Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr, a Black intellectual and Obama ally, to speak in Cleveland on ancestry and immigration at 6 pm on March 23, 2017 at CWRU at free and open-to-the-public event....Also editor-in-chief of theroot.com and an Emmy-award-winning film maker, Dr Gates made national headlines when Cambridge police arrested him in 2009 for breaking into his home, though the charge was dropped and he and the arresting White officer later had a beer with then president Obama at the White House....The CWRU speaking event is sponsored by the Cleveland Foundation and presented by the F. Joseph Callahan Distinguished Lecture....By www.clevelandurbannews.com and www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's Black digital news leaders

Dr Henry Louis Gates Jr.

CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM-CLEVELAND, Ohio-Dr Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a Harvard University African-American studies professor and ally of former president Barack Obama who gained notoriety when he was arrested by Cambridge police and charged with disorderly conduct for breaking into his own home on the Harvard University campus, a misdemeanor charge that was later dropped, is the guest speaker at a free open-to-the-public event on ancestry and immigration in Cleveland at 6 pm on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center at the Temple-Tifereth Israel at Case Western Reserve University. (Editor's note: Secure free tickets for the event at case.edu/events/thinkforum or by calling the Maltz Performing Arts Center box office at 216.368.6062).

The Cambridge police altercation spurred a politically charged exchange of views about race relations and law enforcement nationwide and caused Obama, the nation's first Black president and a Harvard Law School graduate, to brand the harassment by police stupid.

Obama later entertained Gates and the arresting police officer, Sgt James Crawley, for a beer at the Rose Garden at the White House.

Gates' upcoming public talk is in conjunction with the CWRU Thing Forum series. It comes at an opportune time and as racial and civil unrest mount internationally relative to President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies and a proposed federal budget that cuts resources to seniors, the Black community and others, is presented by the F. Joseph Callahan Distinguished Lecture with support from community partner, the Cleveland Foundation. 

His speech, said organizers said, will also serve as the keynote address for the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities’ Cleveland Humanities Festival, featuring immigration as its theme.

Gates, 66, is a founder and editor-in-chief of the popular online Black magazine Theroot.com , an Emmy-award winning filmmaker, literary scholar, cultural critic, and institution builder.

He has authored or co-authored twenty-one books and created fifteen documentary films, including the popular PBS series,"Finding Your Roots."

In his new documentary, "Black America since MLK and Still I Rise," Gates embarks on a deeply personal journey through the last fifty years of African -American history.

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com). Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog with some 3.6 million views on Google Plus alone.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.