The first African American to be awarded an Andrew W. Graduated from Piedmont High School in 1968, Gates attended Potomac State College of West Virginia University before transferring to Yale University, from which, in 1973, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, summa cum laude, and he gained membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Because of the injury, Gates now uses a cane when he walks.

When the physical damage finally healed, his right leg was two inches shorter than his left. The injury was misdiagnosed by a physician, who told Gates' mother that his problem was 'psychosomatic'. Īt the age of 14, Gates was injured playing touch football, fracturing the ball and socket joint of his right hip, resulting in a slipped capital femoral epiphysis. He has learned that he is also connected to the multiracial West Virginia community of Chestnut Ridge people. Having grown up in an African-American community, however, he identifies as Black. He also learned that he has 50% European ancestry, including Irish forebears he was surprised his European ancestry turned out to be so substantial. Gates learned through research that his family is descended in part from the Yoruba people of West Africa. His early life is described in his memoir that is entitled, Colored People (1994). His father worked in a paper mill and moonlighted as a janitor, while his mother cleaned houses. Gates was born in Keyser, West Virginia, to Pauline Augusta (Coleman) Gates (1916–1987) and Henry Louis Gates Sr.

The series combines the work of expert researchers in genealogy, history, and historical research in genetics to tell guests about the lives and histories of their ancestors. In addition to producing and hosting previous series on the history and genealogy of prominent American figures, since 2012, Gates has been host of the television series Finding Your Roots on PBS.

He rediscovered the earliest known African-American novels, long forgotten, and has published extensively on the recognition of African-American literature as part of the Western canon. He is a trustee of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. (born September 16, 1950) is an American literary critic, professor, historian, and filmmaker who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

Richard Wright by Henry Louis Gates Jr.