Driad December 17, 2023 Share December 17, 2023 A new photographic project asks modern-day Black Americans to recreate portraits of their Civil War ancestors. 1 2 Link to comment
shapeshifter January 2 Share January 2 Tonight, January 2, 2024: Season 10, Episode 1, "Born to Sing" Quote Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the remarkable roots of singers Alanis Morissette and Ciara, using DNA analysis and genealogical detective work to travel back centuries, revealing his guest's hidden connections to history and to music. 2 Link to comment
Chalby January 2 Share January 2 (edited) On 6/8/2023 at 4:48 PM, OtterMommy said: According to the National Archives, the preferred terms are enslaved people and enslavers. When I read this my first thought was, preferred by whom? Who does the National Archives represent? I still don't understand "who" decided that saying "slaves" is now wrong? Is this just American people that don't like the term? Because slavery still exists in so many areas in the world. Edited January 2 by Chalby 3 Link to comment
shapeshifter January 2 Share January 2 (edited) On 6/8/2023 at 7:48 PM, OtterMommy said: According to the National Archives, the preferred terms are enslaved people and enslavers. 4 hours ago, Chalby said: When I read this my first thought was, preferred by whom? Who does the National Archives represent? I still don't understand "who" decided that saying "slaves" is now wrong? Is this just American people that don't like the term? Because slavery still exists in so many areas in the world. The linked article cites sources for the usage of the updated terms, with those sources authored by academics who are historically and genetically related and/or descended from enslaved people who were labeled slaves. As a retired college reference librarian who still misses working with students, professors, and the public to find the information they seek, I offer this 2015 Slate article as an additional source that weighs the values of both terms: https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/05/historians-debate-whether-to-use-the-term-slave-or-enslaved-person.html In Library School, we were taught to end our Reference Interviews with: “Have I answered your question?” But I am retired, so I’ll just say: I may have given you more questions than answers. ❤️👵🏻 Edited January 2 by shapeshifter 6 1 Link to comment
Mermaid Under January 3 Share January 3 1. your family were slaves 2. your family owned slaves 3. your extended family died horribly in the Holocaust. After 9 years of the same story, I think I'm really done. I always check the first few minutes, and if the celebrity guest is really engaging I stay on. Otherwise, I can't believe that there isn't another story out there. Link to comment
PRgal January 3 Share January 3 17 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said: 1. your family were slaves 2. your family owned slaves 3. your extended family died horribly in the Holocaust. After 9 years of the same story, I think I'm really done. I always check the first few minutes, and if the celebrity guest is really engaging I stay on. Otherwise, I can't believe that there isn't another story out there. Your family was part of a rebel group 1 Link to comment
Mermaid Under January 3 Share January 3 Quote Your family was part of a rebel group And that's why you are such a rebel! Link to comment
auntjess January 3 Share January 3 Just saw this on the Microsoft newsfeed. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/finding-your-roots-host-reveals-his-list-of-dream-guests/vi-AA1mmp8J?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=768ad0241f1c4c69b65a637c85557b27&ei=30 2 Link to comment
Suzn January 3 Share January 3 (edited) 15 hours ago, Mermaid Under said: 1. your family were slaves 2. your family owned slaves 3. your extended family died horribly in the Holocaust. After 9 years of the same story, I think I'm really done. I always check the first few minutes, and if the celebrity guest is really engaging I stay on. Otherwise, I can't believe that there isn't another story out there. It's hard for me to imagine that I would get tired of genealogy stories, but the repetition is getting very tiresome. Those are the stories they are looking for apparently. I know there are ancestor stories with different focuses out there. I don't see anyone in the lineup for this season as exciting to me either. I will slog along with it though. Edited January 3 by Suzn 3 Link to comment
Lovecat January 3 Share January 3 5 hours ago, auntjess said: Just saw this on the Microsoft newsfeed. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/finding-your-roots-host-reveals-his-list-of-dream-guests/vi-AA1mmp8J?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=768ad0241f1c4c69b65a637c85557b27&ei=30 There are some spoilers for this season in that video (in case you're like me and enjoy the "DNA cousin" reveals), his dream guests include: Al Roker, Dolly Parton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Johnny Mathis, Clint Eastwood, and Martin Scorcese. He also tells a story about how he used to do only African-American guests, and after 2 seasons he got a letter from a Jewish lady who asked him why he didn't do white people! So that might explain why his stories tend towards the African-American and Jewish experiences... 1 1 Link to comment
shapeshifter January 3 Share January 3 (edited) Season 10, Episode 1, "Born to Sing," first aired on PBS, pbs.org/video/born-to-sing, January 2, 2024: One thing that bothered me in 10.1 "Born to Sing," was that both of the subjects smiled at times that did not make sense. I've caught myself smiling on Zoom when recounting unpleasant experiences, but it's an odd editing choice for the show. The other thing that bothered me was the positive spin that was included in both subjects' stories about events that were not really so positive: Ciara's grandparent growing up looking different racially than his siblings had to have resulted in some alienation or resentments, but we only heard Ciara choosing to believe that her great-grandmother was in love when she got pregnant by the white man who had grown up with the black man who was her husband and fathered all her other children. That was an unfounded conclusion. Rape or unwanted compromise were just as likely. Alanis Morisette thought the foolhardy dare that led to the drowning of three men displayed a spirit of adventure. Again, I wonder what was edited out, and if these positive spins were selected to offset the grim stories of slavery and genocide. Here are the admixture charts shown at the end: It would have been interesting to learn about Ciara's Native American ancestor. ____________________ On 1/2/2024 at 8:43 PM, Mermaid Under said: After 9 years of the same story, I think I'm really done. 23 hours ago, Suzn said: It's hard for me to imagine that I would get tired of genealogy stories, but the repetition is getting very tiresome. When I am no longer interested in the stories in any TV series, my MO is to stop watching and stop following. But just the other day I saw that a series I intended to drop because it had devolved into soap opera and gratuitous crime stories (9-1-1) is now premiering with the original disaster plot scenario. So I guess I'll keep watching. Since FYR started out as exploring just African American roots and then branched out a bit, I guess there's always a chance that any person's ethnic background might be featured in a future episode. So those who are bored might want to keep checking back. But since HLG Jr says they diversified in response to a letter (or email?) from a viewer, perhaps that's a legitimate avenue for any of us to see our backgrounds included on the show? Edited January 4 by shapeshifter 2 1 Link to comment
ProudMary January 3 Share January 3 For me, the wildest part of the episode was the "Who's Your Cousin?" segment, when Derek Jeter turned out to be Ciara's distant cousin. As a long-time NY Yankees' fan, subjected for a couple of decades to the New York Post's continual "Page Six" coverage of the parade of beautiful, famous women Jeter was dating, the first thing that ran through my mind was, "Wait, weren't they together at one point?" 😄 While that was NOT the case, the two did meet at the 2015 ESPY Awards and there were photos, which I probably saw at the time. Ciara Reacts to Learning She’s Related to Derek Jeter on ‘Finding Your Roots’ 1 1 1 Link to comment
marina to January 4 Share January 4 11 hours ago, auntjess said: Just saw this on the Microsoft newsfeed. https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/finding-your-roots-host-reveals-his-list-of-dream-guests/vi-AA1mmp8J?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=768ad0241f1c4c69b65a637c85557b27&ei=30 What's exciting for me is the episode that is going to feature non-celebrities. I'm interested in who they chose. 7 1 Link to comment
Chalby January 4 Share January 4 On 1/2/2024 at 2:29 PM, shapeshifter said: As a retired college reference librarian who still misses working with students, professors, and the public to find the information they seek, I offer this 2015 Slate article as an additional source that weighs the values of both terms: https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/05/historians-debate-whether-to-use-the-term-slave-or-enslaved-person.html ❤️👵🏻 Thank you so much! I was a teacher, newly retired, but I can't say I've actually used slave or enslaved while teaching because I don't recall this ever been discussed. Usually our curriculum instruction centered around First Nations' people. Link to comment
Chalby January 4 Share January 4 On 1/3/2024 at 7:44 AM, Suzn said: It's hard for me to imagine that I would get tired of genealogy stories, but the repetition is getting very tiresome. Those are the stories they are looking for apparently. I know there are ancestor stories with different focuses out there. I don't see anyone in the lineup for this season as exciting to me either. I will slog along with it though. I realized after reading some comments, that this show wasn't meant to start out analyzing everybody. I thought it was a way in which to allow black Americans to try and connect the dots when tracing their roots? But in the last 3 years of watching, I saw there were other people on but it seemed to be what you're saying the same story with each one they were either Jewish and in the Holocaust or they were enslaved. still love genealogy shows, but I think I'd prefer one that combines Finding Your Roots with Who do you Think You Are? Mind you, I also enjoy anyone who has criminals in their history, or a big scandal, or even learning that they had different parents than they thought. I know it's twisted but I love twists and turns like that in genealogy. I'm pretty sure my history has a lot of twists...lol 1 Link to comment
Driad January 4 Share January 4 I wish they would bring back Genealogy Roadshow, which featured non-celebrity people chosen because of their interesting and varied ancestral stories. 2 1 Link to comment
PRgal January 4 Share January 4 7 minutes ago, Chalby said: I realized after reading some comments, that this show wasn't meant to start out analyzing everybody. I thought it was a way in which to allow black Americans to try and connect the dots when tracing their roots? But in the last 3 years of watching, I saw there were other people on but it seemed to be what you're saying the same story with each one they were either Jewish and in the Holocaust or they were enslaved. I'm wondering if it's because some people have a tough time finding resources connecting to their families/roots. Immigrants often left the old country because of revolutions and/or war, so information could have been destroyed. If you're of Chinese heritage, your family kinship book could have been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (where anything that is seen as "tradition" was destroyed) or during the Pacific War - or other wars/revolutions (I'm using the Cultural Revolution as an example since it was a HUGE Cancel Culture Campaign). In Europe, church records could have been burnt during various revolutions or wars. 5 1 Link to comment
Chalby January 5 Share January 5 5 hours ago, PRgal said: I'm wondering if it's because some people have a tough time finding resources connecting to their families/roots. Immigrants often left the old country because of revolutions and/or war, so information could have been destroyed. I came to a similar conclusion. The show has vast resources at the ready and anyone whose family tree only goes back 3 generations would appreciate this assistance. I'd like it too as I know nothing on my mother's side (aside from her mom's name). 2 Link to comment
PRgal January 5 Share January 5 3 minutes ago, Chalby said: I came to a similar conclusion. The show has vast resources at the ready and anyone whose family tree only goes back 3 generations would appreciate this assistance. I'd like it too as I know nothing on my mother's side (aside from her mom's name). I think I only know ONE great-grandmother's maiden name. And it's going to be pretty hard to track her family down since it's really common. To be honest, to really track down the women in my family, I'd have to go through a gazillion kinship books since women are barely a blip in traditional Confucionist cultures. And if the woman is a concubine? That blip is probably even smaller. 2 Link to comment
shapeshifter January 10 Share January 10 (edited) I started a thread for tonight's episode here: — although I probably won't watch until tomorrow. Edited January 10 by shapeshifter 2 Link to comment
Driad January 10 Share January 10 It would be helpful if people who create episode threads would include the guests' names with the titles. adTHANKSvance! 1 Link to comment
shapeshifter January 11 Share January 11 7 hours ago, Driad said: It would be helpful if people who create episode threads would include the guests' names with the titles. adTHANKSvance! I was still able to add the guests’ names. Hopefully that will set a precedent for other episode thread starters.🙂 1 1 Link to comment
shapeshifter January 20 Share January 20 (edited) HLG Jr. is on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tonight (Friday, January 19. 2024, 11:34 p.m. ET, Season 11, Episode 63) on NBC. It will also be available on Peacock. Here’s the YouTube clip: Edited January 20 by shapeshifter Link to comment
marina to March 10 Share March 10 Saw Seth Myers do standup tonight and he does a bit about his experience of doing the show. Mocked the whole "how do you feel about it?", especially finding out a relative did a school play, and said he wasn't an interesting guest. He talked about turning the page and finding out his relative committed suicide and Dr Gates said "sorry, we'll edit that out. Turn the next page". Was really interesting seeing his experience turned into comedy. 3 2 Link to comment
shapeshifter March 10 Share March 10 6 hours ago, marina to said: Saw Seth Myers do standup tonight and he does a bit about his experience of doing the show. Mocked the whole "how do you feel about it?", especially finding out a relative did a school play, and said he wasn't an interesting guest. He talked about turning the page and finding out his relative committed suicide and Dr Gates said "sorry, we'll edit that out. Turn the next page". Was really interesting seeing his experience turned into comedy. Thanks for this information. Kind of a revelation. I wonder if Seth's stand-up tour will result in a Netflix special including this bit. 2 Link to comment
marina to March 14 Share March 14 I hope so. It was one of the best sets I've ever heard. Sadly, I was probably the only person in the room who knew about Finding Your Roots. Link to comment
Suzn April 3 Share April 3 I guess either no one watched last night or no one was interested. I was impressed by Lena Dunham's thoughts on what she learned about her ancestors. Reconciling the things to be proud of with unfortune slave ownership was something she was working out and coming to terms with it. I'm really looking forward to next week with the non-celebrities. 1 Link to comment
buckboard April 3 Share April 3 Suzn, I thought it was one of their better shows. Both guests had more inciteful responses than the usual "Oh, wow." I wish they would go into more detail than focusing on one or two ancestors per guest. I saw in passing that one of Michael Douglas's ancestors was named Rutgers. Any relation to Henry Rutgers, for whom the college was named? 4 Link to comment
PRgal April 3 Share April 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, Suzn said: I guess either no one watched last night or no one was interested. I was impressed by Lena Dunham's thoughts on what she learned about her ancestors. Reconciling the things to be proud of with unfortune slave ownership was something she was working out and coming to terms with it. I'm really looking forward to next week with the non-celebrities. Regarding Lena Dunham, I think everyone will find something about their ancestors that would be considered inappropriate by today's standards. I often tell people that at least one of my great-grandfathers had concubines/more than one wife. I mentioned this on another person's Substack post and one of the replies came from someone who said she felt badly for my great-grandfather's concubines/sister wives and "countless other women" who had to go through that. However, those for those women, it was the norm. And we can't use our normal for them (I told her that it was a very outsider perspective). Plus just like marriages everywhere, abuse happens in some while not in others. I'm not ashamed at my history that these relationships occurred. It was just a thing. Hierarchy is STILL a thing in East Asian cultures (just look at how we address family members. Each and every person has more than one title, according to how they're related to another. As in, you call your dad's older brother one name, but said uncle's children will call your dad something else (by the way, you'd call that uncle "Bak" while your cousin(s) call your dad "Suk"). Edited April 3 by PRgal 1 Link to comment
tessaray April 3 Share April 3 (edited) .. Edited April 4 by tessaray Can be deleted. 1 Link to comment
shapeshifter April 3 Share April 3 2 hours ago, Suzn said: I guess either no one watched last night or no one was interested. I just watched and started a thread here: 1 Link to comment
PRgal April 3 Share April 3 6 minutes ago, tessaray said: The cousin reveals were good too. Hide contents Wasn't another guest also related to Larry David? And there was another guest who was related to ScarJo. 1 Link to comment
Suzn April 4 Share April 4 I did an internet search and came up with Andy Cohen. I think there may be another one - if she was revealed on his episode, there may have been someone else on her episode. 1 Link to comment
Driad Wednesday at 12:25 AM Share Wednesday at 12:25 AM Blog post by Katherine Schober: Behind the Scenes of Finding Your Roots: My Translation Experience 2 1 2 Link to comment
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