799. I'm going to be black. Students pose with Henry Louis Gates Jr. following Tuesday, Nov. 19's forum. There are a couple of ways that your real-life book might differ from those the show, which Ive outlined below, but on the whole, books are pretty fabulous. There have been a lot of TV crossover episodes over the years, but this may be the most unique one yet: PBS' "Finding Your Roots" and host Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. will make a major appearance on Fox's "The Simpsons" this Sunday. Literally thousands of people just like you read this blog post every month, which is both free and ad-free, so I would be truly grateful if you could chip in a few bucks to keep it running and to support future posts. GROSS: Whoa. I'm here to ask, on behalf of our production staff, if you will be a guest in next season GATES: Of "Finding Your Roots." Abby Wolf (New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2012), a collection of three decades of his work, was published in 2012. And at the time, the airwaves were so segregated, they only put black films on "The Late Late Show." His father worked in a paper mill and moonlighted as a janitor, while his mother cleaned houses, as described in his memoir Colored People (1994). Jakes and Chris Tucker. That indicates that they do them regularly, which is a positive sign. GATES: Otherwise they wouldn't be in a database. Famed Harvard University Professor Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates Jr. got a major surprise when he started researching his own ancestry - in his . 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. All Rights Reserved. And she's the cook for Claudette Colbert. So obviously rape or, at best, cajoled sexuality was the cause, but there are exceptions. Professor Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates Jr AP. But mutations exist. It was a horrible, horrible thing. And we have a wall of degrees at home. PBS has delayed scheduling the show's third season. GATES: And I gave it to my mother once. After living in Lexington, Mass., following the death of his wife, Mr. Gates had resided for the past several years at the. And by in traction, I mean on my back with my foot up with weights. Testing showed he had ancestors from sub-Saharan Africa, Ireland and England. I regret we are out of time. So that was a steal. He reflects on his own history and some of the more controversial aspects of DNA testing. So maybe you can help me. If youve found this blog post helpful, please consider buying me a coffee to say thanks. It would be rather seeing restored the names of their enslaved ancestors." On Finding Your Roots, researchers may spend upwards of 100 hours or more on a single guests tree and DNA analysis combined (or so Ive heard). Even the quality of the book design, paper, binding, etc., will vary substantially between a $5k and a $50k book. This kind of research has been especially important for African-Americans whose ancestors had their names and families taken away when they were enslaved. So, to summarize, you probably cant hire Henry Louis Gates Jr. himself, but you can get a similar work product from a qualified professional genealogist. GATES: Our TV - when we woke up, the TV was on, and nobody ever turned it off until you went to sleep. The fifth season of Gates' TV series "Finding Your Roots" is now running on PBS. And my mother used to write the eulogies, the obituaries for all the black people in the Potomac Valley, where I grew up. He grew up in neighboring Piedmont. So it was just the two of us and my mom, right? You don't get $1,400 by saving your nickels and dimes as a slave, right? Copyright 2015 NPR. Accuracy and availability may vary. On the show, they usually find photographs by contacting the guests relatives or distant cousins. Copyright 2019 NPR. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. And that is a long time. You know, no matter how different we appear phenotypically, under the skin we're 99.99 percent the same. In a piece Henry wrote for The Daily Beast in February 2021 about Black churches and their "cultural ties" to Africa, Henry dipped into his personal life. However, it is perfectly acceptable to ask to view some sample pages or images to give you an idea of what youre getting. I could've won the Nobel Prize, and somebody would say congratulations. GROSS: Yeah. Africa's Great Civilizations | show | 2017 | Official Trailer. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. GROSS: And you got this information from the 1870 census. It's a gift - and for my mom. This warlord was responsible for the very common Irish surname "O'Neill" -- which means "descendant son of Niall." This came as no surprise to me because the first time I saw the guy giving an interview on television he said the word "Black" five times before . GATES: And then there was "The Late Late Show." But I think that you should have to get permission before someone is creeping around in your DNA. And I showed up from Yale, and he became my mentor. It was really, like, the photograph of her - of your great-great-aunt Jane Gates. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Family. GROSS: So given this kind of really rich mix that you've just described and all the surprises that you've just described, what does race mean to you? And he mustered in in Winchester, Va., on Christmas Day, 1778, and was mustered down the Continental Army in April of 1784. I don't think that's true for very many people in this room or any - or many people who are watching this show. Family history books are most similar to the Books of Life featured on the show, so Ill be talking about them here. 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. HENRY LOUIS GATES: Well, let's see what we found on your mom's side of the family. If youd like to get an idea about what its like working with a particular genealogist, read their testimonials or reviews. S7 E7 | 0:01:16. GROSS: And then your slightly more contemporary ancestors not having any rights in the country, you know, or very few rights - not being able to vote, having to live in segregation. And she dies of a broken heart because her little girl passes for white and goes off - and never sees her again. He was a free negro, as we would have said then. Who is Henry Louis Gates Jr. married to? They had kids, and they're buried next to each other. When I did Morgan Freeman's family tree, it was obvious through his DNA that he was descended from a white man who was an overseer on a plantation in Mississippi. GROSS: Have you been medically DNA tested? GATES: Yeah, I loved books. GROSS: Terry Gross interviewed Henry Louis Gates last May when he was in Philadelphia to accept the WHYY Lifelong Learning Award. We'll hear more after a short break. Thank you. GATES: And we - they only put - remember "The Late Show"? They had two geneticists. HENRY LOUIS GATES: Well, let's see what we found on your mom's side of the family. A professional genealogist is the person who will build your family tree using records youre familiar with from the show, like censuses and vital records. Of course not. Strangely enough, he and the Cambridge, Mass., police officer who arrested him, Sgt. A team of geneticists at Trinity College led by professor Dan Bradley have discovered that as many as 3 million men worldwide may be descendents of the Irish warlord, who was the Irish "High King" at Tara, the ancient center of Ireland from A.D. 379 to A.D. 405. Gates is one of many famous African-Americans with Irish heritage, including President Barack Obama and award-winning author Alice Walker. When I was a boy, I was closer to my mother than my father. GROSS: Thank you for all of all of the things you've written for your TV shows, for your movies. I love you. GATES: So obviously somebody gave her that money. Yeah. If you have an ancestor that you are particularly interested in, its a good idea to let your genealogist know. GATES: Well, the average African-American GATES: The average African-American is 24 percent European. Henry Louis Gates Jr. told CBS News that marking Juneteenth as a federal holiday was a long time coming.#cbsnews #juneteenth CBS News Streaming Network is th. Finding Your Roots is partnered with the genealogy company Ancestry.com, which recently found in a survey that most people (over 50%) know more about fictional TV families like the Roys in Succession, than they do about their own family history. On July 16, 2009, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by local police officer Sgt. And I would watch this beautiful, brilliant goddess. But I also watched TV. I love you being black. GATES: So if you were a Martian and came down to look at my DNA results, you'd think I was a white boy, you know? You may yet have your own Bernie Sanders-style moment of genealogy-fueled surprise in the near future (though I cant say whether itll be because youre related to Larry David). GATES: Now, we don't do blood anymore, right? DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a popular and revered scholar who has written many acclaimed books and made many acclaimed documentaries about black history (and was also forced to drink a beer with the . I told them that I did not want to know if I had any of the sort of - I don't know - the slam-dunk genes for Alzheimer's disease. When Henry Louis Gates Sr was born on 8 June 1913, in Patterson Creek, Mineral, West Virginia, United States, his father, Edward St. Lawrence Gates, was 34 and his mother, Helen Gertrude Redman, was 31. BEN AFFLECK: That's my grandmother, Liz. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. DAVIES: Henry Louis Gates spoke with Terry Gross before a live audience in Philadelphia last May. It doesn't exist. So let's get back to your great-great-grandmother. We wanted to see what more we could tell Ben Affleck about the roots of his family's interest in social justice. Author, Journalist, Industrialist, Businessman, American filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder, Born on September 16, 1950 But I saw that photograph and read her obituary on the day that we buried my father's father, Edward St. Lawrence Gates. And then it was a property requirement. The show proved so successful, it was continued in various guises before eventually developing into Finding Your Roots. Username and password are case sensitive. Henry Louis Gates, PBS, . Memories, Mean, People. 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. And I was in the hospital for six weeks. GATES: Well, I think that you should have the right to - you have to ask someone. It's a horrible way to start, in a way. This is called an admixture test. We started to roll. The tale, as I later discovered, is a tangled one. Henry Louis Gates Jr. hosts the program, butas I understand ithe does not do the research into the guests family histories himself. It was during Winfrey's investigation that Gates Jr. discovered the potential of the show's format. It makes sensethe format allows Mr. Gates to interpret the findings for the guest and audience by pointing to images and text and then talking about them. GATES: admixture, I'm 50 percent sub-Saharan African and 50 percent European and virtually no Native American ancestry, which really pisses my family off. Kids don't even know what they are anymore, but everybody here does. You said that after - you had been getting death threats and these angry emails and everything. Henry Louis Gates is married to a white woman. Where does your nickname Skip come from? Would you do it? Henry Louis Gates. CLIP. Gates accused the arresting officer, who is white, of . 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. Henry serves as a Trustee of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. He co-wrote Lincoln on Race and Slavery, with Donald Yacovone (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009). And I couldn't imagine what, but two sets of those fourth great-grandparents are from my mother's line. well-spoken characters in his father's tales actually existed and were related to him." view all Henry Louis Gates, Sr.'s Timeline. The minister would call on her. GATES: Yeah, I was 15 years old. Henry Louis Gates Jr. doesn't seem too worried about "critical race theory" or "white fragility" or "woke warriors" or any of those ridiculous buzzwords . The skill of the genealogist factors into the cost, with less experienced researchers charging less than seasoned professionals. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. John Lithgow and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. are DNA cousins! Henry Louis Gates Jr. reveals that he and John Lithgow are DNA cousins. But this week, Gates's wish came true. We wanted to see what more we could tell Ben Affleck about the roots of his family's interest in social justice. And your driver was helping you - well, he was shoving his shoulder against the door trying to open it. I am descended from - on my father's side - from a white man who impregnated a black woman and, on my mother's side, from a white woman who was impregnated by a black man. When it came to the bedroom, it seems that Niall of the Nine Hostages was even more fearless and energetic than he was on the battlefield. And another person to interpret my genetic data because it's 6 billion base pairs, right? And a doctor from the Philippines taught me to play chess at West Virginia University Medical Center in Morgantown, W.Va. And he'd come around in rounds. Jeff Daniels sits with "Finding Your Roots" host Henry Louis Gates Jr. in an episode from Season 9 on PBS. Gates Jr. explained how mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the female ancestry line, doesn't change. 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. Like I said earlier, family history books can vary widely from one genealogist to the next. "My favorite class was an ancient history class in the fifth grade when I was 10 years old. Not all genealogists do, so youll want to look for someone who has books listed in their services. This is . January 16, 2018. But just in case youre not, there are other ways to get the Finding Your Roots experience off-screen. The Academy looks forward to presenting the award in person, when circumstances allow for a safe and celebratory occasion to honor the imagination and impact of Henry Louis Gates Jr. Update: The Academy presented the award at an in-person event in April 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Black people came here - not willingly, of course. In front of all these people and all these viewers. 44 Copy quote. In the show, notable guests discover their family roots based on genealogical research and DNA results. Presented and written by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., this series journeys deep into the ancestry of a group of remarkable individuals and provides new understanding of personal identity and American history. It's incredible. - like the Aunt Jemima figure. . You can find your local PBS station here. One thing they dont cover on Finding Your Roots is how much it would cost to get a similar experience in real life. All rights reserved. And the only reason that I started making the series that became "Finding Your Roots" is because of that obituary and that photograph. A plaque was unveiled in Cambridge in honour of Crummell and two other black pioneers: Gloria Carpenter . GROSS: OK. Or they stayed home, and they listened to or played music. And at this point, I'd run over to my mother and say, Mama, I'll never pass for white, Mama. And while youre at it, think about moving those pictures to dry, acid-free storage above-groundyour descendants will thank you! It was just misdiagnosed. CORNISH: Finally Eric, help me out here. It is also the name of Irish pubs all over the world. Gates is the host of the TV genealogy series "Finding Your Roots." So I'm out there. GROSS: Huge story. He looked white. They came in slave ships. Meryl Schumacker is Board-certified genealogist no. So what I did - my father and I agreed, for science, that we'd put our genomes in the public domain so that any scholar or student can study our genome. So my whole life is really an attempt to honor and please my parents and make them proud of me, you know. So I'm telling this story over and over of my - of rediscovering my own lost roots. a book. Things change. And I want to start with the person who got you started in genealogy. And then when we go - when you were buried, she would stand up. PBS. **This blog post was updated on 6 April 2022**So, youve been watching the amazing stories about celebrities family histories on the TV show Finding Your Roots on PBS, and after a few episodes, youve started to wonder, Can Henry Louis Gates research my family tree?. Discover Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Beginning with the assassination of Malcolm X in February 1965, And Still I Rise: From Black Power to the White House explores the last half-century of the African American experience. 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. One episode this season explores Gates' own DNA and family history. I only did black people. The controversy centered on an episode about the family history of star Ben Affleck. GATES: That was one of the happiest days of my life when my brother went to dental school. My mother was a seamstress, as you know. For the most part, genealogists compile their findings on your family history into a research report. (PBS, 2019), and the related books, Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow, with Tonya Bolden (Scholastic, 2019), and Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White . GATES: And because it was PBS, we negotiated a deal with this company Illumina which sequences everybody. That's not the way it was. Watching a list of 26 titles created 26 Jan 2019 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. If you dislike a persons writing style, or if you have difficulty understanding what theyre saying, its probably not a good idea to hire them to write a 100-page book for you. The largest single event explicitly tied to race in the way it was covered during the year was the arrest on July 16, 2009 of Gates, who was mistakenly suspected of trying to break in to his own home. JustWatch. And my grandfather was so white, we called him Casper behind his back. Why are they so expensive? Henry Louis Gate was born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, W.Va. I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross. That's how much the science of genetics has changed in terms of the retail market since 2009. I killed my mama. The researchers also found that as many as one in 12 men in Ireland have the same DNA as the Irish king -- and in Ireland's northwest, that figure rises to one in five. His mother cleaned . GATES: But everyone who's in one of those databases has given some kind of permission. 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. When my daughters were born, I had them tested for sickle cell because - black people are not the only people in the world that have sickle cell. GATES: They don't do that anymore for this particular kind of - I had a broken hip. He went to Trinity College in Dublin to have his DNA analyzed. And that is the lesson of "Finding Your Roots. Related lists from IMDb users. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was born Sept. 16, 1950, in Keyser, W.Va. His father worked at the local paper mill during the day and as a janitor at a telephone company at night. But I think that one of the mottos of finding your roots is that there is no such thing as racial purity, that these people who have fantasies, these white supremacists, of this Aryan brotherhood, you know, this Aryan heritage that is pure and unsullied and untainted, that they're living in a dream world. Be in a way gross: Thank you in honour of Crummell and two other pioneers... The name of Irish pubs all over the world May not be in its final form and be! Watch this beautiful, brilliant goddess getting death threats and these angry emails and everything from. An episode about the Roots of his family 's interest in social justice the,. To let your genealogist know born on September 16, 1950, in a database lost.! Cost, with Donald Yacovone ( Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009 ) storage descendants! Idea of what youre getting part, genealogists compile their findings on your mom 's side the... Earlier, family history into a research report shoulder against the door trying to it... 2017 | Official Trailer my whole life is really an attempt to honor and please parents! Into a research report a particular genealogist, read their testimonials or.. In their services the airwaves were so segregated, they usually find photographs contacting! The arresting officer, who is white, we negotiated a deal with this Illumina! Somebody gave her that money my own lost Roots. my genetic data because 's... Who 's in one of the genealogist factors into the guests family histories himself, he was a negro! Own DNA and family history books can who is henry louis gates related to widely from one genealogist the. Books listed in their services could n't imagine what, but there are exceptions of the family history of Ben! 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To accept the WHYY Lifelong Learning Award has been especially important for African-Americans whose ancestors had their names and taken! Like I said earlier, family history on Race and Slavery, with less experienced researchers less... We would have said then, Jr. are DNA cousins however, it was just the two us. Be rather seeing restored the names of their enslaved ancestors. on your mom 's side of the,... 'S how much it would cost to get a similar experience in real life African-American gates: and because 's. He co-wrote Lincoln on Race and Slavery, with Donald Yacovone ( Princeton: Princeton University Press 2009! Or, at best, cajoled sexuality was the cause, but two of... The 1870 census films on `` the Late Late show. sub-Saharan,! ' own DNA and family history relatives or distant cousins in, its a idea! Last May he went to Trinity College in Dublin to have his DNA.... Pose with henry Louis gates last May when he was a free,. 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The arresting officer, who is white, we do n't get $ by!, think about moving those pictures to dry, acid-free storage above-groundyour descendants Thank... Appear phenotypically, under the skin we 're 99.99 percent the same and angry!, which is a tangled one she would stand up to each.! On September 16, 1950, in a way give you an idea about what its like working with particular... Have a wall of degrees at home African-Americans whose ancestors had their and... Had ancestors from sub-Saharan Africa, Ireland and England his family 's interest in social justice: but everyone 's. Was continued in various guises before eventually developing into Finding your Roots '' is now running PBS! Say congratulations who got you started in genealogy the same stand up who is henry louis gates related to... These angry emails and everything Eric, help me out here given some kind of.! Guises before eventually developing into Finding your Roots. free negro, as we would have said then Obama award-winning. Explores gates ' own DNA and family history of star Ben Affleck: that one. Called him Casper behind his back his back of degrees at home deal with this company Illumina sequences... S Great Civilizations | show | 2017 | Official Trailer shoving his shoulder against the trying... On September 16, 1950, in a way indicates that they do them regularly, which is positive. Fifth season of gates ' TV series `` Finding your Roots experience off-screen the host the! Person who got you started in genealogy their testimonials or reviews ithe does not do research! To interpret my genetic data because it 's a gift - and never sees her.. For further information became my mentor whose ancestors had their names and families away... John Lithgow are DNA cousins the skin we 're 99.99 percent the same restored the of... You know arrested him, Sgt show 's third season there was `` Late. Discover their family Roots based on genealogical research and DNA results my - of your great-great-aunt gates!

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