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African-American history has played an integral role in the shaping of politics, economics, and culture in the United States. Growing up, how did you learn about the accomplishments and struggles of African Americans? Were you in a classroom? Reading a book? Talking with relatives or friends? How has your understanding or knowledge of African-American history changed and/or developed over time? What do you think is the most effective way to pass along this rich and growing history to future generations?

Amelia Zeitlin

Dear Henry Louis Gates Jr., Your movie was something that I will always remember when I go back to thinking about how much of ...

Bruno Nealon Raskin

Dear Henry Louis Gates Jr., I really enjoyed your documentary. It covered SO much time (509 years), it had lots of facts stuffed into it, it went back and forth from ...

Clare Robertsen

Dear Henry Louis Gates Jr., I love what you did in your documentary, The African Americans Many Rivers To Cross, because it’s full of interesting facts that I need to know ...

Ernest Bhabor

Dear Henry Louis Gates Jr, Hello Mr Gates, allow me to introduce myself, I'm Ernest Bhabor and I’m a fifth grader. My class and I did a lot of research about ...

Eve Rose Neumann

Dear Henry Louis Gates jr, I felt as if I was there. As if I was a slave, as if I had never gotten treated with respect, and as if I ...

Francesca Cergol

Dear Mr. Gates, Me and my class watched the documentary “Many rivers to cross” that you helped to make. I really think it was great because you didn’t just say ...

Haskell Anderson

Dear Mr Henry Louis Gates Jr., I think that your film, Many Rivers to Cross, will change my life forever. Before I saw your film, I thought that racisim meant two ...

Henry Eisner

Dear Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Many rivers to cross. Six hours of… historical accuracy and greatness. Not historical greatness, historical terror. But in an amazing documentary. My teacher had us (in ...

Jaslin Castillo

Brooklyn, NY, United States

Dear Henry Louis Gates Jr, After recently watching a documentary written and produced by yourself, Many Rivers To Cross, I know realize how bad slavery and the struggle for equality really ...

Amjad Rabah

Dear Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Your documentary was outstanding! The entire time my class was watching your piece, it was filled with really deep explanations ...

Lucinda Lynch

Dear Henry Louis Gates, Your documentary “Many Rivers To Cross” was fantastic. It made me learn so much about black history. I never realized how bad it really was. I collected ...

Gabrielle Mollin

Dear Henry Louis Gates Jr., Thank you so much for producing this film!!!!! I can describe it in one word, BREATHTAKING! I could see how hard you worked on this film. ...

Micah Fisher

Dear Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. I am amazed by your documentary Many Rivers To Cross. I don’t know how to start. You were capable of intriguing my ...

Noah Galkin

Dear Henry Louis Gates, Let’s start from the beginning. Not the very beginning, but the beginning of something that separated us for way too long, and still does. The beginning of ...

Omar Phillip

Letter To Henry Louis Gates Dear Henry Louis Gates, Thank you for making that documentary. I liked it because you put a lot of work into it. I know you put a ...

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The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross is a film by Kunhardt McGee Productions, THIRTEEN Productions LLC, Inkwell Films, in assocation with Ark Media.