Press Release
African American Lives - "African American Lives 2"
Participant biographies
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
PETER GOMES
In AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, the Reverend Professor Peter Gomes discovers DNA and documentary evidence that suggests his direct paternal line leads back to a Portuguese Jew who was forced to convert to Christianity in the early 16th century, and fled to Cape Verde to escape the Inquisition. On this side of the Atlantic, the series traces Gomes’s ancestors back to free people of color who were emancipated in the 1780s by Quakers in Surry and Southampton counties, Virginia.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Gomes is a member of the Faculty of Divinity and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. In addition to degrees from Bates College and Harvard Divinity School, he has been honored with 36 honorary degrees and is an honorary fellow of Emmanuel College, The University of Cambridge, England, where the Gomes Lectureship is established in his name.
Widely regarded as one of America’s most distinguished preachers, Professor Gomes fulfills preaching and lecturing engagements throughout America and the British Isles. He participated in the presidential inaugurations of both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and, in 2005, presented a series of sermons at England’s St. Edmundsbury Cathedral in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
In 1998, Professor Gomes was named Clergy of the Year by the organization Religion in American Life, and, in 1999, included in the premier issue of Talk magazine as part of its feature article, “The Best Talkers in America: Fifty Big Mouths We Hope Will Never Shut Up.” His published books include the best-sellers The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart and Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living, both published by William Morrow and Company. He has also published 10 volumes of sermons and numerous articles and papers.
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2
PETER GOMES
In AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, the Reverend Professor Peter Gomes discovers DNA and documentary evidence that suggests his direct paternal line leads back to a Portuguese Jew who was forced to convert to Christianity in the early 16th century, and fled to Cape Verde to escape the Inquisition. On this side of the Atlantic, the series traces Gomes’s ancestors back to free people of color who were emancipated in the 1780s by Quakers in Surry and Southampton counties, Virginia.
A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Gomes is a member of the Faculty of Divinity and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. In addition to degrees from Bates College and Harvard Divinity School, he has been honored with 36 honorary degrees and is an honorary fellow of Emmanuel College, The University of Cambridge, England, where the Gomes Lectureship is established in his name.
Widely regarded as one of America’s most distinguished preachers, Professor Gomes fulfills preaching and lecturing engagements throughout America and the British Isles. He participated in the presidential inaugurations of both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and, in 2005, presented a series of sermons at England’s St. Edmundsbury Cathedral in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.
In 1998, Professor Gomes was named Clergy of the Year by the organization Religion in American Life, and, in 1999, included in the premier issue of Talk magazine as part of its feature article, “The Best Talkers in America: Fifty Big Mouths We Hope Will Never Shut Up.” His published books include the best-sellers The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart and Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living, both published by William Morrow and Company. He has also published 10 volumes of sermons and numerous articles and papers.