a great historical figure.

 

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

HLG: My favorite dish to cook?

 

KW: Yep.

HLG: [Chuckles] That’s funny. Meat loaf and baked beans.

 

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

HLG: My earliest childhood memory is of my father going crazy when the Giants won the World Series in 1954. He started whoopin’ and hollerin’ and jumpin’ up and down all around the living room. I started crying because he scared me to death. [LOL]

 

KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?

HLG: That’s a good question, Kam. I want to be remembered as someone who tried to bring the story of our ancestors to the broadest possible audience. I want to be remembered as a man who loved his race.

 

KW: Thanks again for the time, Dr. Gates, and best of luck with both the book and the TV series.

HLG: Okay Kam, I love talking about every project with you.

To see a preview of The African Americans, visit: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/video/

To order a copy of the TV series’ companion book, visit:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1401935141/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20 

Ja Rule

The “I’m in Love with a Church Girl” Interview

with Kam Williams

 

Giving Ja a Holla!

            Born in Hollis, Queens on February 29, 1976, Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkins began rapping professionally while still in his teens, although he really made a big splash in 1999 with the release of “Venni Vetti Vecci.” That solo album went platinum on the strength of the single “Holla Holla,” thereby kickstarting an enviable musical career which has produced a half-dozen more studio lps while netting the popular hip-hop artist four Grammy nominations and counting.

            He also collaborated on hit songs with everybody from J-Lo (“I’m Real”) to Christina Milian (“Between Me and You”) to Ashanti (“Always on Time”) to R. Kelly (“Wonderful”). Meanwhile, he expanded his repertoire to include acting, appearing in such films as The Fast and the Furious, Scary Movie 3, Assault on Precinct 13 and Shall we Dance, to name a few.

            No stranger to controversy, Ja also became embroiled in some famous feuds, most notably, with rival rapper 50 Cent. He was recently released from prison after spending a couple of years behind bars for tax evasion and gun possession.

            Here, Ja talks about his new film, I’m in Love with a Church Girl, a faith-based tale of redemption chronicling the real-life reformation of drug dealer-turned-pastor Galley Molina. 

             

 

Kam Williams: Hey Ja, thanks for the interview.

Ja Rule: What’s happening, killer?

 

KW: I appreciate the opportunity.

JR: Me too, Kam. Thanks for having me.

 

KW: I’m originally from your neck of the woods, St. Albans.

JR: [Laughs] No doubt, no doubt! Queens in the building!

 

KW: I told my readers I’d be interviewing you, and they sent in a lot of questions. Reverend Florine Thompson, who is also from Queens, asks: What interested you in I’m in Love with a Church Girl?

JR: First of all, I just enjoyed reading the script. Second, I also liked a lot of the parallels between me and the character Miles Montego. Those similarities convinced me that I would like to be a part of the project.

 

KW: Florine would also like to know whether making this film has influenced your spiritual relationship with your Higher Power?

JR: Absolutely! I’ve always been a spiritual person who believed in a Higher Power. So, I’ve always had my 1-on-1 with God, even if I wasn’t much of a religious person. But I would definitely have to say that this movie brought me even a little closer to God.

 

KW: Lester Chisholm asks: Has the experience of working with Pastor Molina on this production enhanced your life?

JR: Definitely! The movie is Galley’s life story. Galley Molina’s a great inspiration and role model for a lot of young kids out there.

 

KW: Documentary director Kevin Williams asks: How did you prepare for the role?

JR: One of the things I did was I went to church with Galley to study him, because I thought I’d be doing more preaching in the film.

 

KW: Was it weird playing him with him right there on the set?

JR: No, that’s part of the beauty of doing a true story, having the person that the picture’s about there. I felt fortunate to be able to get his advice about how to approach the character and his input about how this or that scene should play out. So, it was great to have Galley there. 

 

KW: What was it like working with this cast, Adrienne Bailon, Stephen Baldwin, Vincent Pastore, etcetera?

JR: Adrienne and I have known each other for a long time. Me and Stephen, too! And Vincent and I worked on two films together prior to this one. So, it was great just being around everybody again and spending time together on the set! 

 

KW: What message do you think people will take away from the film?

JR: This is really an inspirational film which is all about connecting with people who aren’t that much into church, although it’s for church people, too. That’s the beauty of the film.  

 

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: Do you think if gangsta rappers really fell in love with ‘Church Girls’ they might stop saying horrible and abusive things about females in their songs?

JR: [LOL] Maybe… maybe… She may be onto something. [Laughs some more]

 

KW: Larry Greenberg asks: Do you thing that reggae is at the root of what is happening today in EDM [Electronic Dance Music] and trip-hop?

JR: Trip-hop? I don’t know if I ever heard of trip-hop. [Asks his friends if they know what it is.] I’m in a room of hip-hop heads, and nobody ever heard of it. But EDM, absolutely!

 

KW: Marsha Evans says she’s a resident of Kew Gardens, and a friend of Reverend Run. She says congrats on your daughter’s starting at Hampton.

JR: Aw, thank you!

 

KW: She says she’s run into Alan Hevesi [former NYS Comptroller] a few times at the local foreign film theater and that he smiled when she mentioned your name. She’d like to know whether you’ve applied any of the financial advice you received from him while in prison? 

JR: [Chuckles] Heavy D, that’s my boy. Alan Hevesi and I forged a great relationship while in prison. I’m glad he’s home now. He’s an older man, so he belongs home, not behind bars. But I definitely benefitted from his knowledge. I used to pick his brain a lot while we watched the New York Knicks on TV.

 

KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

JR: No, I think I’ve been asked everything under the sun.

 

KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

JR: My reflection. [LOL] No, that’s a tough question. I see a man that’s in the process of growth, going from one end to another.

 

KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?

JR: A minute ago. I have one everyday, Kam.

 

KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?

JR: Chocolate lava cake.

 

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

JR: I’m a breakfast type of guy. Don’t get me wrong. I can cook, I’m kinda nice on the burner, but I enjoy making breakfast. I do it all… Scrambled eggs… French toast… Pancakes… Breakfast is my thing.

 

KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

JR: Hellbound on His Trail by Hampton Sides.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0307387437/ref=nosim/thslfofire-20

 

KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to? 

JR: Oh man, we were just playing something in there, but I can’t recall what it was.

 

KW: What’s up for you next, musically?

JR: Actually, I just dropped two new records called “Fresh Out da Pen” and “Everything.” They’re available on iTunes.

 

KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?

JR: That’s a difficult question. It’s tough to say, because I like a lot of them.

 

KW: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?

JR: I’m an adrenaline guy. I like to do stuff that gets my blood pumping, like roller coasters or jumping out of planes. I’m into all that crazy stuff.

 

KW: The Mike Pittman question: What was your best career decision?

JR: The best decision I ever made, period, was to get into the music business.

 

KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

JR: It’d be a toss-up between world peace and ending poverty.

 

KW: The Jamie Foxx question: If you only had 24 hours to live, how would you spend the time? 

JR: With my family.

 

KW: The Kerry Washington question: If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

JR: A lion.

 

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

JR: Hmm… Playing with this very noisy popper toy when I was about 4. It looked like a lawnmower, was round at the bottom, and had little balls in it that would go “Pow! Pow! Pow!” We lived in a tiny apartment, so as you can imagine, there was no escaping the popper. [LOL] My mother had to hide it from me.

 

KW: The Anthony Anderson question: If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?

JR: Invincibility.

 

KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all successful people share? 

JR: Selfishness. To be the best at what you do in any field, and to accomplish the goals you set for yourself, you have to be somewhat selfish.

 

KW: The Gabby Douglas question: If you had to choose another profession, what would that be?

JR: I’d probably be an athlete, either basketball, football or boxing. I was good at those sports.

 

KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: What is your favorite charity?

JR: My own, the L.I.F.E. Foundation.

 

KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

JR: Walk carefully! Tread light!

 

KW: The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?

JR: As an artist who was really passionate about his work. And as an inspiration. I do what I do to inspire people.

 

KW: Can you give me a Ja Rule question, I can ask other people I interview?

JR: Yeah, here’s a good one: If you had to spend all of your money in a month, how would do it? [Chuckles]

 

KW: That’s a great one. Thanks, Ja, and best of luck with the film.

JR: Sure, Kam, thanks a lot. 

To see a trailer for I’m in Love with a Church Girl, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEmqu0zNkT8     

I'm in Love with a Church Girl
Film Review by Kam Williams

Rapper Ja Rule was paroled from prison earlier this year after spending a couple of years behind bars for a weapons violation and tax evasion. In a case of art imitating life, he now stars in a faith-based tale of redemption revolving around a hip-hop producer endeavoring to go straight following his release from jail.

I'm in Love with a Church Girl was actually inspired by a true story, but not Ja Rule’s. Rather, the autobiographical screenplay was penned by convicted coke dealer-turned-preacher Galley Molina while incarcerated in a California penitentiary. The movie is set in the San Jose native’s hometown where the ex-gangsta now serves as youth pastor at the Evergreen Valley Church.

Narrated by Ja, the picture’s protagonist is a fictional character called Miles Montego. As the flashback flick unfolds, we find Miles returning to the ‘hood after a stint in the slammer.

He immediately gets a good piece of advice from his Bible-thumping mom (Marjorie Mann), namely, to attend services on Sunday in order to meet a good God-fearing woman who might help keep his nose clean. Sure enough, he soon falls in love at first sight with Vanessa (Adrienne Bailon), a clerk at a store specializing in Christian-oriented products.

The two hit it off, despite her concern about all the bling and his degenerate-looking posse. Eventually, Vanessa becomes convinced that he’s left the life of crime behind, but the same can’t be said about the DEA Agent (Stephen Baldwin) still tailing Miles him with hopes of arresting him again.

Given the film’s spoiler of a title, there’s a sense of inevitably about I'm in Love with a Church Girl. This easy to predict morality play is certain to resonate with the Evangelical demographic, and it even has a chance of attracting a mainstream audience because of the presence of the charismatic Ja Rule in the lead role.

A faith-based modern parable with a positive message for both believers and wayward souls ripe for redemption.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for PG for violence, suggestive content, mild epithets and mature themes

Running time: 118 minutes

Studio: Reverence Gospel Media Films

Distributor: Film District

To see a trailer for I’m in Love with a Church Girl, visit

Captain Phillips
Film Review by Kam Williams

On April 9, 2009, the Maersk Alabama, an American container ship headed for Mombasa, Kenya, was hijacked on the high seas in an area that had become very popular with Somali pirates preying on international commerce. Despite having recently practiced evasive maneuvers in the event of just such an attack, the vessel’s 20-man crew’s flare gun and fire hoses proved no match for the fearless, heavily-armed quartet high on an herbal stimulant called chat.

After climbing aboard, the drug-emboldened buccaneers abandoned the idea of commandeering the cumbersome, 500+ foot-long craft carrying 17,000 metric tons of cargo, since all they were really after was a multimillion-dollar ransom. Instead, they opted to take Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) hostage on one of his own lifeboats as a very valuable bargaining chip.

However, when their demands fell on deaf ears, a standoff ensued in the middle of the ocean. Soon, a destroyer stationed near the Gulf of Aden, the USS Bainbridge, was dispatched to the scene, and its Captain, Frank Castellano (Yul Vasquez), feigned negotiating while simultaneously securing permission from President Obama to hatch a daring rescue plan.

Directed by Paul Greengrass (United 93), Captain Phillips is certain to invite comparison to the somewhat similarly-plotted Zero Dark Thirty, given how both recount a real-life mission mounted by a crack team of Navy SEALs. The difference, however, is that this adventure amounts to little more than a high-anxiety orgy of worry unfolding from the perspective of the imperiled kidnap victim, while the relatively-cerebral Zero Dark Thirty devoted most of its attention to delineating the intricate details involved in the complicated manhunt for Osama bin Laden.

Curiously, this movie repeatedly makes the presumably politically-correct point of reminding us that these madmen are not Muslim terrorists, but without offering much of a hint as to their motivations besides money. Nevertheless, Tom Hanks does bring his A-game here, even if he’s cooped-up in close quarters acting opposite a B-support cast (Barkhad Abdirahaman, Mahat M. Ali, Barkhad Abdi and Faysal Ahmed) for the bulk of the picture.

Unfortunately, his one-note abductors are painted as soulless, primitive natives right out of a typical Tarzan flick. Sure, the bloodlust payoff is bigger when the bad guys are the frightening embodiment of pure evil with no redeeming qualities. Yet, this production would’ve benefited immeasurably from just a little development of the villains’ characters.

Shades of Cast Away (2000), with Tom Hanks being tortured by sadists as opposed to talking to a volleyball for over an hour while waiting for the cavalry to arrive.

Very Good (3 stars)

PG-13 for intense violence, sustained terror, bloody images and drug abuse In English and Somali with subtitles

Running time: 134 minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

To see a trailer for Captain Phillips, visit

Gravity
Film Review by Kam Williams

Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is set to retire following a distinguished career as a NASA astronaut. The veteran captain is currently in command of his final flight of the Space Shuttle Explorer with a primary mission to replace solar panels on the Hubble Telescope.

Upon rendezvousing, the spacewalk proceeds so routinely that devastatingly-handsome bachelor is comfortable engaging in flirtatious chitchat with attractive Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical engineer on her maiden voyage. But then Mission Control urgently orders them back into the capsule because the debris field from a damaged Russian satellite is headed in their direction at the speed of a bullet.

However, it causes catastrophic damage to the shuttle before they have a chance to reenter it, killing all their crewmates and destroying the vehicle beyond repair. Suddenly, Kowalski and Stone find themselves floating in space, no longer in radio contact with Houston, and with a very limited amount of oxygen left in their tanks.

This is the intriguing premise established practically at the point of departure of Gravity, a gripping sci-fi thriller written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Pan’s Labyrinth). What ensues is a desperate race against time in which the unflappable Kowalski does his best to keep the frightened rookie calm while trying to survive more by his wits than by the book.

The impromptu plan involves using their thrusters to reach the International Space Station 100 kilometers away before the shrapnel returns upon completing another orbit of Earth. This is just the first of many challenges to be faced successfully if the protagonists’ are ever to feel solid ground under their feet again.

Rather than ruin the plot’s unpredictable developments for you one iota, permit me to heap praise on a pair of nonpareil performances by Oscar-winners George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Of equal note are the picture’s breathtaking 3D cinematography and the magical way in which weightlessness is convincingly created onscreen.

Buckle up for a relentlessly-riveting, roller coaster ride through a deceptively-close outer space you can virtually reach out and touch!

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for intense peril, disturbing images and brief strong profanity

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Warner Brothers

To see a trailer for Gravity, visit