He is well-known as a literary critic, an editor of literature, and a proponent of black literature and black cultural studies. And TV was on kind of like the hearth in New England. He rediscovered the earliest African-American novels, long forgotten, and has published extensively on appreciating African-American literature as part of the Western canon. We have a genius, genetic genealogist, one of the pioneers of the field in CeCe Moore." And I hope they are. OK. And we filmed the whole thing. (SOUNDBITE OF ALLEN TOUSSAINT'S "EGYPTIAN FANTASY"). In my experience, family history books may cost anywhere from $5,000 to over $50,000. Professor Gates is the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African-American Research at Harvard and has produced numerous books and documentaries about African-American history. And it turned out - my father used to say, you know, your mother's family is really distinguished, too? 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, WNET is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. A research report walks you through the documents found, what those documents say and mean, and the conclusions that the genealogist has drawn about your family. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. (born September 16, 1950) is an author, documentary filmmaker, essayist, and literary critic. Who is Henry Louis Gates Jr. married to? You can say on the one hand that race is a social construction. I killed my mama. This kind of research has been especially important for African-Americans whose ancestors had their names and families taken away when they were enslaved. John Lithgow and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. are DNA cousins! And what's the real showstopper for me is the fact that my three sets of my fourth great grandparents lived 18 miles from where I was born. I think you know where I'm heading here. Yeah. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes actors Claire Danes and Jeff Daniels on a journey into their roots, uncovering primal scenes from our nation's past. And the last thing I did before I went to bed was - we always had a desk in our bedrooms and had a bookcase. Username and password are case sensitive. One thing they dont cover on Finding Your Roots is how much it would cost to get a similar experience in real life. GROSS: Yeah. (Preston Crawley) "I love being in Utah because I love genealogy," Henry Louis Gates Jr. said as he addressed BYU . His expertise and experience eventually led him to TV, where he started working as a contributor, narrator and host of a number of history shows, before he eventually worked on the PBS miniseries African American Lives. GROSS: Yeah. So that was a steal. And that is the strongest argument for brotherhood, sisterhood and the unity of the human species. Jeff Daniels sits with "Finding Your Roots" host Henry Louis Gates Jr. in an episode from Season 9 on PBS. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Over the course of his many years hosting history and genealogy shows on PBS, scholar and filmmaker Henry Louis Gates Jr. has guided dozens of people through emotional deep dives into their family histories, unearthed with the help of DNA and a team of expert . Preview E. Larry is joined by professor, historian, and host of the PBS series Finding Your Roots Henry Louis Gates Jr. GATES: Our TV - when we woke up, the TV was on, and nobody ever turned it off until you went to sleep. Elizabeth Shotbolt , Phillip Fordham, Bridget Shelley , Anthony Hungerford. ", The lesson of "Finding Your Roots" - we're all immigrants. So it was just the two of us and my mom, right? Family history books can vary widely from one genealogist to the next, but they may resemble chapter- or coffee-table books with sections devoted to your ancestors. And they would be published in the newspaper. And my mother used to write the eulogies, the obituaries for all the black people in the Potomac Valley, where I grew up. And the only reason that I started making the series that became "Finding Your Roots" is because of that obituary and that photograph. And I learned a lot about the medium. The fifth season of "Finding Your Roots" is currently showing on PBS. But this week, Gates's wish came true. I only did black people. Off. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker . Become a member of THIRTEEN ($5 monthly or $60 annually) and get access to THIRTEEN Passport as our thanks for your support. And we knew the name of his great-great-grandmother and the name of this white man. And before I started school - I started school when I was, well, 5, turning 6 - I would get dressed up, and I would go to church with my mom. Affleck himself posted an apology on Facebook, saying that he'd talked to Gates about these changes, but the process was, quote, "collaborative." GATES: Yeah, I loved books. #FindingYourRoots#FindingYourRoots airs Tuesdays. TERRY GROSS, BYLINE: Because you've talked to everybody about their genealogy, I want to talk with you about yours and what you've learned about yourself and the larger meaning of what you've learned about yourself. So my whole life is really an attempt to honor and please my parents and make them proud of me, you know. executive producer (33 episodes, 2012-2023) Deborah Clancy Porfido . Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Watch: Ed Norton reacts to slave-owning ancestors in "Finding Your Roots". Last year, Gates uncovered a manuscript of a novel purportedly written in the 1850s by an African American woman who had been a slave. That slave would later escape, and go to become Ireland's patron saint, St. Patrick. And you don't have a Y DNA, so that's why you're a woman. GATES: OK. I hope you never come back, you know? GROSS: Whoa. "My favorite class was an ancient history class in the fifth grade when I was 10 years old. And I don't think that he understands how much power that - to heal, to bind that the Oval Office metaphorically has. Henry Louis Gates : biography 16 September 1950 - Supporters of Afrocentrics such as Molefi Asante and others say that they assert not that the study of Africa should be exclusively Black, but that the approach of Afrocentricity is critical for setting up black people as agents of their own history. Many other genealogists have not worked on Finding Your Roots, but are massively talented and can help you learn more about your family history, similar to the way guests do on the show. And that night - and then daddy showed my brother and me, Dr. Paul Gates now, chief of dentistry at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital GATES: Well, it's the spirit of my mother. But they came from someplace else. It's called the Beer Summit. It's incredible. Henry Louis Gates is married to a white woman. So I'm out there. You know, and your family was, one of them anyways, was in the Revolutionary War. Watching a list of 26 titles created 26 Jan 2019 To put it simply, Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a man who knows his history, and if knowledge is power, he is a powerful man indeed. They begin their conversation by discussing how Henry's upbringing and the . And by in traction, I mean on my back with my foot up with weights. He is the host of the PBS television series "Finding Your . Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? As the host of the hit show Finding Your Roots, now in its sixth season on PBS, he helps guests like Ava DuVernay, Sean . GROSS: And you got this information from the 1870 census. In such works as Figures in Black (1987) and The Signifying Monkey (1988) he has used the term signifyin . In front of all these people and all these viewers. Well talk with Gates about the process of finding . So the two men who took part in what is now an infamous confrontation outside the Gates home near Harvard this month are actually related through common Irish lineage -- one of the more extraordinary aspects of the incident that has sparked worldwide headlines. In 2009, when I did "Faces Of America," a retail value of full genomic sequencing was $300,000. It was just misdiagnosed. And he mustered in in Winchester, Va., on Christmas Day, 1778, and was mustered down the Continental Army in April of 1784. The good news is that several of the genealogists who have worked on Finding Your Roots, as well as other shows like Who Do You Think You Are?, are available for hire. They were buried next to each other. Black people came here - not willingly, of course. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr S01 - Ep02 Mayor Cory Booker - Rep. John Lewis. So to me, it leaves open a question of whether or not letting Affleck lobby Gates was the problem or having him actually pressure them and get them to change the material was the problem. So, your real-life family history book might resemble a novel or coffee-table book, rather than a scrapbook like those on the program. GROSS: I saw his picture in the obituary. We're all admixed. So you GATES: Because of this white man. James Crowley, who was responding to a 911 caller's report of men breaking and entering the residence. GATES: I did an episode with Oprah and Quincy Jones and Bishop T.D. To be clear, I don't work for Finding Your Roots; I'm just a professional genealogist who knows people who have worked on the show and I was present for the filming of an episode. And it's for my father. Tax ID: 26-2810489. This will enable them to allocate more time towards researching that individual. After that, everything stopped. You should also have an opportunity to view a proof of the book before printing. A report is a little more nitty gritty than a book, sort of like how understanding the mechanics of an engine will help you understand what makes a car run. Thanks to an encounter with a family scrapbook at a young age, ancestry fascinates Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Emmy-winning filmmaker, author and Harvard University professor raised in the tiny town of Piedmont, West Virginia. It's a horrible way to start, in a way. If my areas of expertise do not align with your needs, check out my guide for finding a professional genealogist. In a commentary in the New York Times, prominent historian, educator Henry Louis Gates cited the work of historian Carter Woodson, pioneer in 1926 of what has become Black History Month. GATES: But I have an announcement to make GATES: For you. If youre a celebrity or public figure, then probably yes! But mutations exist. Students pose with Henry Louis Gates Jr. following Tuesday, Nov. 19's forum. It was better to be free than be a slave, but you were free but not free. July 28, 2009— -- Henry Louis Gates Jr., the black professor at the center of the racial story involving his arrest outside his Harvard University-owned house, has spoken proudly of his Irish roots. He reflects on his own history and some of the more controversial aspects of DNA testing. GROSS: Huge story. in Keyser, West Virginia, USA , United States (72 years), This form allows you to report an error or to submit additional information about this family tree: Henry Louis GATES (1950), Biography from Wikipedia (see original) under licence CC BY-SA 3.0. Legend has it that it was Niall of the Nine Hostages who, on a raid in Wales, captured a young slave and brought him to Ireland. GROSS: Your father died not too long ago - a few years ago. Some books function more like reference books on your ancestors, while others are formatted like short biographies. GROSS: Is that too personal? Why book banning is back in 2022 - Vox . Long before he became the comforting presence on TV, Gates Jr. had a successful tenured career as an academic across several prestigious universities. Historian and African American Studies professor Gates Jr. has hosted a number of genealogy shows in the past, but Finding Your Roots on PBS has proved his most popular yet. He went to Trinity College in Dublin to have his DNA analyzed. (Read Henry . . They came in slave ships. His PBS series "Finding Your Roots" returns for its ninth season in January, and his latest documentary series . So PBS started an internal investigation to figure out what happened, and then on Wednesday they issued their findings. The way to get a Finding Your Roots-style experience yourself is to hire a professional genealogist. And we know from the analysis of my DNA that goes back to Ireland. Memories, Mean, People. Research reports are great! The new season of Gates' TV series "Finding Your Roots" is now running on PBS. And consequently, you are now a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. All Rights Reserved. And finally, PBS has a brand as a trusted provider of nonfiction entertainment, so they have to really safeguard that brand by making sure the stuff they present to viewers is accurate. On the PBS series, Gates visits Trinity College to find his roots, and says to the genealogist, "Do I look like an Irishman to you? However, it is perfectly acceptable to ask to view some sample pages or images to give you an idea of what youre getting. Now she was born in 1819; died in 1888. 1. Armstrong Williams, a person I really admire and like, I ask him, and he said absolutely not. And I would watch this beautiful, brilliant goddess. Listen 9:01. 44 Copy quote. Strangely enough, he and the Cambridge, Mass., police officer who arrested him, Sgt. That's the way it is. And you - the last scene is the funeral. A family history book is like the entire car. For the most part, genealogists compile their findings on your family history into a research report. And she burst into tears because she used to read me that book all the time. In the latest episode of Finding Your Roots, Cox discovers previously lost information about James McCann, his grandfather who died before he was born, and his military service for Great Britain in World War I. Guests from all ethnic backgrounds are welcomed as Gates Jr. investigates the lineage of his celebrity guests. Gates wrote a friend of his who was a top executive at Sony to ask for advice after Affleck objected to the inclusion of all this slavery material, so those emails came out in April after hackers took a bunch of information from Sony and WikiLeaks published the material. When we left off, Gates was talking about his own DNA mix. DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. Of course, you can do that through mitochondrial DNA," he told Newsweek. executive producer (40 episodes, 2012-2023) Dyllan McGee . - like the Aunt Jemima figure. There are similar shows on TV, but the host knows why his is a cut above the rest. I can do it. But it's just not those two genetic lines. One, dated Saturday, January 7, 1888, was from the Cumberland Evening Times. And I cluster more toward the Yoruba than any - because 50 percent GATES: Of my ancestry is from sub-Saharan Africa. I love my mother, and I love my nickname. And she dies of a broken heart because her little girl passes for white and goes off - and never sees her again. On the show, they usually find photographs by contacting the guests relatives or distant cousins. My great-great-grandfather's now been found. GATES: But everyone who's in one of those databases has given some kind of permission. After a break, he'll talk about his childhood and about how DNA evidence demonstrates there's no such thing as racial purity. I'm going to be black. GROSS: I think they're doing it through records and not through, like, secretly getting their blood samples. And when they analyzed my mitochondrial DNA, it went to England. And he fought in - for the Continental Army. GATES: Yeah, yeah. He looked white. Even if you were free and you were black GATES: In most states, you weren't allowed to vote. You get your Y DNA from your father, and that's what makes me a man. Finding Your Roots debuted on PBS on March 25, 2012, and has now been running for nine seasons. As soon as the Civil War ended, they became common law husband and wife GATES: Which was illegal in Mississippi. Books can take a long time to produce, so make sure youre clear on the timeline and payment schedule. BEN AFFLECK: That's my grandmother, Liz. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Family. I had no idea, no preparation. edit data. You know, we used to say tribe, but now that's not politically correct - so the Yoruba ethnic group in Western Nigeria. As we honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King today, we're going to listen to an interview Terry recorded with historian Henry Louis Gates. "When I was filming Oprah, I realized that I had misunderstood the narrative arc of the shoot. And under the skin, we are almost identical genetically. supervising producer (32 episodes, 2014-2023) . You can learn more about how to spot these and other criteria in Part 2 of my free guide to finding a professional genealogist, linked below. The differences perhaps point to different social and cultural histories within the south.". Those same tens of thousands of American who saw the show are also unlikely to distinguish "soldier" from a one who is a member of a "regiment", "troop", "militia" or the "Native Guard". Daniels sits with `` Finding Your Roots '' - we 're all immigrants 's just not those genetic... 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S01 - Ep02 Mayor Cory Booker - Rep. john Lewis who is henry louis gates related to, than... My favorite class was an ancient history class in the obituary the rest analysis of my DNA that back...