Thus, I want to conclude these critical reflections on Henry Gates'
film series - "Wonders of the African World" - and on the
intellectually convoluted character of Henry Gates himself with some
thoughts on the future interaction between progressive
African-American intellectuals, on the one hand, and the
establishmentarian and politically cagey Henry Gates on the other
hand. First of all, there should be no doubt among progressive
African-American intellectuals that Henry Gates - as the leading
African - American academic entrepreneur intellectual in the country
these days has an intellectual persona and modus operandi vis-a-vis
Black-world realities that is riddled through with establishmentarian
and sometimes anti-Black purposes. Henry Gates, therefore, warrants
much more scrutiny by progressive African-American intellectuals than
he has received to date. Happily for us in this regard, Henry Gates
has unwittingly helped us with the intellectually tacky and arrogant
Black put-down aura that pervades his BBC/PBS film series.
However, to be effective in the important task of scrutinizing an
incredibly cagey academic entrepreneur intellectual like Henry Gates
requires, I think, any progressive Black intellectual to keep a kind
of respectful distance from the chap. Why? Because Henry Gates is not
only a master of the intellectual dodge as I have tried to delineate
in these comments. Henry Gates is also a masterful manipulator of
strategic goodies at his disposal as a Black academic entrepreneur. I
suppose that's how Gates maneuvered my old friend Professor Ali Mazuri
to pen a friendly blurb for the coffee-table book version of "Wonders
of the African World." I say this because when the secretary at the
DuBois Institute mailed notices to Advisory Board members regarding
the lecturers for the Nathan Huggins Lecture Series - always selected
solely from the wise head of Henry Gates by the way, since the
Advisory Board is operationally superfluous - I discovered that on the
list of future lecturers was Professor Ali Mazuri (November 2000 1
think).
To perform the much needed task of intellectually scrutinizing a cagey
and politically opportunistic academic entrepreneur American
intellectual like Henry Gates (or, say, like Professor Samuel
Huntington who's in International Studies here at Harvard and others
like this at Harvard and other universities around the country), it is
best for anyone who is a progressive intellectual and scholar to keep
a respectful distance vis-a-vis resources (goodies) at Gates'
disposal. Even rather simple ones like invitations to strategic
dinners at his house. For Henry Gates anyway they're his fish-hooks,
so to speak. And he has snared a lot of strategically useful fish I
might add, some who could otherwise contribute to the important task
of intellectually scrutinizing the latter-day Booker T. Washington
accommodationism dimension of Henry Gates' intellectual persona.
Remember that it is not easy to "drink the King's wine and challenge
the King too...." For rne anyway, this is not an easy issue even
though I know that there are times when "the King" must be challenged,
whether one sups-at-his- table or not. So for myself here at Harvard
University during the past decade of Henry Gates' tenure here, I've
kept a respectful distance from Henry Gates' goodies in order to
reserve my independence of action. Luckily for me of course, my
academic appointment needs and resources needs here at Harvard have
not overlapped with "King Gates," unlike the situation for other
African-American faculty here whose appointment Henry Gates had a hand
in - such as Professor William Wilson - and thus who are inclined to
be rather discreet in their interactions with "King Gates." I have no
such dependence ties to "King Gates." So when there was one instance
in the past decade when my resource needs relating to a Fiftieth
Anniversary Conference on Gunnar Myrdal's "An American Dilemma" that I
conceived and mainly organized (with marvelous assistance from Dr.
Randall Burkett then associate administrator at the DuBois Institute
but who was later unceremoniously dismissed by Henry Gates) became
something of an issue between me and Henry Gates, I let Gates know
that I was willing to do battle if necessary. One should never act
weak in the midst of Gatesian autocracy, or any autocracy for that
matter. Wole Soyinka has taught us that nobly. Not, of course, in the
pop-journalistic way that Henry Gates characterizes Soyinka's
intellectual courage so as to advance Gates' own phony public
self-portraiture.
So I try to advise my progressive Black intellectual peers especially
to be wary of "King Gates" strategic offerings - his fish-hooks, if at
all possible. And I'd like to address this especially to the up-coming
younger generation of African- American intellectuals and scholars,
particularly those who seek to fashion a progressive outlook for
themselves. Finally, we progressive Black intellectuals especially do
indeed have to perform the scrutinizing task in regard to
establishmentarian and/or conservative Black intellectuals like Henry
Gates, because no one else will. Above all, we progressive Black
intellectuals still have a serious Black people agenda to attend to.
Namely: Protecting, advancing, and redeeming Black folks' honor, both
here in the United States and elsewhere in the globe.
_____________________
© Copyright 2000 Africa Resource Center
Citation Format
Kilson, Martin. (2000). MASTER OF THE INTELLECTUAL DODGE: A REPLY TO
HENRY LOUIS GATES. West Africa Review: 1, 2.[iuicode:
http://www.icaap.org/iuicode?101.1.2.10]
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