S11.E10: Finding My Roots (Laurence Fishburne and Henry Louis Gates)

[Yeah No]

Quote

Cutting-edge DNA detective work solves longstanding family mysteries for actor Laurence Fishburne and scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.—in a unique and emotional episode where Gates finds himself as a guest on his own show for the first time.

Episode airs Tuesday 4/8/2025

Season finale!

We finally get to see HLG's own genealogy profiled!

[Mermaid Under]

Quote

We finally get to see HLG's own genealogy profiled!

I didn't think his genealogy profile was new.  He has told at least one celebrity guest (I think more than one, I just can't recollect) that he is their DNA cousin. I also remember (maybe not on finding your roots, but another Gates PBS show) him showing his father a light sculpture of their DNA, highlighting his deceased mother's contribution, and visiting a black community to which he was distantly connected genetically.  
Gates, Sr. obituary notes the shows he appeared in, with his son.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63703520/henry_louis-gates

Edited April 2 by Mermaid Under
added link to HLG, SR. obit

[One Imaginary Girl]

I hope CeCe Moore asks him at least once, "How does this make you feel?"

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, One Imaginary Girl said:

I hope CeCe Moore asks him at least once, "How does this make you feel?"

Yes, after she tells him he has an ancestor who was a slave owner.

[Driad]

Interesting to see the research on Jane Gates and her family.  In one of Prof. Gates's earlier shows, he had his father on (so this was 2010 or earlier), and looked at both their DNA to find some traits that he had inherited from his mother, who had died in 1987.

Jane Gates's obituary referred to her as "Aunt Jane."  AIUI, in the late 1800s many White people addressed certain Black people as Aunt or Uncle, perhaps indicating some level of affection or respect.  In some cases they were actually related but they may not have known that.

I liked seeing Laurence Fishburne meet his half siblings.  Many of the guests say they want to go see where their ancestors lived; some of those trips might be interesting to watch.
 

[PRgal]

This is really bad, but I'm LOL-ing at the guy who was electrocuted in the storm.  

[iMonrey]

Laurence Fishburne's story left me with more questions than answers. How did he learn, at the age of 49, that the man he thought was his father was not actually his biological father? Were either of his parents alive at that time? Had nobody in his family been able to shed any light on this?

Also, what is this, Season 11? And only now is Gates digging into his own genealogy? With a long-held mystery about his great grandmother and all of this show's resources at his fingertips? 

[PRgal]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Laurence Fishburne's story left me with more questions than answers. How did he learn, at the age of 49, that the man he thought was his father was not actually his biological father? Were either of his parents alive at that time? Had nobody in his family been able to shed any light on this?

Also, what is this, Season 11? And only now is Gates digging into his own genealogy? With a long-held mystery about his great grandmother and all of this show's resources at his fingertips? 

Jerry Springer told him?  #sorry

[Driad]

13 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Also, what is this, Season 11? And only now is Gates digging into his own genealogy? With a long-held mystery about his great grandmother and all of this show's resources at his fingertips? 

He has talked some about his own genealogy, and showed the photo of Jane Gates, in at least one earlier episode.  Sometimes it takes a long time to solve a mystery like this. Maybe they wanted to be extra thorough.

[Salacious Kitty]

3 hours ago, PRgal said:

Jerry Springer told him?  #sorry

That more of a job for Maury. 😀

[Lovecat]

On 4/14/2025 at 11:19 PM, iMonrey said:

Laurence Fishburne's story left me with more questions than answers. How did he learn, at the age of 49, that the man he thought was his father was not actually his biological father? Were either of his parents alive at that time? Had nobody in his family been able to shed any light on this?

It happens.  I was 50 when I found out my Daddy was not my biological father.  Ancestry dot com revealed all (zero DNA matches on my Daddy's side, despite him having 10 aunts and uncles and innumerable cousins--which I actually knew nothing about because he was estranged from his family), and no, neither of my parents were alive at the time to provide additional detail.  I've also learned that my Daddy was married to someone else before he married my mother, and that his former wife went a little off the deep end and drowned one of her children in a bathtub.  All families have secrets.  I hope we do indeed see our loved ones in the afterlife, because I have so many questions...!

[Yeah No]

On 4/14/2025 at 11:19 PM, iMonrey said:

Also, what is this, Season 11? And only now is Gates digging into his own genealogy? With a long-held mystery about his great grandmother and all of this show's resources at his fingertips? 

Yeah I had that thought too. But I know from doing my own genealogy that sometimes you hit roadblocks that take years to break through even if you have access to a lot of information. Thanks to a name being changed, misspelled or something like that you can go down the wrong road for years until something happens to clue you into the mistake. My father knew a lot about his family, but he didn't realize that one of his relatives went by a nickname and not their real first name, which had me stuck for at least a couple of years before I connected the dots and realized the mistake.