African American Research, Rootstech 2108, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. : A Winning Combination

Rootstech 2018 is around the corner and I’m starting to get excited – especially with the announcement that Henry Louis Gates, Jr. will be the keynote speaker for Saturday, March 3rd. If that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve either watched or heard of the PBS television series, Finding Your Roots. The Rootstech homepage gives a little snippet of information to whet our appetite for what is coming.

Imagine meeting with prominent American celebrities and sharing with them their family history. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, has been doing just that for the past five years and he’s coming to RootsTech to share his experience. Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear from one of America’s top scholars.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Some of the celebrities featured on Finding Your Roots are: Harry Connick Jr., Barbara Walters, Kevin Bacon, Martha Stewart, Stephen King, Deepak Chopra, Tina Fey, Dustin Hoffman, and Condoleezza Rice. The variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, and stories is impressive. Hearing the experiences Mr. Gates has had in researching and sharing family history will prove to be entertaining and enlightening.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. has championed African American research and Rootstech is sponsoring several classes that will boost skills in this challenging area. Below is a list of specific classes that would benefit any researcher, but especially those with Southern United States or African American ties.

Wednesday, February 28