A furor ensued when Boston magazine published a profile of Harvard Afro-American Studies chairman Henry Louis Gates with a headline describing him as the "Head Negro in Charge." Critics said the term was disrespectful and referred to the head slave on a plantation, but editors at the magazine said the phrase was commonly used to describe prominent black figures, and indeed had been used by friends of Gates to describe him. Editors also cited the term's current use by Harvard professor Cornel West and Columbia professor Michael Dyson. Gates, who was shown the article prior to its publication, including the headline, and who registered no complaint at the time, maintained a low profile concerning the issue.

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