Saturday, March 1, 2008

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Higgenbotham

Sorry for not blogging more. I am up against a March 31st deadline for my book, and I am determined not to miss the deadline. It is entitled "Narratives of Black Bourgeois Desire." The University of Illinois Press is the publisher.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending an event hosted by the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University honoring the publication of the African American National Biography (AANB) edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Higgenbotham, director and professor, respectively, at Harvard University's W.E.B. DuBois Institute.

I always enjoy hearing Gates speak even when I don't necessarily agree with his politics. I always marvel at the way he can galvanize a team and get a project done. Some of you may know Gates as the editor of Africana Encyclopedia and founder of Africana.com.

The AANB has more than 4,100 entries, a mosaic of African Americans who have made contributions to the history and culture. An online version will be launched soon.

Please note that the Drs. Gates and Higgenbotham are still looking for contributors for the online version of the AANB. Here's the URL, please check it out. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~aanb/

No comments: