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GATES: I'm
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

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Welcome to
"Finding Your Roots."

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In this episode,
we'll meet actors

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LeVar Burton
and Wes Studi,

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two men whose
lives were shaped by

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their absent fathers.

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STUDI: I was
teased about that.

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You know, I'd say
things like, uh, you know,

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"I don't have a dad."

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GATES: Mm-hmm.

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STUDI: And, uh, the
kids would say, "Ew."

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BURTON: You know,
you, you grow up just

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with the blanks, right?

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GATES: Yeah.

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BURTON: With just no
information, no clue.

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And, and, and no real way
to overcome that blind spot.

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GATES: To uncover their roots,

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we've used every
tool available.

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Genealogists combed through
paper trails stretching

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back hundreds of years,

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while DNA experts
utilized the latest advances

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in genetic analysis
to reveal secrets that

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have lain hidden
for generations.

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STUDI: Wow!

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GATES: And we've compiled
it all into a book of life.

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A record of
everything we found.

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BURTON: This is so intense.

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(laughs)

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STUDI: I feel on
the verge of discovery.

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GATES: And a window
into the hidden past.

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BURTON: I did not
see this coming.

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STUDI: In a way I'm
dumbfounded by the,

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I mean, I asked
the question,

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got the answer int,
and now I'm dumbfounded.

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BURTON: I am forever changed.

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I am forever changed.

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GATES: My two guests
came to me with questions

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about entire branches
of their family trees.

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In this episode,
we're going to give them

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the answers they've
been searching for,

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through a pioneering combination
of genealogy and genetics,

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allowing LeVar and Wes to
see themselves more clearly

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than ever before.

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(theme music plays)

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♪ ♪

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(book closes)

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♪ ♪

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LeVar Burton has changed
the way America sees itself.

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The iconic actor, famed
for his roles on "Roots"

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and the "Star Trek" franchise,

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has embodied the journey
of Black people in our country

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from slavery to outer space,
giving us a glimpse of our

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nation's tragic past,
while pointing us towards

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a more hopeful future.

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But LeVar's own journey
began far from the limelight,

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in a household
marred by great despair,

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in a U.S. Army base in
West Germany where his parents'

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troubled marriage dissolved,
and his mother made a

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decision that
would remake her family.

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BURTON: My mother and my
sisters and I left Germany

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by ourselves um, and came
back to the States,

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back home to Sacramento,
to begin our lives without him.

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GATES: Did you go into
a depression over it

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or was it a relief?

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Sometimes kids are
relieved when their

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parents get divorced.

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BURTON: I just remember,
Skip, you know, I just

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remember a lot
of confusion and,

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and not understanding
what was going on,

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however, the absence of, of
violence in the air and fear

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about the dynamics of
their relationship being

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so dominant in our
lives was now gone.

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GATES: LeVar was 11
when his parents divorced.

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He wouldn't see his
father again for decades.

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But his mother,
a school teacher,

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made sure that her children
flourished just the same.

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She worked tirelessly
to pay for their educations

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and encourage
their ambitions,

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and fortunately, when it
came to LeVar's ambitions,

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luck was on his side, too.

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LeVar was a sophomore,
studying theater at USC

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when the producers of
"Roots" began looking for

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an actor to
play Kunta Kinte,

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the young African character
at the heart of their story.

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BURTON: I was in the right
place at the right time.

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They came in to one class
one day and said that they

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were casting, "they" being
these people in Hollywood.

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GATES: Mm-hm.

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BURTON: They were looking
for young Black kids.

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There were three of us
in the drama department.

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And we all went to what turned
out to be Lynn Stalmaster,

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the legendary casting
director's office um for the

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for what they called back
in the day a "go-see."

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Go to this address
and see the people there.

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GATES: That was it.

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BURTON: That was
the beginning.

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LeVar's "beginning" was
bigger than anyone could

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possibly have imagined,

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"Roots" was an
instant phenomenon,

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and remains one of
highest rated series

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in the history
of television.

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It made LeVar a household
name and ultimately allowed

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him to pursue a
very personal project.

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♪ Take a look,
it's in a book ♪

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♪ a Reading Rainbow ♪

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BURTON: Hi, there.

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GATES: In 1983, LeVar became
the producer and host of

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"Reading Rainbow" a PBS
series that ran for 23 seasons.

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O'DONNELL: "Reading Rainbow"

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GATES: Winning him
12 Emmys and a Peabody.

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Crafted to encourage a
love of books in children,

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the series was close to
LeVar's mother's heart,

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and to his own.

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GATES: Looking back,
what are you proudest of?

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BURTON: When I
get asked this,

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it's always I get a
catch in my, in my throat

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because you would think
that "Roots" because of

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the magnitude the,
of the impact that it's

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had on the planet,

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um, some 50-plus countries
around the world,

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"Roots" is universally
embraced as a, as, as,

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an important story
for humanity.

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But it's really
"Reading Rainbow."

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GATES: Yeah.

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BURTON: That is, that's
the first line of my obituary,

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I think.

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GATES: Yeah.

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BURTON: Host and producer
of "Reading Rainbow."

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GATES: A tribute
to your mom.

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BURTON: A tribute to my
mom and, and, I, you know

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having I, I, I,
believing so much in the

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power of education
as we do in my family,

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um, having an impact on the
reading habits of a couple

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of generations
of human beings.

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It doesn't get
any better than that.

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GATES: My second
guest is Wes Studi,

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the first Native American to
win an Academy Award for acting.

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Much like LeVar Burton,

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Wes has changed our
nation's perceptions,

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redefining the way indigenous
people are portrayed on screen,

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an accomplishment
that no one could have

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envisioned when
he was growing up.

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Wes was born in the
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma,

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the child of
a single mother.

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His youth was defined
by a series of upheavals,

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beginning when he was
just five years old and

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he was sent to live at a
school for Native children

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more than 40 miles from home.

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When he returned he
found himself an outsider.

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STUDI: I learned English but
when I went home for the summer,

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uh, I tried speaking English
in a Cherokee household and

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was shut down,

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(makes sound)

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very effectively
by my grandmother.

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GATES: So you had to
learn to speak Cherokee

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all over again?

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STUDI: I learned to speak
Cherokee again so I could eat.

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(laughs)

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GATES: This experience
would set a tone for much

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of Wes's early life as he
struggled to find his path,

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changing jobs
and homes often,

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being forced constantly to
adapt to new circumstances.

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Indeed, Wes was in
his mid-30s and working

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as a rancher outside
of Tulsa, Oklahoma when a

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failed marriage drove him
to discover his true calling.

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STUDI: I went
back to Tulsa,

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and a good friend of mine,

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Jay Wincrow,

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he, uh, said, uh,
I asked him, uh,

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"I just got divorced and,
uh, I wonder what, what

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to do when I'm meeting
new people and stuff."

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And he said, "Hey! I got
just the thing for you.

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American Indian
Theatre Company.

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Check it out."

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So, that developed,
we began to be cast in things,

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and we, uh, we, we,
we worked on plays,

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and after a while,
we mounted the plays,

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and did them any
place that we could.

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A lot of, uh, like,
old folks' homes, and.

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GATES: Sure.

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STUDI: Any place we
could get into, uh,

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that had a little stage.

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It didn't even
need to be a stage.

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GATES: What was it about
it that appealed to you?

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STUDI: It scared me.
GATES: Uh-huh.

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STUDI: One of the
scariest things,

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at that point in my life,

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was being able to step
out from the wings to a,

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a mark out on
stage and say my line.

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GATES: It's terrifying.
STUDI: It's terrifying.

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GATES: Yeah.

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STUDI: It's like traveling
through a, like, a, a

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Jello-ized air, that you
just walk through and

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then he hit
that mark and then,

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"Hello Mr. Johnson!
How's your family?"

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GATES: Wes got over his
"fears" very quickly,

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in less than a decade
after stepping onto

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the Tulsa stage,
he was a star.

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His breakout roles were fierce
Native American warriors,

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familiar stereotypes in
American popular culture.

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But Wes brought them
to life in a new way,

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and he went on to
portray characters in

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almost every genre,

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continually
expanding his range,

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and breaking down barriers
for Native performers.

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In 2021, this journey
came full circle when Wes

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took a role on
"Reservation Dogs,"

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the first television series
to feature all indigenous

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writers and a
largely indigenous cast.

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The series not only
proved to be a hit,

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it also gave Wes the
chance to see his impact

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00:10:51,900 --> 00:10:53,833
on a new generation.

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STUDI: It's kinda
heartwarming.

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00:10:55,233 --> 00:10:57,333
And it's also
very exciting.

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I'd like to think that
uh, my involvement over the,

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00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,133
my career has had an
influence for people to want

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00:11:04,133 --> 00:11:07,633
to do this and to say,
and to uh, give it a shot.

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GATES: Definitely.
STUDI: You know? Yeah so.

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GATES: They must
tell you that all the time.

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STUDI: Oh, I don't know.

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(laughs).

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STUDI: Okay,
but, uh, yeah.

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It, and to watch the excitement
of these young people,

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it's the kind of excitement
that I felt 30 years ago.

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GATES: Right.
STUDI: You know?

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GATES: That's a rush.

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STUDI: Yeah.
GATES: Yeah.

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STUDI: And, and you
can see it on their faces

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and their actions,
everything.

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And they're, yeah.

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GATES: And you deserve
a lot of the credit, man.

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00:11:33,033 --> 00:11:34,833
Uh, you've made
a difference in the

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00:11:34,833 --> 00:11:37,200
representation of
Native Americans in film,

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without a doubt.

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STUDI: Okay,
I can retire now.

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00:11:39,733 --> 00:11:42,200
(laughs).

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GATES: My two guests
have followed very different

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00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,366
paths to fame, but they
share something profound,

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both grew up knowing
little to nothing about

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00:11:53,366 --> 00:11:56,633
entire branches of
their family trees.

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It was time to
for that to change.

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I started with
LeVar Burton,

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00:12:05,133 --> 00:12:08,033
and with his mother,
Erma Gene Ward.

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00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,300
Erma raised her children
on her own after her divorce,

245
00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:16,266
a Herculean task.

246
00:12:16,266 --> 00:12:19,866
How did she compensate
for the absence of a father?

247
00:12:19,866 --> 00:12:21,300
'Cause she had to
be mother and father.

248
00:12:21,300 --> 00:12:23,366
BURTON: She had
to be both, right.

249
00:12:23,366 --> 00:12:28,566
um, not an uncommon story
in the Black community.

250
00:12:28,566 --> 00:12:31,166
Um, she did
the best she could.

251
00:12:31,166 --> 00:12:34,700
You know, put us all
through Catholic schools.

252
00:12:34,700 --> 00:12:35,766
GATES: Mm-hm.

253
00:12:35,766 --> 00:12:37,866
BURTON: Um, made sure
we had the education that

254
00:12:37,866 --> 00:12:39,166
we could hardly
afford, right?

255
00:12:39,166 --> 00:12:40,833
GATES: She's
an amazing person.

256
00:12:40,833 --> 00:12:42,633
BURTON: She was, she was.

257
00:12:42,633 --> 00:12:43,833
GATES: Did
she tell you much,

258
00:12:43,833 --> 00:12:46,000
you and your sisters,
about her roots?

259
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,066
BURTON: No!

260
00:12:47,066 --> 00:12:49,100
It was very difficult
to get stories of her

261
00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:50,566
upbringing out of her.

262
00:12:50,566 --> 00:12:51,600
Impossible.

263
00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:54,400
She never wanted to
share any of her history.

264
00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,266
GATES: Well, let's
see what we found out.

265
00:12:56,266 --> 00:12:57,933
BURTON: Okay.

266
00:12:58,133 --> 00:13:01,433
GATES: We don't know
why Erma was so reserved,

267
00:13:01,433 --> 00:13:04,000
but as we dug
into her family tree,

268
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,333
we uncovered a
story that she may

269
00:13:07,333 --> 00:13:09,733
have wanted to keep hidden.

270
00:13:09,733 --> 00:13:12,033
It begins with her
paternal grandmother,

271
00:13:12,033 --> 00:13:16,466
LeVar's great-grandmother,
a woman named Mary Sills.

272
00:13:17,733 --> 00:13:20,833
LeVar knew Mary
when he was a child.

273
00:13:20,833 --> 00:13:23,833
He says that he called
her "Granny" and he recalls

274
00:13:23,833 --> 00:13:27,066
being told that she had
Native American ancestry.

275
00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:32,833
But after
analyzing LeVar's DNA,

276
00:13:32,833 --> 00:13:37,000
we realized that Mary's roots
were much more complicated

277
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,333
than she could have imagined.

278
00:13:39,333 --> 00:13:41,933
And Mary's social
security application,

279
00:13:41,933 --> 00:13:44,633
filed in the year 1940,

280
00:13:44,633 --> 00:13:49,333
shows that she may not
have even known her own father.

281
00:13:49,333 --> 00:13:51,066
BURTON: "Name
Mary Sills Bradshaw.

282
00:13:51,066 --> 00:13:52,233
Age 48.

283
00:13:52,233 --> 00:13:54,200
Place of birth unknown,
North Carolina.

284
00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:55,900
Father's name,
Louis Sills.

285
00:13:55,900 --> 00:13:58,100
Mother's name,
Mary Jane Lee."

286
00:13:58,333 --> 00:14:01,066
GATES: That record gave us
the names of Mary's parents.

287
00:14:01,066 --> 00:14:02,600
Your great-great-grandparents.

288
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:03,733
BURTON: Okay.

289
00:14:03,733 --> 00:14:04,966
GATES: But here's where
things get interesting.

290
00:14:04,966 --> 00:14:08,700
According to our analysis
of your DNA, Louis Sills,

291
00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:11,266
the man listed here as
Mary Jane's husband was

292
00:14:11,266 --> 00:14:14,166
not the father of
your great-grandmother,

293
00:14:14,166 --> 00:14:16,300
Mary Sills.

294
00:14:16,300 --> 00:14:17,566
BURTON: Wow.

295
00:14:17,566 --> 00:14:19,966
GATES: So you never
heard anything about this?

296
00:14:19,966 --> 00:14:21,800
BURTON: No.

297
00:14:22,533 --> 00:14:25,833
GATES: LeVar's DNA shows
that he has no close

298
00:14:25,833 --> 00:14:29,133
genetic connection to
anyone in the publicly

299
00:14:29,133 --> 00:14:33,533
available DNA databases
who descends from Louis Sills.

300
00:14:34,833 --> 00:14:38,933
Instead, these same
databases contain multiple

301
00:14:38,933 --> 00:14:44,166
matches that link LeVar to
the descendants of a man named

302
00:14:44,166 --> 00:14:46,633
"James Henry Dixon."

303
00:14:47,033 --> 00:14:50,733
And as we built out the
family trees of these matches,

304
00:14:50,733 --> 00:14:54,600
we realized that James
was Mary's biological father.

305
00:14:55,500 --> 00:14:59,966
What's more, we soon saw
why this had been kept secret.

306
00:15:01,700 --> 00:15:05,733
BURTON: "Dixon, James H.,
head of household, white.

307
00:15:05,733 --> 00:15:06,700
Age 57.

308
00:15:06,700 --> 00:15:08,500
Occupation: Farmer.

309
00:15:08,500 --> 00:15:12,066
Lucy, wife, white, age 43.

310
00:15:12,066 --> 00:15:14,333
William, son, white.

311
00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:15,500
Age 22.

312
00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:18,900
William, son,
white, age 10.

313
00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:24,833
Will, granddaughter,
white, age two months."

314
00:15:24,833 --> 00:15:28,233
Wow.

315
00:15:29,066 --> 00:15:30,633
GATES: Mary's father was...

316
00:15:30,633 --> 00:15:31,866
BURTON: A white man.

317
00:15:31,866 --> 00:15:33,133
GATES: Married,
living with children,

318
00:15:33,133 --> 00:15:34,266
and he was a white man.

319
00:15:34,266 --> 00:15:35,933
BURTON: And she was the
other family on the side.

320
00:15:35,933 --> 00:15:37,566
GATES: There you go,
were you expecting that?

321
00:15:37,566 --> 00:15:40,866
Did you have any idea you
had a white direct ancestor?

322
00:15:40,866 --> 00:15:44,133
(laughing)

323
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:49,133
BURTON: No, no, I had no idea.

324
00:15:50,266 --> 00:15:52,033
So Granny was half white.

325
00:15:52,033 --> 00:15:53,633
GATES: Yeah, there you go.

326
00:15:53,633 --> 00:15:55,600
BURTON: Wow.

327
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:57,266
GATES: We don't know
anything about the nature

328
00:15:57,266 --> 00:16:00,666
of the relationship
between Mary's parents.

329
00:16:00,666 --> 00:16:03,500
There are simply
no records to guide us.

330
00:16:03,500 --> 00:16:06,033
But now that we'd
identified her father,

331
00:16:06,033 --> 00:16:08,400
we could research his life.

332
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,300
We discovered that
James was born in

333
00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:13,200
Edgecombe County,
North Carolina,

334
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,233
in 1847.

335
00:16:15,233 --> 00:16:17,366
Meaning that as a teenager,

336
00:16:17,366 --> 00:16:19,133
he faced a dilemma.

337
00:16:20,866 --> 00:16:24,300
In 1861, when
he was 14 years old,

338
00:16:24,300 --> 00:16:27,033
the American Civil War
broke out.

339
00:16:27,033 --> 00:16:30,433
Weeks later, his
native North Carolina

340
00:16:30,433 --> 00:16:33,300
joined the Confederacy.

341
00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:36,033
So let's see what he
did during the war.

342
00:16:36,033 --> 00:16:38,433
Would you turn the page?

343
00:16:38,633 --> 00:16:41,000
BURTON: I'm shaking.

344
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,133
GATES: LeVar, this is
a muster roll dated June 1864.

345
00:16:44,133 --> 00:16:46,366
Would you please read
the transcribed portion?

346
00:16:46,366 --> 00:16:49,533
BURTON: "Confederate
J. H. Dickerson, Private.

347
00:16:49,533 --> 00:16:51,600
Captain J. W. Granger's Company,

348
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,566
Reserve Force,
Junior Reserves,

349
00:16:53,566 --> 00:16:56,800
North Carolina,
enrolled April 5, 1864.

350
00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,833
Occupation, farmer."

351
00:16:59,833 --> 00:17:01,766
GATES: There's your
great-grandfather.

352
00:17:01,766 --> 00:17:04,166
His surname is
misspelled as Dickerson.

353
00:17:04,166 --> 00:17:05,166
BURTON: Right.

354
00:17:05,166 --> 00:17:06,400
GATES: But it wasn't,
it was Dixon.

355
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,033
He joined the
Junior Reserves of the

356
00:17:08,033 --> 00:17:11,933
Confederate Army
shortly after he turned 17.

357
00:17:11,933 --> 00:17:14,666
So you have an ancestor who
served with the Confederacy.

358
00:17:14,666 --> 00:17:16,533
(laughs)

359
00:17:16,533 --> 00:17:18,000
BURTON: Are
you kidding me?

360
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,066
GATES: No, that's true.

361
00:17:20,066 --> 00:17:23,600
BURTON: Oh my God,
oh my God.

362
00:17:24,633 --> 00:17:27,066
I did not see this coming.

363
00:17:27,066 --> 00:17:30,433
GATES: The Junior Reserves
were not a combat unit.

364
00:17:30,433 --> 00:17:33,766
They were primarily used
for guard duty to free up

365
00:17:33,766 --> 00:17:36,900
experienced soldiers
for the front lines.

366
00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:40,166
So we don't believe that
LeVar's ancestor saw battle.

367
00:17:40,166 --> 00:17:44,433
Regardless, the fact
remains that as a young man,

368
00:17:44,433 --> 00:17:47,433
James served
to protect slavery,

369
00:17:47,433 --> 00:17:49,133
but as an adult,

370
00:17:49,133 --> 00:17:52,866
he fathered a child with
an African American woman,

371
00:17:52,866 --> 00:17:55,266
who had been
born into slavery

372
00:17:55,266 --> 00:17:59,366
leaving LeVar to
ponder that paradox.

373
00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,133
BURTON: I often wonder
about white men of the period

374
00:18:03,133 --> 00:18:05,733
and how they justify
to themselves their relations

375
00:18:05,733 --> 00:18:08,266
with, with Black women,
especially those in

376
00:18:08,266 --> 00:18:10,166
an unbalanced
power dynamic.

377
00:18:10,166 --> 00:18:11,166
GATES: Mm-hmm.

378
00:18:11,166 --> 00:18:13,500
BURTON: There has to
be a powerful disconnect

379
00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:15,500
created emotionally
and mentally.

380
00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:16,733
GATES: Yeah.

381
00:18:16,733 --> 00:18:20,133
BURTON: So it's possible
in my mind that he could have

382
00:18:20,133 --> 00:18:26,200
contemplated it and, and
was conflicted at, at worst,

383
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,900
maybe repentant
at, at, at best.

384
00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:31,333
And then there's the
possibility that he didn't

385
00:18:31,333 --> 00:18:32,500
think about it at all.

386
00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:34,166
GATES: Right, and
we'll never know.

387
00:18:34,166 --> 00:18:35,133
BURTON: Yeah.

388
00:18:35,133 --> 00:18:36,133
GATES: They could
have been in love.

389
00:18:36,133 --> 00:18:37,100
BURTON: Right.

390
00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:38,533
GATES: It could've
been, could've been, uh,

391
00:18:38,533 --> 00:18:39,466
something terrible.

392
00:18:39,466 --> 00:18:40,366
We don't know.

393
00:18:40,366 --> 00:18:41,633
BURTON: Right.

394
00:18:41,633 --> 00:18:43,300
GATES: But there's one more
thing I want to share with you.

395
00:18:43,300 --> 00:18:45,400
(heavy sigh)

396
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:46,833
Would you please
turn the page?

397
00:18:46,833 --> 00:18:51,900
BURTON: Okay.

398
00:18:53,266 --> 00:18:55,800
Wow, that's him.

399
00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:56,933
GATES: You are
looking at your

400
00:18:56,933 --> 00:19:00,233
great-great-grandfather,
James Henry Dixon.

401
00:19:00,966 --> 00:19:03,066
It's difficult to
make out, but that's

402
00:19:03,066 --> 00:19:07,700
that is your biological
great-great-grandfather.

403
00:19:07,700 --> 00:19:13,500
BURTON: Now, I'd have
fought you five minutes ago

404
00:19:13,966 --> 00:19:15,466
if you told me that I had

405
00:19:15,466 --> 00:19:17,300
a white great-great-grandfather.

406
00:19:17,300 --> 00:19:18,266
GATES: You do.

407
00:19:18,266 --> 00:19:20,933
You can fight me,
but it's the truth,

408
00:19:21,666 --> 00:19:23,933
and ain't nothing
you can do about it.

409
00:19:23,933 --> 00:19:27,000
BURTON: What, Kunta?
GATES: Kunta.

410
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,966
BURTON: Got
white ancestry!

411
00:19:28,966 --> 00:19:30,266
GATES: That's right.
BURTON: What?

412
00:19:30,266 --> 00:19:31,266
GATES: Yeah.

413
00:19:31,266 --> 00:19:32,800
BURTON: Come on now, Skip.

414
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,266
GATES: You know,
you took two DNA tests.

415
00:19:35,266 --> 00:19:38,900
The two major commercial DNA
tests almost never have tested

416
00:19:38,900 --> 00:19:42,633
an African American who
was 100% sub-Saharan African.

417
00:19:42,633 --> 00:19:43,733
BURTON: Wow.

418
00:19:43,733 --> 00:19:44,666
GATES: We all have
white ancestors.

419
00:19:44,666 --> 00:19:45,833
BURTON: But this is close!

420
00:19:45,833 --> 00:19:47,766
GATES: That's right, but
this is close and by name.

421
00:19:47,766 --> 00:19:50,766
(sighs).

422
00:19:51,700 --> 00:19:53,400
GATES: LeVar's
great-great-grandfather

423
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,066
died in 1906.

424
00:19:56,066 --> 00:20:00,333
Our research shows that he
had at least nine children

425
00:20:00,333 --> 00:20:03,066
and more than
40 grandchildren.

426
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:07,366
Meaning that LeVar has an
extensive network of white

427
00:20:07,366 --> 00:20:11,066
cousins whose roots
stretch back centuries

428
00:20:11,066 --> 00:20:12,933
in the American South.

429
00:20:13,533 --> 00:20:17,166
BURTON: This is
insanely surprising.

430
00:20:17,166 --> 00:20:18,933
I mean.

431
00:20:18,933 --> 00:20:21,300
GATES: How does
it make you feel?

432
00:20:21,300 --> 00:20:22,800
(sighs)

433
00:20:24,300 --> 00:20:27,066
Confederates in the family.

434
00:20:27,066 --> 00:20:28,533
BURTON: Well, I, there's,
there's, there's some

435
00:20:28,533 --> 00:20:30,433
conflict roiling
inside of me right now,

436
00:20:30,433 --> 00:20:36,766
but it, it, it
also, oddly enough,

437
00:20:36,766 --> 00:20:43,633
I feel, I, I feel
a pathway opening up.

438
00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:46,733
I have wanted
for a long time,

439
00:20:46,733 --> 00:20:49,900
knowing what I know about
the history of this nation,

440
00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:51,233
I've wanted,

441
00:20:51,233 --> 00:20:54,900
especially in this current
timeframe and this now moment,

442
00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:55,833
GATES: Mm-hmm.

443
00:20:55,833 --> 00:20:57,633
BURTON: I believe
that as Americans,

444
00:20:57,633 --> 00:21:00,900
we need to have this
conversation about who we

445
00:21:00,900 --> 00:21:02,533
are and how we got here.

446
00:21:02,533 --> 00:21:03,666
GATES: Mm-hmm.

447
00:21:03,666 --> 00:21:05,833
BURTON: But yet I see
that we're so polarized

448
00:21:05,833 --> 00:21:09,766
politically and racially.

449
00:21:09,766 --> 00:21:10,866
GATES: Right, we're
not talking to each other.

450
00:21:10,866 --> 00:21:12,233
BURTON: We're not
talking to each other.

451
00:21:12,233 --> 00:21:13,966
GATES: Mm-hm.

452
00:21:13,966 --> 00:21:16,400
BURTON: And so I've been
looking for an entry point

453
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:17,866
to talk to white America.

454
00:21:17,866 --> 00:21:19,700
GATES: Mm-hmm.

455
00:21:19,700 --> 00:21:21,300
Well, that
door just opened.

456
00:21:21,300 --> 00:21:22,900
BURTON: Here it is,
here it is.

457
00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:24,000
GATES: Yeah.

458
00:21:24,566 --> 00:21:27,733
Much like LeVar,
Wes Studi was about to

459
00:21:27,733 --> 00:21:32,800
discover an entirely new
branch of his family tree.

460
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,500
But his story
begins closer to home.

461
00:21:36,633 --> 00:21:39,266
Wes grew up not
knowing the identity of his

462
00:21:39,266 --> 00:21:41,533
biological father,

463
00:21:41,533 --> 00:21:44,533
a mystery that
shaped his childhood.

464
00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:48,766
STUDI: In the '50s and
'60s, being illegitimate

465
00:21:48,766 --> 00:21:50,133
was a big deal.

466
00:21:50,133 --> 00:21:51,133
GATES: Mm-hmm.

467
00:21:51,133 --> 00:21:52,500
STUDI: Uh, not on the,
uh, positive side.

468
00:21:52,500 --> 00:21:53,566
GATES: Nope.

469
00:21:53,566 --> 00:21:56,866
STUDI: Um, and, uh,
I was teased about that.

470
00:21:56,866 --> 00:22:00,266
Uh, you know, I'd say
things like, uh, you know,

471
00:22:00,266 --> 00:22:01,266
"I don't have a dad."

472
00:22:01,266 --> 00:22:02,433
GATES: Mm-hmm.

473
00:22:02,433 --> 00:22:05,500
STUDI: And, uh, the kids
would say, "Ew," you know?

474
00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:08,300
Just, um, not cool.

475
00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:09,933
GATES: Yeah, what did
your mother tell you about

476
00:22:09,933 --> 00:22:12,966
who was your father?

477
00:22:12,966 --> 00:22:16,333
STUDI: She gave me
a name and she said,

478
00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:18,933
"It's on your
birth certificate."

479
00:22:18,933 --> 00:22:24,166
STUDI: And, uh,
that's about it.

480
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,000
GATES: The name on
Wes's birth certificate

481
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,166
was "Eugene Philpott,"

482
00:22:31,166 --> 00:22:35,300
a man who was roughly the
same age as Wes's mother,

483
00:22:35,300 --> 00:22:38,966
and who had been raised near
her in the Cherokee Nation.

484
00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:42,966
Wes grew up
believing that Eugene was

485
00:22:42,966 --> 00:22:45,433
his biological father,

486
00:22:45,433 --> 00:22:48,366
but when he sought
him out as a young adult,

487
00:22:48,366 --> 00:22:53,433
the response he received
was not what he'd expected.

488
00:22:53,433 --> 00:22:57,800
STUDI: He was at a, a, a
little café there having coffee.

489
00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:02,666
I walked in and, uh,
I don't know if we had

490
00:23:02,666 --> 00:23:05,500
arranged this or not,
but in any case, uh,

491
00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:09,133
sat down with him and
he just immediately said,

492
00:23:09,133 --> 00:23:13,100
"I know what you're going
to ask me, but no, I'm not."

493
00:23:13,500 --> 00:23:15,233
GATES: Huh.

494
00:23:15,233 --> 00:23:17,866
STUDI: And we
left it at that.

495
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,066
GATES: And you just
get up and walk away?

496
00:23:20,066 --> 00:23:21,300
STUDI: Yeah.

497
00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:22,800
GATES: Well, how did
he know that you thought

498
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:24,233
he was your, your father?

499
00:23:24,233 --> 00:23:26,800
STUDI: Uh, maybe I said
something to him before.

500
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:27,700
GATES: Okay.

501
00:23:27,700 --> 00:23:28,700
STUDI: Maybe I said, uh,

502
00:23:28,700 --> 00:23:29,766
"I think you're on
my birth certificate,"

503
00:23:29,766 --> 00:23:30,666
or something like that.

504
00:23:30,666 --> 00:23:31,833
Or, "My mom said."

505
00:23:31,833 --> 00:23:32,966
GATES: Mm-hmm.
STUDI: Uh-huh.

506
00:23:32,966 --> 00:23:35,733
"That you're on my, uh,
uh, birth certificate."

507
00:23:35,733 --> 00:23:37,766
He said,
"Yep, I know that.

508
00:23:37,766 --> 00:23:39,700
But I, but it's not true."

509
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:41,300
To, something
to that effect.

510
00:23:41,300 --> 00:23:42,333
GATES: Huh, did you...

511
00:23:42,333 --> 00:23:43,533
STUDI: He denied,
he denied me, yes.

512
00:23:43,533 --> 00:23:45,200
GATES: Did you put,
follow it up at all or just?

513
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:46,600
STUDI: No.
GATES: You let it go?

514
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:47,600
STUDI: Yeah.

515
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:48,766
GATES: Well, that
must've been painful.

516
00:23:48,766 --> 00:23:53,300
STUDI: No, actually, it
was, uh, uh, I saw him and

517
00:23:53,300 --> 00:23:54,433
I said to myself,

518
00:23:54,433 --> 00:23:56,066
"I don't want to look
like this son-of-a-bitch."

519
00:23:56,066 --> 00:23:58,600
(laughs).

520
00:23:59,266 --> 00:24:00,633
GATES: As it turns out,

521
00:24:00,633 --> 00:24:04,700
Wes' feelings were based
on more than his instincts,

522
00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:08,300
Eugene Philpott
is not his father.

523
00:24:08,300 --> 00:24:11,066
The two men have no
significant matches in

524
00:24:11,066 --> 00:24:14,166
the publicly
available DNA databases.

525
00:24:14,766 --> 00:24:18,133
But this is where our
research got complicated.

526
00:24:18,133 --> 00:24:22,766
Wes' DNA links him to
the descendants of a couple

527
00:24:22,766 --> 00:24:26,100
named Jesse and Katie Blair,

528
00:24:26,100 --> 00:24:28,900
they're Wes'
paternal grandparents,

529
00:24:28,900 --> 00:24:33,833
meaning that one of their
sons is Wes' biological father.

530
00:24:34,133 --> 00:24:36,033
But although
they had two sons,

531
00:24:36,033 --> 00:24:37,933
who were the right
age to have conceived

532
00:24:37,933 --> 00:24:42,333
a child with Wes' mother,
there just wasn't enough

533
00:24:42,333 --> 00:24:45,266
DNA evidence to
distinguish between them.

534
00:24:45,966 --> 00:24:48,766
So rather than
identify his father,

535
00:24:48,766 --> 00:24:51,666
we presented Wes
with two candidates.

536
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,866
GATES: You're looking
at Jess and Bobby Blair.

537
00:24:54,866 --> 00:24:58,133
Jess is on your left
and Bobby is on your right.

538
00:24:58,666 --> 00:25:01,900
The photo of Jess was
likely taken when he was

539
00:25:01,900 --> 00:25:03,800
about 19 years old.

540
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,866
The photo of Bobby,
on your right, was likely

541
00:25:05,866 --> 00:25:09,633
taken when he was
in his 70s or his 80s.

542
00:25:09,866 --> 00:25:11,966
You are looking at
your biological father.

543
00:25:11,966 --> 00:25:14,866
We just don't
know which one it is.

544
00:25:14,866 --> 00:25:18,233
But one of these men,
beyond the shadow of a doubt,

545
00:25:18,233 --> 00:25:20,433
is your father.

546
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,033
Do you see a resemblance?

547
00:25:26,333 --> 00:25:32,933
STUDI: Uh,

548
00:25:41,166 --> 00:25:44,266
maybe the eyebrows?

549
00:25:44,266 --> 00:25:46,900
Um, how old
is this guy?

550
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,600
GATES: Um, Jess was,
he was 19 in 1943.

551
00:25:52,166 --> 00:25:53,366
STUDI: '43.

552
00:25:53,366 --> 00:25:54,966
GATES: Yeah, during the
mid, so, the middle of

553
00:25:54,966 --> 00:25:56,733
World War II.

554
00:25:56,733 --> 00:26:00,766
STUDI: Oh, he
has huge ears.

555
00:26:01,033 --> 00:26:04,033
GATES: Is that
a family trait?

556
00:26:04,033 --> 00:26:07,200
STUDI: I dunno.

557
00:26:07,466 --> 00:26:09,766
(laughs).

558
00:26:10,100 --> 00:26:12,133
GATES: What's it like to
put names and faces to the

559
00:26:12,133 --> 00:26:15,233
secret that's been hidden
from you for your whole life?

560
00:26:16,033 --> 00:26:21,900
STUDI: Uh, in a way
I'm dumbfounded by the,

561
00:26:21,900 --> 00:26:23,933
I mean, I
asked the question.

562
00:26:23,933 --> 00:26:25,100
GATES: Yeah.

563
00:26:25,100 --> 00:26:28,633
STUDI: Got the answer int,
and now I'm dumbfounded.

564
00:26:28,633 --> 00:26:29,700
I mean, uh.

565
00:26:29,700 --> 00:26:31,433
Without, without
words really.

566
00:26:31,433 --> 00:26:34,666
GATES: But that's normal.

567
00:26:34,666 --> 00:26:37,000
STUDI: Hmm.

568
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:40,333
GATES: Although Wes
did not recognize them,

569
00:26:40,333 --> 00:26:42,500
he may well have
seen the Blair brothers

570
00:26:42,500 --> 00:26:44,500
during his childhood,

571
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:46,366
Bobby and Jess
were both born in the

572
00:26:46,366 --> 00:26:48,766
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma

573
00:26:48,766 --> 00:26:51,366
and spent much
of their lives there.

574
00:26:51,366 --> 00:26:54,266
Sadly, both
men are deceased,

575
00:26:54,266 --> 00:26:56,766
so a reunion is impossible.

576
00:26:58,433 --> 00:27:01,266
What's it like to learn this?

577
00:27:01,566 --> 00:27:06,400
STUDI: Uh,

578
00:27:06,766 --> 00:27:14,500
well, in one way
it's kind of, uh, uh,

579
00:27:15,100 --> 00:27:20,900
disappointing and, um, uh,
another way it's, uh, uh,

580
00:27:21,533 --> 00:27:25,366
kind of, uh, a relief.

581
00:27:25,366 --> 00:27:27,133
GATES: Mm-hmm.

582
00:27:27,433 --> 00:27:30,866
STUDI: Um, least I know
they were human, right?

583
00:27:31,233 --> 00:27:32,566
GATES: Well, you
know they were human

584
00:27:32,566 --> 00:27:34,166
and you know their names.

585
00:27:34,166 --> 00:27:36,600
And you know the names
of your grandparents.

586
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,200
STUDI: Yeah, a
whole side of a family,

587
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:39,833
a, a whole, yeah, a whole.

588
00:27:39,833 --> 00:27:41,100
GATES: Just opened up.

589
00:27:41,100 --> 00:27:43,000
STUDI: Hmm.

590
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,833
GATES: We now turned our
focus to the Blair family,

591
00:27:45,833 --> 00:27:49,066
and encountered
some tortured history.

592
00:27:49,333 --> 00:27:53,566
Wes' direct paternal line
traces back to George Blair,

593
00:27:54,133 --> 00:27:58,333
a half-Cherokee farmer who
owned enslaved me and women

594
00:27:58,333 --> 00:28:00,433
in North Carolina,

595
00:28:00,433 --> 00:28:03,233
and then to
George's father,

596
00:28:03,233 --> 00:28:05,566
Wes's third
great-grandfather,

597
00:28:05,566 --> 00:28:08,533
a man named James Blair.

598
00:28:09,433 --> 00:28:13,366
James was born
in Virginia in 1761,

599
00:28:13,766 --> 00:28:16,633
the child of white settlers.

600
00:28:16,633 --> 00:28:20,466
As a young man, during
the Revolutionary War

601
00:28:20,466 --> 00:28:24,300
James led troops
against the Cherokee Nation

602
00:28:24,533 --> 00:28:28,133
then later had a child
with a Cherokee woman.

603
00:28:29,333 --> 00:28:30,600
So what's it like to
learn that you descend

604
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,000
from a white man who
was actively involved

605
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,533
in killing the
Cherokee people?

606
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:53,400
STUDI: Uh, well it's
not pleasant but, uh,

607
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,966
you know, you have
to accept what is.

608
00:28:55,966 --> 00:29:00,066
Um, uh, uh, uh,
on the other hand,

609
00:29:00,066 --> 00:29:03,400
I'm married to
a settler woman, right?

610
00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:04,800
GATES: Mm-hmm, yeah.

611
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:09,866
STUDI: So, wow, uh, I think
I'll take about a week off

612
00:29:09,866 --> 00:29:11,400
or something, right?

613
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:12,633
GATES: Yeah.
STUDI: Yeah.

614
00:29:12,633 --> 00:29:13,900
GATES: And you got
a lot to think about.

615
00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:16,166
STUDI: Hmm, yeah.

616
00:29:17,466 --> 00:29:20,066
GATES: We had one more
story to share regarding

617
00:29:20,066 --> 00:29:23,800
Wes's newfound ancestors,
a far happier one.

618
00:29:25,100 --> 00:29:28,533
Following a different branch
of the Blair family tree,

619
00:29:28,533 --> 00:29:31,966
we came to Wes's
sixth great-grandmother,

620
00:29:31,966 --> 00:29:34,833
a woman named Nanye'hi.

621
00:29:35,633 --> 00:29:39,500
Nanye'hi is a beloved
figure in Cherokee history,

622
00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:42,900
celebrated as both a
warrior and a stateswoman,

623
00:29:43,766 --> 00:29:45,533
and Wes was delighted

624
00:29:45,533 --> 00:29:47,733
to discover their connection.

625
00:29:48,533 --> 00:29:49,633
GATES: Isn't that amazing?

626
00:29:49,633 --> 00:29:52,966
STUDI: I had no idea.
GATES: She was grandma.

627
00:29:52,966 --> 00:29:54,466
STUDI: Sixth grandmother.

628
00:29:54,466 --> 00:29:56,033
GATES: Yes.

629
00:29:56,033 --> 00:29:58,000
Great, great,
great, great, great,

630
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,000
great grandmother, direct.

631
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:00,833
STUDI: Yeah.

632
00:30:00,833 --> 00:30:02,000
GATES: You have
DNA from her.

633
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,066
STUDI: Yeah, huh, well
that's a pleasant surprise.

634
00:30:03,066 --> 00:30:05,233
GATES: How about, how,
how about that?

635
00:30:05,233 --> 00:30:06,233
STUDI: Yeah.

636
00:30:06,433 --> 00:30:10,200
GATES: Nanye'hi was
born in the late 1730s.

637
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,633
As a teenager, she
was given the title of

638
00:30:12,633 --> 00:30:16,866
"War Woman" for picking
up her dead husband's rifle

639
00:30:16,866 --> 00:30:21,166
and leading the Cherokee to a
victory over the Creek Nation.

640
00:30:21,766 --> 00:30:25,333
This title gave her a
powerful political role within

641
00:30:25,333 --> 00:30:29,233
her tribe and Nanye'hi
made the most it of it,

642
00:30:29,233 --> 00:30:31,733
eventually leading
negotiations with the

643
00:30:31,733 --> 00:30:34,033
United States
government in the hopes

644
00:30:34,033 --> 00:30:36,800
of retaining
her people's land.

645
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,833
Her efforts were futile,

646
00:30:38,833 --> 00:30:43,466
but she left behind a remarkable
testament to her vision.

647
00:30:44,066 --> 00:30:46,366
STUDI: "We know the
white people are more

648
00:30:46,366 --> 00:30:48,766
and stronger than us.

649
00:30:48,766 --> 00:30:51,233
But will you
take everything from us

650
00:30:51,233 --> 00:30:53,300
and let us starve?

651
00:30:53,300 --> 00:30:58,233
We did never concern
in the former treaty,

652
00:30:58,233 --> 00:31:02,733
which has been broken,
but we do in this.

653
00:31:02,733 --> 00:31:06,866
You know women are always
looked upon as nothing.

654
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:12,200
But we are your mothers,
you are our sons.

655
00:31:13,766 --> 00:31:17,666
Our cry is all for peace.

656
00:31:18,433 --> 00:31:23,366
Let it continue because
we are your mothers."

657
00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:26,433
GATES: Those are your
sixth great-grandma's

658
00:31:26,433 --> 00:31:28,033
actual words.

659
00:31:28,033 --> 00:31:29,766
STUDI: She could speak.
GATES: She could speak.

660
00:31:29,766 --> 00:31:32,100
Throughout her life,
Nanye'hi worked towards peace

661
00:31:32,100 --> 00:31:34,333
between her people
and the Americans.

662
00:31:34,333 --> 00:31:37,266
Urging both sides to see
themselves as one people in

663
00:31:37,266 --> 00:31:40,166
the land that they
now inevitably shared,

664
00:31:40,166 --> 00:31:41,666
would share forever.

665
00:31:41,666 --> 00:31:44,233
But she consistently insisted
that the Cherokee people

666
00:31:44,233 --> 00:31:47,066
had a right to
their own homelands.

667
00:31:47,066 --> 00:31:50,200
And their challenge to
white land hunger grew

668
00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:52,933
within increased pressure
on Cherokee territories.

669
00:31:52,933 --> 00:31:56,800
She died sometime
between 1822 and 1824

670
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,466
in present-day
Benton, Tennessee.

671
00:31:59,466 --> 00:32:00,766
STUDI: Hmm.

672
00:32:00,766 --> 00:32:04,366
GATES: Wes you have a lot
of information to process.

673
00:32:04,366 --> 00:32:08,600
STUDI: And, uh,
some influential people

674
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:09,966
in my background.

675
00:32:09,966 --> 00:32:11,266
GATES: What does it mean
to you to be descended

676
00:32:11,266 --> 00:32:13,300
from her in particular?

677
00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:16,533
I mean this woman
was a major hero.

678
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:18,866
STUDI: Well, it's
illuminating, and, and,

679
00:32:18,866 --> 00:32:23,733
and I think, uh, what it
really makes me think of

680
00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:26,333
is how tough
our women were,

681
00:32:26,333 --> 00:32:28,366
and everybody's afraid
of women more than they

682
00:32:28,366 --> 00:32:29,700
were afraid of the men.

683
00:32:29,700 --> 00:32:31,033
STUDI: You know?
GATES: Uh-huh.

684
00:32:31,033 --> 00:32:32,566
STUDI: And that's
the kind of world that

685
00:32:32,566 --> 00:32:34,833
I was born into, you know?

686
00:32:34,833 --> 00:32:36,533
Uh.

687
00:32:36,533 --> 00:32:38,033
GATES: A world
of tough women.

688
00:32:38,033 --> 00:32:39,066
STUDI: Yeah.
GATES: Yeah.

689
00:32:39,066 --> 00:32:42,200
STUDI: Yeah, ones
that could outwork men.

690
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:43,333
GATES: Right.

691
00:32:43,333 --> 00:32:47,633
STUDI: So, um, uh, it's
all thought provoking

692
00:32:47,633 --> 00:32:48,866
to say the least.

693
00:32:48,866 --> 00:32:50,866
GATES: It is.
STUDI: Right, uh.

694
00:32:51,900 --> 00:32:53,733
GATES: Turning
back to LeVar Burton,

695
00:32:53,733 --> 00:32:57,033
we shifted from his
mother's roots to his father's,

696
00:32:57,033 --> 00:32:59,233
where we confronted
a blank slate.

697
00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:03,533
LeVar's father essentially
disappeared when LeVar was

698
00:33:03,533 --> 00:33:06,100
11 years old
and the two men have had

699
00:33:06,100 --> 00:33:09,300
very limited
contact ever since.

700
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:11,400
As a result,

701
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,666
LeVar knows almost nothing
about the Burton side

702
00:33:14,666 --> 00:33:16,766
of his family tree.

703
00:33:16,766 --> 00:33:20,866
So we set out to change that
and we discovered that father

704
00:33:20,866 --> 00:33:24,766
and son actually have
a great deal in common.

705
00:33:25,733 --> 00:33:28,900
The story begins in
Cherry Valley, Arkansas

706
00:33:29,633 --> 00:33:34,566
where LeVar's father was
born in 1934, his parents,

707
00:33:34,566 --> 00:33:39,666
LeVar's grandparents, were
Versie Bowdry and Aaron Burton,

708
00:33:39,933 --> 00:33:43,433
and they seem to have had
a tumultuous relationship.

709
00:33:44,233 --> 00:33:48,166
In fact, census
records show that by 1940,

710
00:33:48,166 --> 00:33:51,466
Aaron was married
to another woman.

711
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:53,200
BURTON: Wow.

712
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:54,800
GATES: So you'd never heard
anything at all about this?

713
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:55,933
BURTON: No, no, no.

714
00:33:55,933 --> 00:33:57,100
GATES: You didn't even
know these people existed?

715
00:33:57,100 --> 00:34:00,600
BURTON: No, no I, I, I
think the name Aaron Burton

716
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:01,866
I've, I've heard before,

717
00:34:01,866 --> 00:34:05,433
but I had no real concept of
where he was in the lineage.

718
00:34:05,666 --> 00:34:07,333
GATES: Well, we assume that
your grandparents divorced,

719
00:34:07,333 --> 00:34:09,766
but we didn't
find a record of that,

720
00:34:09,766 --> 00:34:10,700
so we don't know.

721
00:34:10,700 --> 00:34:11,800
BURTON: Sure, yeah.

722
00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:12,433
GATES: But your father
was five years old when

723
00:34:12,433 --> 00:34:13,633
that census was taken.

724
00:34:13,633 --> 00:34:14,500
BURTON: Yeah.

725
00:34:14,500 --> 00:34:15,633
GATES: There you go.
BURTON: Wow.

726
00:34:15,633 --> 00:34:17,366
GATES: Your parents
divorced when you were 11.

727
00:34:17,366 --> 00:34:18,466
BURTON: Yes.

728
00:34:18,466 --> 00:34:19,333
GATES: What's it like
to see that happen with

729
00:34:19,333 --> 00:34:21,200
your father's parents?

730
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:22,366
BURTON: The cycles
do repeat themselves,

731
00:34:22,366 --> 00:34:23,200
don't they?

732
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:24,266
GATES: Cycles do repeat, yeah.

733
00:34:24,266 --> 00:34:26,133
BURTON: Wow.

734
00:34:26,866 --> 00:34:29,400
GATES: This was not the
only "cycle" that repeated

735
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:33,466
down through the branches
of the Burton family tree,

736
00:34:33,466 --> 00:34:37,166
indeed the 1940 census
for Arkansas shows that

737
00:34:37,166 --> 00:34:42,733
LeVar and his father's ancestors
share something truly profound.

738
00:34:43,333 --> 00:34:44,766
BURTON: "Aaron C. Burton,

739
00:34:44,766 --> 00:34:47,066
head of household,
Negro, age 27,

740
00:34:47,066 --> 00:34:48,500
born in Arkansas.

741
00:34:48,500 --> 00:34:52,433
Occupation school
superintendent,

742
00:34:52,433 --> 00:34:53,600
grammar school.

743
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:55,133
Salary $350."

744
00:34:55,133 --> 00:34:56,200
GATES: Yep.

745
00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:58,833
BURTON: "Evelyn Burton,
wife, Negro, age 28.

746
00:34:58,833 --> 00:35:00,900
Pearl B. Burton,

747
00:35:00,900 --> 00:35:03,333
father, Negro aged 60,

748
00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:04,433
birthplace Arkansas.

749
00:35:04,433 --> 00:35:06,300
Occupation school
superintendent,

750
00:35:06,300 --> 00:35:08,233
junior high."

751
00:35:08,233 --> 00:35:10,000
GATES: So you just met
your great-grandfather.

752
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:10,933
BURTON: Pearl.

753
00:35:10,933 --> 00:35:13,666
GATES: Yeah,
Pearl B. Burton.

754
00:35:13,666 --> 00:35:17,966
And he and your grandfather
worked in education.

755
00:35:17,966 --> 00:35:19,500
BURTON: Both school
superintendents.

756
00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:22,000
GATES: Both, father and son,
school superintendents.

757
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,400
BURTON: One for
grammar school and

758
00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:26,000
another for, and the
other for junior high school.

759
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,066
GATES: How's that
make you feel?

760
00:35:27,066 --> 00:35:29,233
BURTON: It fills me with
great pride that I have

761
00:35:29,233 --> 00:35:31,800
inherited this
mantle of educator.

762
00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:32,666
GATES: Yeah.

763
00:35:32,666 --> 00:35:33,666
BURTON: Really honestly.

764
00:35:33,666 --> 00:35:36,400
GATES: You come from
educators on both sides.

765
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,266
(crying)

766
00:35:39,266 --> 00:35:42,800
BURTON: That's very cool,
I'm very proud of that.

767
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,400
GATES: You just opened
a door and the whole room

768
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:47,866
was on the other
side of the wall.

769
00:35:47,866 --> 00:35:49,800
BURTON: Yeah, no
kidding, no kidding.

770
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:51,733
My reality has shifted.

771
00:35:51,733 --> 00:35:52,833
GATES: Yeah,

772
00:35:52,833 --> 00:35:54,133
'cause you thought all
of these attributes you

773
00:35:54,133 --> 00:35:55,100
got from your mom.

774
00:35:55,100 --> 00:35:56,100
BURTON: From my mom.

775
00:35:56,100 --> 00:35:59,266
GATES: Yeah.
BURTON: That's deep.

776
00:36:00,566 --> 00:36:03,100
GATES: Records show that
LeVar's great-grandfather

777
00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:07,600
Pearl spent almost his
entire adult life working

778
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,600
in schools, he was
even the principal

779
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:13,200
and co-founder
of a public school for

780
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,400
African American children
in Osceola, Arkansas,

781
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,800
an institution that he
helped open at a time when

782
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,833
roughly 20% of his
state's Black population

783
00:36:24,833 --> 00:36:27,500
was illiterate.

784
00:36:29,366 --> 00:36:30,566
BURTON: I had no idea.

785
00:36:30,566 --> 00:36:35,266
GATES: No.
BURTON: I'm just.

786
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:37,400
GATES: You inherited
from this invisible

787
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:39,333
presence in your life.

788
00:36:39,333 --> 00:36:41,500
A guy who
disappears when you're 11,

789
00:36:41,500 --> 00:36:45,633
but all of that educational
heritage came with him.

790
00:36:45,633 --> 00:36:47,133
BURTON: Came with him.

791
00:36:47,133 --> 00:36:49,433
GATES: Yeah, he left,
but it didn't.

792
00:36:49,433 --> 00:36:51,300
BURTON: It didn't.

793
00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:52,466
GATES: Isn't that
extraordinary?

794
00:36:52,466 --> 00:36:54,166
BURTON: I'm ecstatic.

795
00:36:54,166 --> 00:36:58,700
I can't even
explain how it feels

796
00:36:58,700 --> 00:37:00,866
to get this information.

797
00:37:00,866 --> 00:37:05,066
It's like there
have been pieces of me

798
00:37:05,066 --> 00:37:06,400
that have been missing.

799
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,333
They've always been
out there somewhere.

800
00:37:09,333 --> 00:37:12,266
But you know, Black people,
we don't share family stories.

801
00:37:12,266 --> 00:37:13,500
GATES: No.

802
00:37:13,500 --> 00:37:14,800
BURTON: We're
really hesitant.

803
00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,700
I, I, I couldn't pry
information out of my mother.

804
00:37:18,700 --> 00:37:19,900
GATES: Mm-hmm.

805
00:37:19,900 --> 00:37:23,100
BURTON: She was always so
insistent that we not know

806
00:37:23,100 --> 00:37:24,600
about the trials
and tribulations that

807
00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:25,733
she went through.

808
00:37:25,733 --> 00:37:27,166
GATES: Of course, she
was trying to protect you.

809
00:37:27,166 --> 00:37:28,500
BURTON: She was
trying to protect us.

810
00:37:28,500 --> 00:37:29,600
Yes, of course.

811
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:32,266
But it leaves us in
the dark about who we are.

812
00:37:32,266 --> 00:37:33,300
GATES: Yeah, it does.

813
00:37:33,300 --> 00:37:34,700
BURTON: This information
is stuff that we need

814
00:37:34,700 --> 00:37:36,166
in order to feel whole.

815
00:37:36,166 --> 00:37:38,566
GATES: It does,
you do need it.

816
00:37:38,566 --> 00:37:40,966
BURTON: Whew.

817
00:37:40,966 --> 00:37:43,666
This is gonna,
reverberate for awhile.

818
00:37:43,666 --> 00:37:45,033
GATES: Hey,
of course, forever.

819
00:37:45,033 --> 00:37:48,100
BURTON: It's so powerful.
GATES: Yeah.

820
00:37:48,500 --> 00:37:51,733
This story was
about to take a twist.

821
00:37:51,733 --> 00:37:54,733
Seeking to learn more
about Pearl Burton,

822
00:37:54,733 --> 00:37:57,066
we turned back
to the paper trail,

823
00:37:57,066 --> 00:37:59,800
where we discovered
that his father,

824
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:04,333
a man named Hal Burton,
had a very complicated life.

825
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:08,800
BURTON: "Hal Burton,
colored, is a gay lothario,

826
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,233
has caused the
hearts of many jealous

827
00:38:11,233 --> 00:38:13,100
husbands to beat with
anguish on account of

828
00:38:13,100 --> 00:38:16,433
attentions shown
their wives by Hal.

829
00:38:16,433 --> 00:38:21,100
Last night, Hal and the
wife of one of John Williams

830
00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:23,666
were taking a promenade
in the West End when they

831
00:38:23,666 --> 00:38:26,066
were discovered
by the irate husband,

832
00:38:26,066 --> 00:38:28,766
and he seized a club
and proceeded to give

833
00:38:28,766 --> 00:38:30,766
Burton a beating.

834
00:38:30,766 --> 00:38:33,100
Both parties were arrested
and will be fined for

835
00:38:33,100 --> 00:38:34,600
the disturbance raised."

836
00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:37,766
God, dog!

837
00:38:39,533 --> 00:38:41,533
So the dog is
inherited, too.

838
00:38:41,533 --> 00:38:44,300
GATES: Papa was
a rolling stone.

839
00:38:44,300 --> 00:38:47,333
BURTON: "A gay lothario,"
in the vernacular of the day.

840
00:38:48,966 --> 00:38:51,766
GATES: Isn't that amazing?

841
00:38:51,766 --> 00:38:53,233
I mean, my
daddy would say,

842
00:38:53,233 --> 00:38:54,900
"Well, he came
by it naturally."

843
00:38:54,900 --> 00:38:56,900
BURTON: He came
by it naturally.

844
00:38:56,900 --> 00:38:57,966
GATES: Your
great-great-grandfather

845
00:38:57,966 --> 00:38:59,666
had a reputation
as a ladies' man.

846
00:38:59,666 --> 00:39:01,033
What's it like
to learn that?

847
00:39:01,033 --> 00:39:03,100
Could you ever
have imagined?

848
00:39:03,100 --> 00:39:04,333
I mean, you can't make
this stuff up, right?

849
00:39:04,333 --> 00:39:07,066
BURTON: No, you cannot,
no, you cannot.

850
00:39:08,466 --> 00:39:11,433
GATES: There was one more
detail to share with LeVar,

851
00:39:11,433 --> 00:39:14,766
another facet of
Hal Burton that was almost

852
00:39:14,766 --> 00:39:17,800
impossible to believe.

853
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:23,733
In 1867, just two years
after the end of the Civil War,

854
00:39:23,733 --> 00:39:27,000
the Reconstruction Acts
gave African American men

855
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,833
in the occupied
former Confederate states

856
00:39:30,833 --> 00:39:32,933
the right to vote.

857
00:39:32,933 --> 00:39:36,433
Just one year later,
Black men were elected

858
00:39:36,433 --> 00:39:41,833
to state office in Arkansas
for the very first time.

859
00:39:41,833 --> 00:39:44,533
It was the beginning of
a wave of Black political

860
00:39:44,533 --> 00:39:48,666
representation and LeVar's
ancestor was a part of it.

861
00:39:48,666 --> 00:39:52,133
In 1886 he became
a representative in

862
00:39:52,133 --> 00:39:55,233
the Arkansas General Assembly.

863
00:39:56,966 --> 00:39:59,800
BURTON: He was one
of those Negro politicians.

864
00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:01,066
GATES: That's right.

865
00:40:01,066 --> 00:40:01,933
BURTON: During
Reconstruction.

866
00:40:01,933 --> 00:40:02,866
GATES: Yeah, great.

867
00:40:02,866 --> 00:40:04,200
BURTON: That was
elected into office.

868
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:06,500
He was, he was, in
spite of his phila,

869
00:40:06,500 --> 00:40:07,833
his philandering,

870
00:40:07,833 --> 00:40:09,833
he was popular enough to
get elected to public office.

871
00:40:09,833 --> 00:40:13,066
GATES: Yeah and the women
couldn't vote, remember?

872
00:40:14,666 --> 00:40:15,933
How does it make you feel?

873
00:40:15,933 --> 00:40:18,500
Not only do you have two
generations of superintendents.

874
00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:19,733
BURTON: Yes.

875
00:40:19,733 --> 00:40:21,500
GATES: You've got literacy
going back at least to 1880,

876
00:40:21,500 --> 00:40:24,233
and you have someone who
was elected to represent

877
00:40:24,233 --> 00:40:26,866
the Black community.

878
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:30,933
Your father's family
was extraordinary.

879
00:40:30,933 --> 00:40:34,733
BURTON: Wow, wow,

880
00:40:34,733 --> 00:40:36,300
never in a million
years would I ever

881
00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:38,666
have imagined that you
would find information

882
00:40:38,666 --> 00:40:41,533
like this for my family.

883
00:40:41,533 --> 00:40:44,500
It's overwhelming.

884
00:40:44,766 --> 00:40:47,066
It's overwhelming.

885
00:40:47,833 --> 00:40:50,500
GATES: Hal's career
as a legislator began

886
00:40:50,500 --> 00:40:52,366
with great promise,

887
00:40:52,366 --> 00:40:56,200
he proposed the bill to
fight racial discrimination,

888
00:40:56,200 --> 00:41:00,233
but he faced steep resistance
from white politicians

889
00:41:00,233 --> 00:41:04,000
intent on rolling back
the gains of Reconstruction,

890
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,766
by implementing laws
specifically designed

891
00:41:06,766 --> 00:41:09,666
to suppress the Black vote.

892
00:41:09,666 --> 00:41:13,266
These laws would prove
devastatingly effective,

893
00:41:13,266 --> 00:41:17,533
and Hal would
serve only one term.

894
00:41:17,933 --> 00:41:19,333
There's no
evidence that he ever ran

895
00:41:19,333 --> 00:41:21,700
for re-election 'cause you
know it wasn't going to happen.

896
00:41:21,700 --> 00:41:22,733
BURTON: No, no.

897
00:41:22,733 --> 00:41:25,533
GATES: But even so,
Hal didn't slow down.

898
00:41:25,866 --> 00:41:27,966
Please turn the page.

899
00:41:29,033 --> 00:41:32,266
LeVar, this is a page
from the 1910 census for

900
00:41:32,266 --> 00:41:33,866
Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

901
00:41:33,866 --> 00:41:36,933
This is 23 years after
Hal's time as a legislator.

902
00:41:36,933 --> 00:41:39,600
Would you please read
that transcribed portion?

903
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:41,266
BURTON: "Hal Burton,
Head of Household, Black,

904
00:41:41,266 --> 00:41:43,566
age 56, married
for nine years.

905
00:41:43,566 --> 00:41:45,366
Born, Arkansas.

906
00:41:45,366 --> 00:41:47,700
Lucy Burton, wife,
Black, age 44.

907
00:41:47,700 --> 00:41:49,666
Occupation, sewing.

908
00:41:49,666 --> 00:41:52,266
Mattie, daughter,
Black, age nine.

909
00:41:52,266 --> 00:41:54,300
Helen, daughter,
Black, age seven."

910
00:41:54,300 --> 00:41:56,000
GATES: There is your
great-great-grandfather,

911
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,600
Hal, living with his third
wife, whose name is Lucy,

912
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:00,066
and their two daughters.

913
00:42:00,066 --> 00:42:01,500
BURTON: Right.

914
00:42:01,500 --> 00:42:03,166
GATES: After his time
as a legislator,

915
00:42:03,166 --> 00:42:05,366
your ancestor
worked as a merchant.

916
00:42:05,366 --> 00:42:07,166
Then he managed the saloon,

917
00:42:07,166 --> 00:42:09,666
and then he
turned to farming.

918
00:42:09,666 --> 00:42:10,966
BURTON: Wow.

919
00:42:10,966 --> 00:42:12,200
GATES: And that census is the
last record we have of your

920
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:13,566
great-great-grandfather.

921
00:42:13,566 --> 00:42:17,300
He likely died sometime
between 1910 and 1920

922
00:42:17,300 --> 00:42:20,000
in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

923
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:21,566
He sounds like
a very energetic,

924
00:42:21,566 --> 00:42:22,866
imaginative man.

925
00:42:22,866 --> 00:42:24,000
BURTON: He does indeed.

926
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,066
GATES: Yeah.
BURTON: Wow.

927
00:42:26,066 --> 00:42:28,366
GATES: Now, LeVar, does
learning about all this

928
00:42:28,366 --> 00:42:32,666
about your father's roots
change anything about the

929
00:42:32,666 --> 00:42:37,066
way you see your father
and the way you imagine

930
00:42:37,066 --> 00:42:38,966
a new relationship?

931
00:42:38,966 --> 00:42:42,566
BURTON: It does, I feel
like for the first time

932
00:42:42,566 --> 00:42:45,500
in my life, we have
something in common.

933
00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:47,000
GATES: Mmm, mm-hmm.
BURTON: Right?

934
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,866
And I feel like I want
to share that with him.

935
00:42:50,866 --> 00:42:54,233
GATES: We'd already traced
Wes Studi's paternal roots

936
00:42:54,233 --> 00:42:58,566
back to a heroine of
the Cherokee Nation, now,

937
00:42:58,566 --> 00:43:01,533
turning to his
mother's ancestry,

938
00:43:01,533 --> 00:43:05,000
we focused on an event that
transformed every family in

939
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,400
that nation,
the "Trail of Tears"

940
00:43:08,400 --> 00:43:12,700
the forced removal
beginning in 1830 that drove

941
00:43:12,700 --> 00:43:15,766
roughly 60,000 Native people

942
00:43:15,766 --> 00:43:19,033
from their homes in
the Eastern United States

943
00:43:19,033 --> 00:43:21,966
to unknown
territory in the West.

944
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:26,700
It's a tragedy that Wes has
long struggled to comprehend.

945
00:43:28,933 --> 00:43:31,733
GATES: So when did you
learn about the Trail of Tears?

946
00:43:31,733 --> 00:43:32,866
How old were you?

947
00:43:32,866 --> 00:43:34,566
STUDI: Um,
high school, probably.

948
00:43:34,566 --> 00:43:35,566
GATES: Mm-hm.

949
00:43:35,566 --> 00:43:39,600
STUDI: I would have been
13, 14 years old.

950
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:42,233
Uh, yeah.

951
00:43:42,233 --> 00:43:43,700
GATES: Do you remember
what your reaction was?

952
00:43:43,700 --> 00:43:45,766
STUDI: Uh, shameful.

953
00:43:45,766 --> 00:43:48,600
I was ashamed that it
had happened to us that way,

954
00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:49,500
you know?

955
00:43:49,500 --> 00:43:50,466
GATES: Mm-hmm.

956
00:43:50,466 --> 00:43:52,366
STUDI: Yeah, I felt,
uh, that it was,

957
00:43:52,366 --> 00:43:54,600
I was ashamed of it.

958
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,633
Uh, how did we
let that happen,

959
00:43:56,633 --> 00:43:59,900
is, uh, my reaction.

960
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:04,100
GATES: Wes told me that
these feelings ultimately

961
00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:07,833
evolved into
a kind of curiosity,

962
00:44:07,833 --> 00:44:10,500
he studied the
Trail of Tears in detail,

963
00:44:10,500 --> 00:44:14,366
even reading first-hand
accounts written by survivors.

964
00:44:15,833 --> 00:44:18,633
But the names of his own
ancestors who had endured

965
00:44:18,633 --> 00:44:21,266
the ordeal had been lost.

966
00:44:21,266 --> 00:44:23,800
And at first, we
couldn't find them either.

967
00:44:24,766 --> 00:44:27,700
Then one of our
researchers uncovered

968
00:44:27,700 --> 00:44:31,100
an application
for Cherokee Membership

969
00:44:31,100 --> 00:44:37,433
filed by Wes' great-grandmother
in Oklahoma in 1906.

970
00:44:38,633 --> 00:44:42,400
It lists the names of Wes's
family all the way back to

971
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:48,166
the early 1800s and places them
in a very significant location.

972
00:44:49,933 --> 00:44:52,400
STUDI: "Nancy Catcher,
grandmother.

973
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:54,166
Where were they born?

974
00:44:54,166 --> 00:44:57,300
In the Cherokee Nation
state of Georgia."

975
00:44:57,300 --> 00:44:59,966
GATES: In the Cherokee
Nation-state of Georgia.

976
00:44:59,966 --> 00:45:02,033
Wes, you just
met your maternal

977
00:45:02,033 --> 00:45:03,433
third great-grandmother,

978
00:45:03,433 --> 00:45:07,133
brother, your great,
great, great grandmother.

979
00:45:07,133 --> 00:45:08,066
STUDI: Oh.

980
00:45:08,066 --> 00:45:09,600
GATES: Her name
was Nancy Catcher,

981
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:11,600
also known as "Big Nancy".

982
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:13,266
You ever hear of her?

983
00:45:13,266 --> 00:45:14,466
STUDI: No.

984
00:45:14,466 --> 00:45:16,233
GATES: And you notice
where she was born?

985
00:45:16,233 --> 00:45:18,333
STUDI: Yeah.

986
00:45:18,333 --> 00:45:21,800
GATES: Learning Nancy's
birthplace unlocked the story

987
00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:25,400
of how she experienced
the Trail of Tears,

988
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:27,733
leading us to a
claim that she submitted

989
00:45:27,733 --> 00:45:32,366
to the United States
government in 1842.

990
00:45:32,366 --> 00:45:34,733
Thousands of claims
like this one were filed

991
00:45:34,733 --> 00:45:38,633
by indigenous people
seeking compensation for

992
00:45:38,633 --> 00:45:42,866
what had been taken
from them by white settlers.

993
00:45:42,866 --> 00:45:47,833
STUDI: "One steer,
three years old, two yearlings.

994
00:45:47,833 --> 00:45:49,466
One horse.

995
00:45:49,466 --> 00:45:53,000
Whole amount: $187."

996
00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:55,633
GATES: What's it like to
see this in black and white?

997
00:45:55,633 --> 00:45:57,433
You know about
it in the abstract,

998
00:45:57,433 --> 00:45:59,833
but what's it like to
see an actual case involving

999
00:45:59,833 --> 00:46:03,700
your actual ancestor
and what she actually lost?

1000
00:46:07,466 --> 00:46:09,500
STUDI: Well it, well
it pisses me off.

1001
00:46:09,500 --> 00:46:15,033
It always has, but,
uh, this, it's more, uh,

1002
00:46:15,033 --> 00:46:16,366
it's more succinct.

1003
00:46:16,366 --> 00:46:17,833
Now I know where it was.

1004
00:46:17,833 --> 00:46:19,000
GATES: Yeah.

1005
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:20,800
STUDI: And I wonder if
the people are still there,

1006
00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:22,933
who took over her place.

1007
00:46:22,933 --> 00:46:24,333
GATES: I'm sure they are.

1008
00:46:24,333 --> 00:46:25,500
STUDI: Mm, might
be worth a trip.

1009
00:46:25,500 --> 00:46:27,866
(laughs).

1010
00:46:28,900 --> 00:46:31,133
GATES: Nancy's claim
not only describes the

1011
00:46:31,133 --> 00:46:33,766
property she owned,

1012
00:46:33,766 --> 00:46:34,833
it also names the group,

1013
00:46:34,833 --> 00:46:38,766
or detachment, with
whom she traveled west.

1014
00:46:38,766 --> 00:46:41,700
There were more than
a dozen such detachments,

1015
00:46:41,700 --> 00:46:43,566
but Nancy's
was led by the

1016
00:46:43,566 --> 00:46:46,466
Principal Chief
of the Cherokee Nation,

1017
00:46:46,466 --> 00:46:48,700
and with that
information in hand,

1018
00:46:48,700 --> 00:46:52,000
we were able to map the
precise route that she took,

1019
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:56,800
a journey that stretched
over 700 miles allowing Wes

1020
00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:00,900
to engage with what his
ancestors were forced to endure.

1021
00:47:02,466 --> 00:47:05,766
STUDI: I've been to
some of the places, uh,

1022
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:08,666
that she passed through.

1023
00:47:08,666 --> 00:47:11,133
GATES: Hm.

1024
00:47:11,133 --> 00:47:13,133
STUDI: I've been to
many of these places,

1025
00:47:13,133 --> 00:47:19,033
seen them, and I don't
know, uh, let's see,

1026
00:47:19,766 --> 00:47:25,733
um, yeah, yeah, it's, um,
that's the most northern route,

1027
00:47:26,700 --> 00:47:29,466
and it was
in the wintertime.

1028
00:47:29,466 --> 00:47:30,733
GATES: Yeah.

1029
00:47:30,733 --> 00:47:33,333
STUDI: They waited
until the, uh,

1030
00:47:33,333 --> 00:47:38,166
uh, ground was a little
more frozen and, uh, hard,

1031
00:47:38,166 --> 00:47:42,733
easier to walk on, rather
than mud, uh, a lot of places.

1032
00:47:42,933 --> 00:47:44,033
GATES: Yep.

1033
00:47:44,033 --> 00:47:46,233
And she was in her late
20s or early 30s when she

1034
00:47:46,233 --> 00:47:48,100
made that journey,

1035
00:47:48,100 --> 00:47:49,900
what's it like to see that,

1036
00:47:49,900 --> 00:47:52,066
to know the actual route?

1037
00:47:52,066 --> 00:47:54,100
STUDI: It's, it's good to know.

1038
00:47:54,100 --> 00:47:59,000
I, it's, it's good to know
particulars and have a

1039
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:03,566
real story about how,
um, we got to where we are

1040
00:48:03,566 --> 00:48:07,733
because a, a lot of our
family has been doing this

1041
00:48:07,733 --> 00:48:10,800
genealogy thing, and trying
to figure out this net.

1042
00:48:10,800 --> 00:48:11,833
GATES: Right.

1043
00:48:11,833 --> 00:48:15,466
STUDI: And so, uh,
I'm bringing a, uh, uh,

1044
00:48:15,466 --> 00:48:19,333
wealth of information, thanks
to you and your program here.

1045
00:48:19,900 --> 00:48:21,533
GATES: Good.
STUDI: Uh.

1046
00:48:21,533 --> 00:48:24,666
GATES: And I know
it's gotta be painful.

1047
00:48:24,666 --> 00:48:27,666
STUDI: Well, we've
lived with that pain

1048
00:48:27,666 --> 00:48:29,233
for a long time, you know?

1049
00:48:29,233 --> 00:48:30,666
GATES: Yeah.

1050
00:48:30,666 --> 00:48:34,300
STUDI: Uh, so it, it's,
uh, not something that

1051
00:48:34,300 --> 00:48:36,666
stabs at the heart
right now, you know?

1052
00:48:36,666 --> 00:48:37,966
GATES: Yeah.

1053
00:48:38,533 --> 00:48:42,833
We had a final
detail to share with Wes.

1054
00:48:42,833 --> 00:48:47,566
Nancy arrived in Oklahoma
in February of 1839.

1055
00:48:49,300 --> 00:48:53,033
12 years later, she
appears in what's known

1056
00:48:53,033 --> 00:48:57,300
as the "Drennen Roll"
the first record enumerating

1057
00:48:57,300 --> 00:49:00,266
the Cherokee Nation
in the West.

1058
00:49:00,266 --> 00:49:04,133
And the family is living just
ten miles from where

1059
00:49:04,133 --> 00:49:08,200
Wes' mother would be born
almost a century later.

1060
00:49:10,766 --> 00:49:11,900
What do you think
your mom would have

1061
00:49:11,900 --> 00:49:13,466
made of all this?

1062
00:49:13,466 --> 00:49:14,700
STUDI: I think she
would just have been,

1063
00:49:14,700 --> 00:49:16,666
she would have
said something like,

1064
00:49:16,666 --> 00:49:18,666
"I'm sorry they
didn't tell me this."

1065
00:49:18,666 --> 00:49:21,300
GATES: Yeah.

1066
00:49:21,300 --> 00:49:24,300
STUDI: And I can kind
of echo that, you know?

1067
00:49:24,766 --> 00:49:25,833
GATES: Well.

1068
00:49:25,833 --> 00:49:28,000
STUDI: But I'm glad
we found out something.

1069
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:29,833
GATES: Let me ask you
the obvious question,

1070
00:49:29,833 --> 00:49:34,166
why do you think these
stories weren't passed on?

1071
00:49:36,800 --> 00:49:39,766
STUDI: Uh, well,
these days it's called

1072
00:49:39,766 --> 00:49:42,000
colonization,
socialization,

1073
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:46,666
assimilation,
a, uh, survival.

1074
00:49:46,666 --> 00:49:49,900
Essentially survival
and all the other things

1075
00:49:49,900 --> 00:49:56,633
go along with it, because,
uh, uh, they made this trip,

1076
00:49:56,633 --> 00:50:00,333
this family of people
right here made that trip

1077
00:50:00,333 --> 00:50:04,433
in order for me to be
sitting here talking to you.

1078
00:50:06,633 --> 00:50:08,466
I mean, there's
the idea of, uh,

1079
00:50:08,466 --> 00:50:13,866
coming generations that, uh,
that you have to keep in mind.

1080
00:50:14,566 --> 00:50:15,833
GATES: Yeah.

1081
00:50:15,833 --> 00:50:18,366
STUDI: For your own
people to continue to be.

1082
00:50:18,366 --> 00:50:21,800
GATES: Right, ultimate
urge is to survive.

1083
00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,033
STUDI: Ultimate urge.

1084
00:50:23,033 --> 00:50:25,633
GATES: Yeah.
STUDI: Yeah.

1085
00:50:27,766 --> 00:50:31,366
GATES: The paper trail had
run out for Wes and LeVar,

1086
00:50:31,366 --> 00:50:35,266
it was time to show them
their full family trees.

1087
00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:39,700
Now filled with people who's
names they'd never heard before.

1088
00:50:40,633 --> 00:50:43,866
STUDI: Wow, that's
quite a tree.

1089
00:50:43,866 --> 00:50:45,033
BURTON: This is the
gift of a lifetime.

1090
00:50:45,333 --> 00:50:49,433
It's the gift of, of
generations of sweat and

1091
00:50:49,433 --> 00:50:53,400
blood and toil and dream.

1092
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:56,400
GATES: For each,
it was a moment of awe,

1093
00:50:56,400 --> 00:50:59,866
offering the chance to see
how their own lives were part

1094
00:50:59,866 --> 00:51:02,600
of a larger family story.

1095
00:51:03,766 --> 00:51:07,300
STUDI: I'm forever grateful
for two of those who made,

1096
00:51:07,300 --> 00:51:10,200
made it possible for
me to be here today.

1097
00:51:11,433 --> 00:51:16,166
And, um, I
work towards making

1098
00:51:16,166 --> 00:51:19,333
it a good place
for those,

1099
00:51:19,333 --> 00:51:20,833
my progeny that,

1100
00:51:20,833 --> 00:51:25,266
uh, will be here in years,
in the future.

1101
00:51:25,266 --> 00:51:29,433
BURTON: I didn't know
anything about myself

1102
00:51:29,433 --> 00:51:32,866
critically before today,

1103
00:51:32,866 --> 00:51:38,500
and, and this
information has changed me,

1104
00:51:38,866 --> 00:51:41,266
Doctor, I got to tell you,
it has changed me.

1105
00:51:41,500 --> 00:51:43,066
It changes the
way I see myself.

1106
00:51:43,066 --> 00:51:48,100
It changes my
relationship to my family.

1107
00:51:48,100 --> 00:51:49,100
GATES: Mm-hm.

1108
00:51:49,100 --> 00:51:50,666
BURTON: I am forever changed.

1109
00:51:50,666 --> 00:51:53,566
I am forever changed.

1110
00:51:54,066 --> 00:51:55,700
GATES: That's the end
of our search for the

1111
00:51:55,700 --> 00:51:58,466
ancestors of LeVar Burton

1112
00:51:58,466 --> 00:52:00,433
and Wes Studi,

1113
00:52:00,433 --> 00:52:03,333
join me next time when we
unlock the secrets of the

1114
00:52:03,333 --> 00:52:07,433
past for new guests
on another episode of

1115
00:52:07,433 --> 00:52:09,266
"Finding Your Roots."