Henry Louis “Skip” Gates to Speak at Texas Tech Lecture Series [VIDEO]

A notable African American historian will speak at Texas Tech next month.

Henry Louis Gates will serve the as the first guest of the inaugural African American History Month Lecture Series.

Gates will speak on February 7^th at 7pm at the Allen Theater on the campus of Texas Tech University. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The event is sponsored by the Offices of the President, Provost, and Vice President for Research, the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Gates, also known as “Skip”, is director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African American Research at Harvard.

Some of the programs Gates has hosted on PBS include “African American Lives,” Faces of America,” and “Finding Your Roots.”

In 2009, Police in Cambridge, MA were investigating a possible break-in and Gates was arrested by police outside of his home for disorderly conduct and loud, tumultuous behavior. (story)

The arrest brought the issue of racial profiling up and even President Barack Obama saying the police, “acted stupidly,” for the arrest of Gates.

Obama invited the arresting officer, James Crowley, and Gates to a “Beer Summit” to talk about the arrest and race relations in the United States. (story)