"The aim of fiction is to break down stereotypes. Unfortunately, the publishing and academic industries seem to profit more from reinforcing stereotypes. This is what African American intellectuals have to deal with too. That's why I feel I'm on the same wavelength with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Cornel West, James Alan McPherson. Why should a minority person be made to feel guilty because she believes education leads to both self-improvement and national enlightenment? To me, class is as divisive as race."
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Academics from the United StatesEssayists from the United StatesEducators from the United StatesHistorians from the United StatesTelevision personalities
Original Language: English
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1996 interview in Conversations with Bharati Mukherjee Edited by Bradley C. Edwards (2009)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates_Jr.
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Henry Louis Gates Jr.
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