Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s Speech
Needless to say, I was not looking forward to attending a lecture at Severance Hall, especially when I found out that it was going to be from 11:30am-1:00pm. That is my definition of BORING! Every time I receive e-mails about lectures, I must confess that I don't even read them; I just click the delete button right away. I'm not real big on sitting still for an hour and a half and listening to someone talk about something that I'm probably not even interested in, but this one was different...
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has to be the most motivating speaker I have ever heard. Everything that came out of his mouth had such excitement in it. Dr. Gates was extremely interesting to listen to. He obviously had much experience in engaging his audience (as one could tell, his speech seemed to be extremely rehearsed, even his laugh was mechanical). Despite this evident reality, Dr. Gates' speech was absolutely amazing.
My first thought when he started to speak of the Encyclopedia Africana was that this speech was going to be directed at the colored audience, which most of it seemed to be, but his words still managed to be educational and inspirational to everyone. His tireless effort to get the Encyclopedia Africana published is incomparable. Dr. Gates reminded me a little of myself in his determination to finish whatever he starts. Regardless of many financial difficulties, Dr. Gates managed to get the project funded by Microsoft and Perseus Books. I find it intriguing how he keeps the stack of about 25 publisher's letters who had rejected his proposal for money.
Not only did Dr. Gates face monetary issues, but he also faced time constraints. He was given just 18 months to finish a 2 million word encyclopedia. Dr. Gates quickly gathered over four hundred scholars from all over the world and finished 2.25 billion words during the time frame given! He went above and beyond the expectation.
Dr. Gates is truly an remarkable person and deserves much respect. He is living proof that one can do anything as long as that individual puts their mind to it.
Comments
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Posted on: September 24, 2005 04:27 PM
can you please not use the term "colored"?? that brings me all the way back to separate water fountains, and not being able to sit at the lunch counter....