Season Two Talk

[Enigma X]

Here is the schedule for Finding Your Roots:

 

Episode 1, "In Search of Our Fathers" (9/23) - Courtney B. Vance, Gloria Reuben, and Stephen King
Episode 2, "Born Champions" (9/30) - Rebecca Lobo, Billie Jean King, and Derek Jeter
Episode 3, "Our American Storytellers" (10/7) - Anderson Cooper, Ken Burns, and Anna Deavere Smith
Episode 4, "Roots of Freedom" (10/14) - Benjamin Jealous, Khandi Alexander, and Ben Affleck
Episode 5, "The Melting Pot" (10/21) - Aaron Sanchez, Ming Tsai, and Tom Colicchio
Episode 6, "We Come From People" (10/28) - Valerie Jarrett, Nas, and Angela Bassett
Episode 7, "Our People, Our Traditions" (11/4) - Tony Kushner, Carole King, and Alan Dershowitz
Episode 8, "The British Are Coming" (11/11) - Sally Field, Deepak Chopra, and Sting
Episode 9, "Ancient Roots" (11/18) - Tina Fey, David Sedaris, and George Stephanopoulos
Episode 10, "Decoding Our Past Through DNA" (11/25) - Jessica Alba and Deval Patrick; Anderson Cooper, Valerie Jarrett, and more

[Happy Belly]

Great line-up! Looking forward to Anderson Cooper...I love that guy.

Thanks so much Enigma X for posting this...will set the Tivo when it comes time for these shows to start airing!

[Enigma X]

I can't wait (and love Anderson Cooper too). I like that there are so many people with a very diverse cast, even if I don't recognize all the names.

[Happy Belly]

It sure is diverse. I do admit too, being a fan of history, I'm looking forward to Ken Burns too. The only thing I have to kick myself in the butt for is why didn't I have this interest in my family and it's ancestors when all my grandparents and older aunts and uncles were alive? I could have found out a lot, I think, or at least more than I know now on certain parts of the family.

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from season two. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Enigma X]

Finding Your Roots starts tonight. I am so excited and can't wait! Here is a clip!

[editorgrrl]

Finding Your Roots starts tonight. I am so excited and can't wait! Here is a clip!

 

Season Two of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. airs Tuesdays from September 23 through November 25 at 8 p.m. EST. Check your local listings.

Tuesday, September 23

In Search of Our Fathers

Season 2 opens with Stephen King, Courtney B. Vance and Gloria Reuben, who learn about their paternal ancestry. King's father left his family when King was 2; Vance's father never knew his birth parents; and Reuben's father died when she was young.

 

Tuesday, September 30

Born Champions

Billie Jean King, Derek Jeter and Rebecca Lobo learn about their family histories. King discovers that her grandmother was an orphan; Derek Jeter investigates his ancestors' lives as slaves; and Lobo finds out that an ancestor was forced to flee Spain.

 

Tuesday, October 07

Our American Storytellers

Ken Burns learns that his Southern ancestors include Confederate soldiers and a slave owner; Anderson Cooper learns that an ancestor on his father's side was killed by one of his slaves; and Anna Deavere Smith learns about her great-grandfather.

[Enigma X]

I really enjoyed last night's episode. Wow! it seemed all the guest learned so much and were deeply moved by their discoveries. 

[stormy]

Did I miss if Prof Gates ever found out what happened to Steven King's father?

[atir]

I don't think you missed it---or we both did. I also missed how Skip figured Donnal Pollock became Donald King. Wtf?

[junemeatcleaver]

I don't think they said what happened to Stephen King's father.  Prof. Gates revealed Mr. King's father's real last name and then jumped to talking about Mr. King's grandfather and other descendents.

 

I thought it was weird that Gloria Reuben didn't realize she had slave ancestors.  Her mom was Jamaica, how exactly did Ms. Reuben think black folk there arrived there?  Oh well, maybe it didn't occur to her because slavery wasn't as big of a blot in history in Canada like it is in other countries in the Western Hemisphere.  It was amazing that the show was able to find her original direct African ancestor.  That brought tears to my eyes.

[Blergh]

Did I miss if Prof Gates ever found out what happened to Steven King's father?

No, you didn't. As what was presented here, the elder Mr. King had been born 'Donnal Pollock' but had, at an unknown time for reasons at this point lost to history, changed his name to 'Donald King'  evidently informally and without legal sanction prior to meeting and marrying Stephen's mother. Dr. Gates displayed Mr. King's family tree which seemed to show a death date for the Donald King nee Donnal Pollock but it was shown at too wide a shot with the entire 'King/Pollock' tree for my nearsighted glance to pinpoint what it was. Still, I have to admit that I was very impressed at the scope of the geneaological research re that family by Dr. Gates as well as Mr. King's fascination to learn how his family had fared in the US having emigrated from Ireland after a mass famine.

        As to Gloria Reuben? Again, it was amazing to learn about her father's family having been Jewish though I'm not sure his earliest Jamaican ancestors were Sephardic Jews who'd fled Castille after the 1490's or Ashkenazic Jews who had fled Central or Eastern Europe shortly before being granted full citizenship by the British Empire in 1830. Also, what of Miss Reuben's paternal grandmother? Was she descended from French Creoles instead of being from that Jewish community? Also, fasicinating that they found Miss Reuben's original African ancestress on her mother's side but, sadly, we have no way of knowing what the woman known as Leonora was originally named or where in Africa she had originated [same with Phillis Wheatley re her original name and birthplace].

     Lastly, quite an amazing tale Dr. Gates uncovered re Courtney Vance's tragic father's orgins. It seems his motherless paternal grandmother had been kicked from pillar to post back and forth from a tiny Arkansas town to Chicago when she met up with that Chicago minister and found herself pregnant at 16. Even though it turned out via legality and DNA, he was NOT Mr. Vance's actual grandfather, I think it must have taken some guts on that 17-year-old's part to have intiated that court case in order to try to provide for her impending son. Now why she went after him and none of the Arringtons [who seem to be paternally related to Mr. Vance], is a mystery. However; I think it's quite possible that she made sure she was close by to try to watch him grow up when she gave Mr. Vance's father to his foster parents. I wonder if Mr Vance's father knew this neighbor was his actual mother and, perhaps, had even heard whispers of the court case?

    Regardless, I'm very happy this series has returned and am looking forward to how next week's athletic guest will react.

[kassa]

I thought this was rather dull compared to previous shows Gates has done -- maybe three is too many people to cover in depth, or they just didn't have much to go into with these three.  I did find it interesting that the King/Pollock family "originated" out west and ended back up in Maine, though that was not explained.  Most of us here figure we're the ones who DIDN'T go west, and would have no expectation that our people had been "out there" and then backtracked.

 

Maybe they deduced the name change because he was still at the same address or living with the same people with the same occupation/year of birth in the census.  

 

I hadn't known that heading to Jamaica was an option open to Jews instead of conversion or death.

 

Vance's story was just sad, though it's possible the "foster" family was actual family.  Presumably they already tried, but I'd try to connect the family of the relative they discovered with the foster family.  One of my great aunts had a baby that my grandmother explained was given to "the people who owned the hardware store who couldn't have children of their own."  Now, that sounded idiotic to me, especially since my great aunt was married at the time.  I dug around a bit, and saw in the census that the hardware people listed him as "nephew" of the head of household.  And sure enough, the maiden name of the woman matched my aunt's husband/exhusband.  So for whatever reason, they split up, neither of them kept the child, who went to live with his aunt.  But his cousin, my grandmother, was told he was given away to strangers, without getting the full story.

 

I can see some extended family member of the "real" father taking the child in while maybe keeping the exact connection a secret.   Since he was still taking Courtney back to visit these people decades later, I assume it was a positive, ongoing relationship.  Ongoing, anyway.

[attica]

Gates's presence provides a comforting connective tissue to the disparate threads of genealogy, even as much as I like seeing the sites the globe-trotting approach of Who Do You Thing You Are? provides.  I like how he leads the subjects through the material; he's so genial and avuncular.

 

I get sniffly, I am not ashamed to admit.

 

I wonder if maybe a few more details of King's daddy got left on the cutting-room floor.

[bybrandy]

I thought that was not a very in-depth look at all in these three.   Hope we get a little bit more in the future episodes with the other participants.

Edited September 27, 2014 by bybrandy

[ikmccall]

I got teary eyed during Courtney B Vance's family history. I also wondered about Stephen King's father but maybe he went on to have another family and it wouldn't have been fair to them?

[Kromm]

So happy this is back.  IMO this is so much better than Who Do You Think You Are--at least the US version of WDYTYA, at least.

 

King got material for a lot of future books, if he wants.  I know he likes to poke around the edges of his own life, so all of what we heard would be perfect fodder, and so I hope he does it (and gives Dr. Gates and his team a big thank you in a book forward/dedication).

[Kromm]

Gates's presence provides a comforting connective tissue to the disparate threads of genealogy, even as much as I like seeing the sites the globe-trotting approach of Who Do You Thing You Are? provides.  I like how he leads the subjects through the material; he's so genial and avuncular.

The big difference for me is that Who Do You Think You Are? always turns into an exercise in projection.  And there winds up being a ton of fudging /super-loose interpretation to meet the narrative the celebrity wants to hear.

 

With Gates doing the leg work instead, while he certainly isn't immune to giving a positive spin to make something more palatable to his "clients", I think there's a lot less revisionist history in the end.  It's not all "oh, they must have been so brave" bullshitting.  In this case we were lucky to see actual documented proof that King's ancestors had actual moral objections to slavery and actually DID something about it.  This is a rare moment for this show--a case where they didn't have to put modern spin on something to make a piece of the past sound more heroic.   

Edited September 28, 2014 by Kromm

[stormy]

Expect for Steven King's story, I thought this episode was boring. But that's just my opinion.

I'm looking forward to this week with Derek Jeter. His parents mixed race marriage alone, in a time when it wasn't acceptable to many people, is interesting.

[SistaLadybug]

I bawled at Gloria Reuben's story.  I'm a Black woman who is researching my genealogy and the idea of finding the original African ancestor who crossed to the Americas just thrills me.  

[QueBueno]

I also wondered if they'd found out more about Stephen King's father that didn't make it to the show. On the document they showed with the dad's original surname (I've deleted the episode so can't go back to check it), there was a sister's name listed. I thought for sure the next step was to contact the sister, Stephen's aunt. She may have been in contact with the brother and knew what became of him, and if she'd passed on, the children would likely know something. Maybe no one wanted to participate, but I'd be pretty darn excited if someone contacted me to say they'd found my long lost cousin and it was Stephen Freakin' King.

Edited September 28, 2014 by QueBueno

[maraleia]

Really enjoying Finding Your Roots especially the way that Henry Louis Gates weaves together the stories of three notable people throughout each episode. My favorite part of tonight's episode was when Billie Jean King learned that she is 100 percent European because she thought she had Native American DNA.

[Happy Belly]

I have two episodes waiting for me on my Tivo. I must find the time to watch and when I do, I'll be back!

 

Edited because it is nice to spell words correctly so people understand what you are trying to say.

Edited October 1, 2014 by maraleia
capitalization

[Enigma X]

I am enjoying the eps too. I must say though that I think Gates/FYR is watering down the DNA results revealed. As an avid amateur genetic genealogist, I wish they would go into it more. Ya know, give the audience a better understanding of what is being revealed and how that's done. Alas, this show is not necessarily about that. Still, I really like this season thus far.

[attica]

I found all the stories in the King/Jeter/Lobo episode interesting, but the 'how do your ancestors contribute to your athletic ability' premise was completely unaddressed, however often HLGjr pronounced it was. Which is dippy: the stories are interesting! Let the interesting stories be interesting on their own! No need to shoehorn stuff in!

 

BJK is my hero, just so you know. She really did change things. Not singlehandedly, but we all sat on her shoulders. If that's not enough, she sure is fun. (and I covet those spiffy red specs).

 

I'm really used to Jeter's aloof-to-the-point-of-dull postgame interviews; his warmth and thoughtfulness here is a New Thing for me. I approve.

 

Lobo's story was the most varied, what with the revolutionaries and the fur-coat-wearing maids. What a find was that diary!

[kassa]

My great grandmother was a domestic -- she also took in laundry at home.  Her home was next to the tannery chemical pit.  I've got a photo of her dressed to kill, complete with gigantic hat with feathers of some probably extinct bird.  Whether they're borrowed or cast off clothes from a current or former employer, I have no idea, but she was damned spiffy, considering they were only marginally above starvation level.  No fur coat, though

 

found all the stories in the King/Jeter/Lobo episode interesting, but the 'how do your ancestors contribute to your athletic ability' premise was completely unaddressed, however often HLGjr pronounced it was.

 

 

I can't be the only one who giggled every time they showed Grandma Maria Elena (?) sitting gigantically beside what I presume was her husband.  No idea what kind of a ball handler she was, of course.  

 

What I'd give for such a diary!

[attica]

Hee, yes, that photo reminded me of lines from that great Joan Armatrading song:

Big woman and a short, short man
And he loves it when she beats his brains out
He's pecked to death but he loves the pain
And he loves it when she calls him names

 

[stormy]

There are some things that have changed in this show that I wish hadn't.

I loved when Prof Gates would trace African America roots to the specific area of Africa (and show it on the map) so the person could get a real perspective of their roots.

Having three stories seems to dilute a lot of information.  He has time to cover one side of the family but pretty much not the other.

It is pretty interesting that some people out there that thought it was a no big deal that shared the last name of baseball superstar, now find out they're related.

[ikmccall]

Stormy, I agree with you about the three stories in one hour.  But maybe there just isn't enough interesting info if it were one or two celebs per episode. 

[junemeatcleaver]

Or extend the show to two hours.  I believe the African-American Lives series episodes were two hours.

[Snarklepuss]

I actually didn't feel that the hour was too short for 3 people.  I felt like a lot was packed into that hour.  This show is inspirational and much more thoughtful than "Who do you Think You are" and yes, a lot less revisionist for the sake of TV.  I did agree that the angle about the ancestors having something to do with their athletic ability was pushed hard but under-addressed in the end.  A lot of people's families endured a lot and persevered, but did not become athletes.  My own grandmother was an avid swimmer and diver when she was young.  I never knew that until much later but when I was young I was also an avid swimmer and diver.  When my father told me that I was amazed, and it explained why I was much more athletic in my youth than either of my parents.  My Dad took after his own father, who was a couch potato and no one on my mother's side was particularly athletic either.

 

Regarding Billie Jean King's family legend about being part Native American, it reminds me of my husband's family which had a similar legend, also found to be untrue after he took a DNA test.  I've heard that there are a lot of legends around like that in families and most of them are untrue.

 

Only one thing irks me about this show and that's that anyone who comes up as 100% European is allowed to call themselves "boring" and not much is done or said to show them otherwise.  I am almost 100% European myself (OK 25% of that is Ashkenazi), but absolutely nothing about it is boring especially if you look deep into the ancestry.  I understand that being mixed race, Gates loves to pursue that angle but still.

[topanga]

I'm really used to Jeter's aloof-to-the-point-of-dull postgame interviews; his warmth and thoughtfulness here is a New Thing for me. I approve.

 

Was he warm? I haven't watched many Jeter interviews, but on this show, he seemed really nice but a bit guarded--it could be his shyness or his unwillingness to show Big Emotions in public. Or maybe he didn't like gates' interview questions.

 

Sometimes I hate the way Gates asks questions. A guest will say something like, "Wow. My grandmother was an orphan. And she was a flapper girl. But she still managed to run a farm and raise 8 kids. That's amazing." And then Gates will say, "How does it feel to find out who your grandmother was?" Dude, she just told you!

[Blergh]

Interesting how Dr. Gates uncovered Ms. King's grandmother's actual heritage but I wonder if 'Grammie' Moffet knew she was even adopted much less that her birth mother had been single at the time of her birth? Many adopted folks were NEVER told they were adopted or, if they were, their adoptive parents would just tell them that they didn't know what became of the bio parents and no way to find out- and it could be that 'Grammie' Moffet avoided discussing her family because she had a poor relationship with these adoptive folks. Still, it was amazing to see what Dr. Gates uncovered and 'Grammie's birth mother DEFINITELY had a strong physical  resemblence to Ms. King. If I may digress, I know that Ms. King goes by the surname of her now-former husband and that's the name she became famous  under but I wonder what if any effect  on her fame it would have had had she kept her original name of Moffet?

 

 Interesting, too, about Derek Jeter's paternal grandma's side [and odd that that the great-great-grandfather was recalled as being a prominent person but NOT that he was a minister re family legend]. However; I wonder   why wasn't there any effort made to find out WHO the 'unknown' paternal grandfather was. Had Mr. Jeter specfically  previously said that he wasn't interested?

Edited October 2, 2014 by Blergh

[Galloway Cave]

 

I felt like a lot was packed into that hour.  This show is inspirational and much more thoughtful than "Who do you Think You are" and yes, a lot less revisionist for the sake of TV.

I too enjoy the format of this show much more than WDYTYA. I don't need to see a map with airplane lines on it or repeated views of a celebrity walking in and out of an archive building or cemetery. I'm a facts person anyway, so I like hearing the info and seeing the documents that Mr. Gates has found. The DNA information at the end is fascinating too. As mentioned above, I wish they were going deeper into the African roots like they did last season but hopefully that will come with future episodes. 

[DkNNy79]

As a Yankee fan, I watched this show for Derek Jeter, but I enjoyed the segments on Billy Jean and Rebecca. 

 

I personally don't like all the cutting between the celebrities.  They should start on one, finish their tree and then move on to the next person.  Also, I would've liked to have spent more time of the celebrities's family tree.  I think 1-2 celebrities per hour show would've been my preference.

 

One thing that WDYTYA does sometimes that I enjoy is when the celebrities meet relatives for the first time.  It would be cool to see someone learn for the first time that they are related to Derek Jeter.  Like in the Lisa Kudrow episode where one of the relatives referenced watching her on tv and now getting to meet her.

[Mrs peel]

Another Yankee fan here, but enjoyed all three.  I was left wanting to know what the "white" Jeters thought when they learned they were related to the Yankee Captain!  It would be interesting if any were NYers...

 

I think Jeter is just very guarded by his nature, sharpened by 20 years in the limelight, so I wasn't surprised that he didn't show a lot of emotion.

 

I thought Billie Jean King referred to the family being 100% European as "boring" because it killed the Native American story.

 

I was getting annoyed by the moving back and forth between stories but then decided they did it so people wouldn't just stop watching after the major one they are interested in was done. 

 

I too like this much better than watching someone walk in and out of a building, that's a waste of time.

[Milz]

Late to this forum and to the Gates' love. :)

 

 Interesting, too, about Derek Jeter's paternal grandma's side [and odd that that the great-great-grandfather was recalled as being a prominent person but NOT that he was a minister re family legend]. However; I wonder   why wasn't there any effort made to find out WHO the 'unknown' paternal grandfather was. Had Mr. Jeter specfically  previously said that he wasn't interested?

 

I thought that was odd too. Maybe the descendants didn't think it was important enough to pass down?

 

Anyhow, I think the lesson we can learn from this show is that the littlest detail is important enough to tell the kids. .

[attica]

I think the lesson we can learn from this show is that the littlest detail is important enough to tell the kids.

 

Or, don't burn your diaries!

[Snarklepuss]

I like how he groups people who have certain similarities into one episode.  I'm especially looking forward to the one with Aron Sanchez, Ming Tsai and Tom Colicchio but his entire lineup this season is spectacular.

[Blergh]

OK, forgive me for sounding this sour note to what had, otherwise, IMO been a good episode, but I can't say I was entirely comfortable with Dr. Gates's attempting to hypothesize that outstanding athletic performances might somehow innately be tied to genetic heritage. No doubt Dr. Gates himself has nothing more than benign intellectual curiosity re the hypothesis but, alas, there have been those who've actually used the concept of genetic disposition to manipulate and exploit others on a grotesque scale. Besides, it seemed to be that every one of the guest athletes appeared to have family support re their desire to be the best in their respective athletic fields even during times when society at large may have discouraged this [e.g. Ms. King's parents] so merely inheritting ancestors' physical building blocks wouldn't have been enough for them to have become phenomenal athletes had neither they nor their families had been interested or inclined.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Blergh

[Milz]

"OK, forgive me for sounding this sour note to what had, otherwise, IMO been a good episode, but I can't say I was entirely comfortable with Dr. Gates's attempting to hypothesize that outstanding athletic performances might somehow innately be tied to genetic heritage."

 

Don't ever watch "The Royal Paintbox" http://www.pbs.org/arts/programs/royal-paintbox/, because that whole show uses Prince Charles' genealogy to make the case that there is a genetic component to artistic talent/interest .

[topanga]

OK, forgive me for sounding this sour note to what had, otherwise, IMO been a good episode, but I can't say I was entirely comfortable with Dr. Gates's attempting to hypothesize that outstanding athletic performances might somehow innately be tied to genetic heritage.

 

But there is some truth to that. Genetics aren't the only factor involved, of course. But some physical characteristics are passed along the generations through DNA. Tall parents and grandparents tend to have tall children (nature), and people tend to encourage tall children to play basketball (nurture).

 

I do think it's dangerous to attribute athletic ability to a person's racial heritage, but I don't think that's what HLG was trying to do. In fact, of the 3 superstar athletes on the apisode, only 1 was black---and he was bi-racial, to be more precise.

Edited October 6, 2014 by topanga

[Lovecat]

 I'd be pretty darn excited if someone contacted me to say they'd found my long lost cousin and it was Stephen Freakin' King.

 

Which is one of the reasons I tuned in--besides being one of my favorite authors, we share a surname.  I was crushed when I found out I cannot possibly be related to him :)

 I know that Ms. King goes by the surname of her now-former husband 

 

So...not blood related to her, either!  Striking out all over...

[StatisticalOutlier]

I was getting annoyed by the moving back and forth between stories but then decided they did it so people wouldn't just stop watching after the major one they are interested in was done.

 

You're probably right, but it makes it really hard for me to keep track of everybody.

 

One of the ancestors, I think it was Billie Jean King's, looked just like the actress Emily Watson.

[Enigma X]

If anyone is like me and cares to take a closer look at the DNA Findings, check out the link. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/blog/breaking-autosomal-dna/

[attica]

Ken Burns is absolutely adorkable. His glee about finding out Honest Abe is a cousin was a total delight.

 

I thought all three stories were interesting, with perhaps Cooper's being interesting in the contrast between the glittering robber barons and the dirt farmers more so than the actual stories. Watching Smith nearly burst without saying anything made my room pretty dusty for some reason.

[SistaLadybug]

My daughter and I were enthralled by last night's episode, especially by the stories of Anna Deveare Smith's family as we are fellow Baltimoreans and Anna and I graduated from the same high school!

[kassa]

This was the best episode yet.

 

One thing that WDYTYA does sometimes that I enjoy is when the celebrities meet relatives for the first time.  It would be cool to see someone learn for the first time that they are related to Derek Jeter.  Like in the Lisa Kudrow episode where one of the relatives referenced watching her on tv and now getting to meet her.

 

 

On a previous show (Faces of America, which was much more about genetic genealogy, and a wonderful combination of in-depth historical education and getting to know the celeb as a regular person learning about their background), he profiled a bunch of celebrities then told them which other celebrities they were related to.  Mike Nichols and Meryl Streep were related, which cracked them up.  And I will never forget the glee on YoYo Ma's face when he learned he was related to Eva Longoria.  He was like a 5th grader getting One Direction tickets.

[Blergh]

Funny how both Anderson Cooper and Ken Burns cringed re the revelations of slaveholder ancestors but, if it's any consolation to Mr. Burns, his distant relative President Lincoln had quite a few slaveholder in-laws who were high ranking in the Confederacy. Good point Mr. Cooper made re why the bulk of soldiers who joined the Confederacy were not slaveholders in that they aspired to one day become that and wanted to have the 'right'. Also, I agree it's chilling that the slaves were listed only by ages and gender for legal purposes but NOT by name. It shows how the law [if not the slaveholders themselves] viewed slaves as being virtually equal to livestock (with the sole exception being that they could not be legally killed).

    As for Miss Deveare Smith's ancestor, Basil Biggs. What can I say but WOW! He lived an amazing and quite heroic life full of sacrifice and risk for his family, community and nation so I'm also puzzled as to why his story didn't get passed down to the present day! The only explanation I can possibly think of is that his direct descendents considered him TOO tough an act to follow and didn't want their offspring judging them by his watermark.  And, I totally agree with Miss Deveare Smith that it was outrageous to be told that she didn't have a 'right' to comment on U. S. American history on more than the narrowest of scales and topics- especially since Mr. Biggs showed that minorities were directly impacted and participated in nation-altering upheavals. It reminded me of a 'Cosby' episode in which Claire was asked to participate in some panel discussion about historic topics and they wouldn't let her discuss the Depression saying that she was ONLY there for African- American and womens' topics. In any case, I hope Miss Deveare Smith [or someone] produces a dramatization of Mr. Biggs's life in the near future.  Since he appeared to be quite light skinned [and was able to become a free man as well as a property holding veterinarian], I wonder if he may have been born of a union between a slaveholder and slave?

   Another great show by Dr. Gates.

[pasdetrois]

So glad Dr. Gates is back! Love him.

 

Can someone tell me whether the DNA tests that are promoted on the show are meaningful? For example, I had one done 10 years ago (a National Geographic project) and the results were so general and distant that they were hard to relate to. Do the results these days reveal all ethnicity, say if you suspect European/Asian/Hispanic ancestors?

 

I work with American Indians and have native ancestry (confirmed with tribal records) and I've lost count of how many people claim native ancestry. Everybody's got the Cherokee princess story.

 

I cautiously like the three-celebrity line-up. They are focusing on key aspects of the histories, rather than going down the more boring paths.