On Thursday, February 18, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, the pre-eminent scholar of African American studies at Harvard University and proud native of Piedmont, WV, was featured in a HistoryMakers PBS television taping at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston. The series captures the history of African Americans from those who have observed it and those who have made history themselves.
Gates was interviewed for over 90 minutes by Suzanne Malveaux, CNN’s Chief White House Correspondent. During the interview, Gates shared his personal crisis of faith when deciding which direction to go with his career. Despite a history of academic success at Yale, he feared being unable to complete his Ph.D. at Cambridge University and doubt in achieving his dream of becoming a scholar in African American literature, especially in an era when African-American literature and culture was not respected as “real” compared to European versions.
Gates overcame his crisis with the help of a mentor, and he has since become one of the most celebrated scholars and intellectuals of any type in the world. However, he observed during his HistoryMakers interview how often he sees the same crisis of faith in his students at Harvard, particularly among women and people of color. He noted that many women and minorities, facing odds seemingly stacked against them or seeing few faces at the seat of power that look like theirs, hear that voice of internal doubt and think it is unique to them.
What they don’t realize, Gates said, is that everyone, regardless of where they come from or what they look like, hears that voice of doubt at some point. What often makes the difference in helping an individual overcome doubt and go on to great things are role models and mentors who reinforce the person’s talent and validate their ability to achieve them.
I couldn’t help but add Appalachians to the list of those who face doubts about achieving greatness, and who often think those doubts are unique to them.
As a native of small-town West Virginia, I often faced internal doubts about my ability to compete in a highly competitive corporate environment during my career at Microsoft. Compared to the scores of Ivy League graduates who were my peers, I often felt alone and full of doubt. What helped me get to levels I never dreamed of achieving as a small town kid? Yes, mentors. People who saw a spark in me, wanted to nurture and support it, and gave me the confidence to overcome that voice of doubt within myself.
Collectively, what voice will West Virginia listen to? Will we as a state, a community of people who share both the pride and the prejudice of being Appalachian, give in to that internal voice of doubt that drives many of our citizens to become cynical and apathetic? Will we wilt in the face of a constant barrage of “best of/worst of” rankings that remind us where we stand economically and socially?
Or will we find mentors, people who believe in us when we don’t always believe in ourselves? Some of those mentors may be our relatives who have gone on to overcome their own internal voices of doubt and achieved great things. Some of them are moving back to serve in the role of mentor. But others may be simply those who see a spark in us, and want to nurture it. We shouldn’t be too insecure to embrace their support as well.
When the voice that tells us to reach for the stars is louder, much louder, than the voice that tells us to pull back, we as a larger community of West Virginians will be able to celebrate our new path of history-making.
Posted by Jeff James
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