Finding Your Roots

Culture Series / 7 Seasons

For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.

52m 10s

The Jealous Family Freedom Papers

2m 20s

Benjamin Jealous discovers his family's first freed ancestor, a courageous man named Peter Morgan, who -- through hard work and scrupulous saving -- managed to purchase his own freedom in 1859.

Anna Deavere Smith's Underground Railroad Connection

2m 35s

Actress, playwright, and professor learns of her courageous ancestor, a conductor along the Underground Railroad. With the help of the Finding Your Roots research team, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was able to relay details about this inspirational hero, a freed slave risked his life to help others on the path to freedom.

Ken Burns' Revolutionary War Shocker

2m 52s

Documentary filmmaker and patriotic American Ken Burns discovers an incredibly surprising fact about his Revolutionary War-era ancestors -- they were loyalists, devoted to the Union Jack!

Our American Storytellers Promo

33s

Ken Burns, Anderson Cooper and Anna Deavere Smith are three iconic American storytellers who have spent their lives chronicling the lives of others all the while knowing almost nothing about their own family history:

Billie Jean King's Grandmother's Secret

3m 16s

In this clip from Episode 2, tennis champ Billie Jean King, who knew very little about her beloved grandmother's past, is able to read a family Bible containing a detailed written genealogy.

Born Champions Promo

33s

Three of America's greatest athletes -- Derek Jeter, Billie Jean King and Rebecca Lobo -- whose determination and love of sports were deeply shaped by their families, were all cut off from their true origins.

Courtney B. Vance's Fearless Ancestors

2m 36s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces Courtney B. Vance's fascinating family line back to a runaway slave turned Union Army soldier. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Season 2 premieres Tuesday, September 23 on PBS (check local listings).

In Search of our Fathers Promo

34s

Three guests who know almost nothing about their fathers’ histories: Stephen King’s father walked out on the family when he was only two years old, and never returned; Courtney Vance wants to learn more about his true roots after the tragic suicide of his father, a foster child who never knew the identity of his biological parents; and Gloria Reuben’s father was 78 years old when she was born.

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