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Viewers like you make
this program possible.

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Support your local PBS station.

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I am
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

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Welcome to "Finding Your Roots."

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In this episode,

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we'll meet Broadway
superstar Kristin Chenoweth

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and iconic filmmaker
Spike Lee.

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Two people who are known
all over the world yet know

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nothing about their
own family trees.

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I wanna know,

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was I from like a long line
of like fighters, warriors?

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Who am I?

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I've been thinking
all last night.

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What will I find out today?

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What's coming out the box?

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To uncover their roots,
we've used every tool available.

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Genealogists comb
through paper trails,

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stretching back
hundreds of years.

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Oh my gosh.
Oh my Gosh.

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While DNA experts
utilize the latest advances in

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genetic analysis to reveal
secrets that have lain hidden

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for generations.

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I know none of this.

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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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.

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Oh, you got this.

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Oh, thank you.

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And the window
to the hidden past.

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Is that not freaky?

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That's freaky.

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That's nuts.

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I mean,
that's, that's, see,

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that's why I'm here.

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I wanna learn about my family,
my heritage, my ancestors.

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I'm so
happy right now.

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You don't even know I,

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I, this like actually
makes me so emotional.

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My guests are
both independent spirits.

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Artists who blaze
their own trails,

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and they are both in
for some big surprises.

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In this episode,

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they're going to meet a
cast of characters every bit as

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dramatic as the ones
they brought to life on

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stage and screen,

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all hidden in the branches
of their family trees.

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.

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.

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Spike Lee
is a living legend.

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Over the past four decades,

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the prolific director has
forever changed American cinema,

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working in a dizzying
array of genres and styles,

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creating some of the most
original films ever made.

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But as anyone who
knows Spike is aware,

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the key to it all is simple.

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Spike is a proud product
of his city and his family.

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Born in Georgia in 1957,
Spike grew up in Brooklyn,

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the oldest of five children.

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His father was a celebrated
jazz musician who sometimes

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struggled to earn a living.

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His mother, a beloved teacher,
worked hard to fill in the gaps.

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And Spike was a keen
observer of the creative

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cauldron of chaos that
often defined his household.

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We were crazy.

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.

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I mean, my father
was like, daddy,

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can we jump off the
top of the stoop?

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Yeah, go ahead.

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So, that was my father.

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He was like,
whatever you want do.

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And so my mother, she was
put in a position of being...

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The policeman.

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Yes.
Yeah.

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Because my, whatever you
wanna do, my father didn't care.

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I mean, he cared, but
was "Express yourself."

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Well, you know,
"You break an arm,

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you know you'll be all right."

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Was she
effective as a cop?

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Oh, yeah.

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We were like, "When
is daddy coming home?"

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And, and I know that
must have hurt her that,

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that for the most part, you
know, her, her, her children,

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you know, daddy was like...

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I don't remember ever saying,
"When is mommy coming home?"

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Though Spike
adored his father,

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he didn't try to follow
in his footsteps.

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In fact, he told me he wasn't
sure what he wanted to do with

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his life until the
summer of 1977,

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when he returned from
college to find his

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home city in turmoil,
roiled by a financial crisis,

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with a citywide
blackout looming.

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It was an infamous time
in New York's history and

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a defining time for Spike.

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There were no jobs.

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So, I had nothing to do,

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and this one day
changed my life.

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Vietta Johnson, who lived at
the cross street of the park,

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Fort Greene Park,

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went to
Stuyvesant High School.

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Now she, she's a
doctor in Chicago.

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She was a friend.

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And that day I
wasn't doing nothing.

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I said, I went over to across
the park, rang the bell,

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and said, "Come on up."

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So I'm sitting there and she's
studying for some type of test,

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and I said, what's in that box?

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She said, "This is
a Super 8 camera."

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I said, "What's in this box?"

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She said, "That's the
cartridge for the film.

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You can have it."

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Hmm.

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I said,
"Who gave it to you?"

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"My father gave me but, I,
I, I'm, yeah, you just take it.

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Hmm.

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And that day
changed my life.

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Hmm.

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And so when the
blackout happened of '77...

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Blacks, my brothers
and sisters,

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my Puerto Rican brothers
and sisters, started looting.

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I started filming it.

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Huh.

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It was also the
first summer of disco,

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and so I was filming
the block parties.

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So all this footage
I shot the summer,

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went back to school that
fall, and declared my major.

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Huh.

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Mass Communication, Film.

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And you had
never thought about being

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a filmmaker before?

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I liked films, but I,
that never occurred to me.

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But you
picked this thing up,

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then how'd you figure
out how to use it?

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Super 8 camera.

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Just put the cartridge in,
and you pull the trigger.

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.

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Once he
pulled that trigger,

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Spike never looked back.

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His graduate school thesis film
won a Student Academy Award.

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His first feature
was a breakout hit.

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And he's gone on to direct
more than 25 movies,

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five documentaries, and a
series of iconic commercials,

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winning virtually every
major award along the way.

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But when I laid out all of his
accomplishments in front of him,

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Spike turned the conversation
back to where it began,

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with the joy that
he takes from his life.

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Looking back at that
incredible career...

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I'm not done!

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I know, but just looking
back from where you are.

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Mm-hmm.

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What are you proudest of?

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What am I proud of?
Yeah.

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Mmm, that, I tell
this to my students,

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that people who

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are blessed making a living
and doing what they love,

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you can't beat that.

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Mm-hmm.

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Because the majority
these people on this earth,

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this God's earth, go to
the grave having worked a

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job they hated.

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Mm-hmm.

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So if you,

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if you could make a living
doing what you love, you won.

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You won.
You won!

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My second guest
is actor, singer,

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and Broadway Superstar,
Kristin Chenoweth,

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famed for her groundbreaking
performance as

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Glinda, the Good Witch of Oz
in the Smash hit "Wicked."

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Kristen is blessed with
perfect pitch, a radiant smile,

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and a story that sounds
like its own Broadway show.

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As an infant, she was adopted
by an Oklahoma couple named

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Junie and Jerry Chenoweth.

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They were engineers with
no musical interest at all,

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but they embraced
Kristen's talents from the

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moment they emerged.

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It started
for me in church.

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Mm-hmm.

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I auditioned for
a solo in the adult choir.

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My mom said,
"It's for the adults."

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I said, "I don't care."
I still wanted to try out.

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And I went to a
pretty big church,

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First Baptist Church,
Broken Arrow,

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was pretty big at the time.

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Mm-hmm.

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And I got the solo,

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and I remember going up to,
in front of the crowd,

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and singing a song called,

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♪ I'm Only 4'11, ♪

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♪ But I'm Going to Heaven and
it makes me feel 10 feet tall. ♪

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If I'd only known that's how
tall I was gonna grow, Skip,

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I probably wouldn't
have sang that song.

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But after it was over,

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people leapt to
their feet and cheered.

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And I thought,

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and we were pretty
calm congregation.

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And I remember thinking,
I like that.

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Kristen
didn't know it yet,

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but she'd found her calling,
though there would be a few

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twists in the road ahead.

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After spending her
high school years immersed

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in musical theater,

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she went to
Oklahoma City University and

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ended up with a scholarship
to train as an opera singer

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at the Prestigious Academy
of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

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And that's when things
took a major turn...

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Just before my program
started and we graduated,

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00:10:17,317 --> 00:10:20,453
my best friend Denny Downs
was moving to New York to

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try his hat at Broadway.

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The whole, the
whole life, right.

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Well, that's really always
what I wanted to do.

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But I was succeeding in opera,

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so I thought, well,
I should do it.

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Mm-hmm.

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00:10:32,199 --> 00:10:34,166
Because
the teachers and, uh,

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so many guest teachers
would come and say,

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you actually fit the roles.

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You, you're little.

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Mm-hmm.

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You know,
you look like a doll,

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you will play the doll.

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You will, you know, you,
you fit the parts.

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Right.

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Anyway, I
went to New York with Denny.

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I decided, just for fun,

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00:10:48,648 --> 00:10:50,850
to sign up at the
Actors' Equity Building

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for an audition.

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I was not...

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"Just for fun."

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Just for fun.
Uh-huh.

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I had never,

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I did not have
my equity card,

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so I waited 12 hours
until the end of the day.

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And the, the guy
came out and goes,

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"Oh, you're still here?"

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I said, "Yeah."

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And he goes, "I'll
see what I can do."

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00:11:04,564 --> 00:11:06,232
'cause I wasn't a union member.

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They were auditioning
for a show called

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00:11:07,667 --> 00:11:08,734
"The Animal Crackers."

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00:11:08,735 --> 00:11:10,302
It was to be done at
Paper Mill Playhouse.

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00:11:10,303 --> 00:11:11,804
It was a Marx Brothers musical.

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00:11:11,805 --> 00:11:13,506
And they'd been
auditioning for this one

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00:11:13,507 --> 00:11:15,809
part for many, many months.

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So I walk in, and I sang

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"On the Other Side
of the Tracks"

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00:11:19,079 --> 00:11:20,446
to show that I could belt.

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00:11:20,447 --> 00:11:22,014
Then they asked me
to read a little scene,

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00:11:22,015 --> 00:11:23,283
and they said,

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00:11:24,818 --> 00:11:26,619
"What are you doing,
who are you?"

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00:11:26,620 --> 00:11:28,387
And I said, "Well, actually,
I'm gonna go to AVA,

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00:11:28,388 --> 00:11:30,956
I'm just here to experience
a New York audition."

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00:11:30,957 --> 00:11:33,626
And Charlie Ripley,
the director, who I will never,

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00:11:33,627 --> 00:11:35,961
never forget him, sat
me down and he said,

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00:11:35,962 --> 00:11:38,864
"I know you're gonna
do this other thing,

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00:11:38,865 --> 00:11:41,700
but you're very unique in
a world where there's not

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00:11:41,701 --> 00:11:42,836
a lot of uniqueness...

256
00:11:43,103 --> 00:11:44,403
Mm-hmm.

257
00:11:44,404 --> 00:11:46,006
I would really like
for you to take this part."

258
00:11:46,907 --> 00:11:50,209
Kristen heeded that
advice and accepted the role,

259
00:11:50,210 --> 00:11:52,379
a decision that paid
off spectacularly,

260
00:11:53,346 --> 00:11:55,514
launching one of the most
acclaimed careers in the

261
00:11:55,515 --> 00:11:57,684
history of musical theater.

262
00:11:58,585 --> 00:12:00,119
Along the way,

263
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,355
Kristen has also been
able to add a happy chapter

264
00:12:03,356 --> 00:12:04,758
to her personal story.

265
00:12:05,859 --> 00:12:09,863
In 2012, she met her birth
mother for the first time.

266
00:12:10,931 --> 00:12:13,266
And the two forged
a close bond,

267
00:12:14,167 --> 00:12:17,203
a loving relationship that
lasted right up until her

268
00:12:17,204 --> 00:12:20,273
mother's death in 2023.

269
00:12:22,075 --> 00:12:24,544
How did getting to
know her change you?

270
00:12:25,479 --> 00:12:27,647
Oh Man.
Everything made sense.

271
00:12:28,582 --> 00:12:34,954
Um, it's, it's a powerful thing
to know in this world that you

272
00:12:34,955 --> 00:12:36,489
are like someone.

273
00:12:36,490 --> 00:12:37,756
Mm-hmm.

274
00:12:37,757 --> 00:12:39,091
You know, even
when you look at entertainers

275
00:12:39,092 --> 00:12:40,426
that you relate to,

276
00:12:40,427 --> 00:12:42,496
why do you relate
to cert-certain people?

277
00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:44,530
Because there's
something about them,

278
00:12:44,531 --> 00:12:46,900
usually I find that's
sort of like you,

279
00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:48,601
or that you can relate to.

280
00:12:48,602 --> 00:12:49,902
Mm-hmm.

281
00:12:49,903 --> 00:12:51,170
When I met and I,

282
00:12:51,171 --> 00:12:53,706
I met her and it
was like, oh my gosh,

283
00:12:53,707 --> 00:12:56,509
looking into my future, like,
that's me.

284
00:12:56,510 --> 00:12:57,810
Huh.
That's me.

285
00:12:57,811 --> 00:12:59,211
And your
bond was immediate?

286
00:12:59,212 --> 00:13:00,880
Immediate.
Hmm.

287
00:13:00,881 --> 00:13:01,981
There was no,

288
00:13:01,982 --> 00:13:03,149
that could have
gone either way, right?

289
00:13:03,150 --> 00:13:05,051
Yeah, oh yeah.
But not with us.

290
00:13:05,252 --> 00:13:07,286
What do you
miss most about her?

291
00:13:07,287 --> 00:13:10,890
You know,
sometimes I've made decisions

292
00:13:10,891 --> 00:13:12,625
in my life that seem a little,

293
00:13:12,626 --> 00:13:14,694
are you sure you
wanna do that, Kristie?

294
00:13:15,162 --> 00:13:17,230
Or what are you thinking
over here, Kristie?

295
00:13:18,031 --> 00:13:22,736
She completely, um, accepted me.

296
00:13:23,436 --> 00:13:24,637
Mm-hmm.

297
00:13:24,638 --> 00:13:26,572
For all the
rights and wrongs.

298
00:13:26,573 --> 00:13:28,274
Mm-hmm,
unconditional love.

299
00:13:28,275 --> 00:13:29,676
Yeah, that's it.

300
00:13:34,314 --> 00:13:36,449
Kristen and Spike
are both self-creations.

301
00:13:37,717 --> 00:13:40,153
They rose to the top
on their talents alone,

302
00:13:41,321 --> 00:13:44,023
never knowing what their
ancestors might have done to

303
00:13:44,024 --> 00:13:45,692
blaze the trail before them.

304
00:13:46,993 --> 00:13:49,129
But that is about to change.

305
00:13:51,598 --> 00:13:55,702
I started with Spike Lee
and with his father, Bill Lee.

306
00:13:57,270 --> 00:14:00,139
Bill was a brilliant
artist who struggled to

307
00:14:00,140 --> 00:14:03,677
support his family for
the most artistic of reasons.

308
00:14:05,478 --> 00:14:07,981
In the 1960s, at the
height of his fame,

309
00:14:08,748 --> 00:14:12,586
he refused to change as the
music world changed around him.

310
00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:18,390
My father was the most
requested jazz folk bassist.

311
00:14:18,391 --> 00:14:23,530
Bob Dylan, I mean,
Theodore Bikel,

312
00:14:24,898 --> 00:14:26,699
Josh White, I mean,
every folk artist...

313
00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:27,866
he on the first album,

314
00:14:27,867 --> 00:14:30,135
the first Simon and
Garfunkel album, that's him.

315
00:14:30,136 --> 00:14:31,537
The first Gordon Lightfoot
album.

316
00:14:31,538 --> 00:14:32,771
That's my father playing.

317
00:14:32,772 --> 00:14:34,073
I didn't know that.

318
00:14:34,074 --> 00:14:37,610
Yeah, and when Bob Dylan
decided he's going electric,

319
00:14:37,611 --> 00:14:39,678
my father said, no.

320
00:14:39,679 --> 00:14:41,213
And so, when Bob Dylan
went electric,

321
00:14:41,214 --> 00:14:42,414
everybody went electric, so...

322
00:14:42,415 --> 00:14:43,482
Mm-hmm.

323
00:14:43,483 --> 00:14:45,118
My father was not
gonna play electric bass.

324
00:14:45,318 --> 00:14:46,719
Wow.
He said, can't do it.

325
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,490
So my mother had to work
'cause we would've starved.

326
00:14:51,925 --> 00:14:54,893
Spike's father would
go on to score some of Spike's

327
00:14:54,894 --> 00:14:58,832
early films and compose several
well-received jazz operas.

328
00:14:59,833 --> 00:15:02,369
But he never regained the
popularity of his youth.

329
00:15:03,536 --> 00:15:05,204
And perhaps as a result,

330
00:15:05,205 --> 00:15:07,574
he rarely chose to
discuss his past.

331
00:15:08,975 --> 00:15:11,811
So Spike knew that his father
came from a musical family,

332
00:15:12,212 --> 00:15:16,549
but beyond that, his father's
family tree was a blank slate.

333
00:15:17,651 --> 00:15:21,053
We set out to fill
it in and immediately

334
00:15:21,054 --> 00:15:22,522
uncovered a surprise.

335
00:15:23,890 --> 00:15:26,126
The story begins with
Spike's grandfather,

336
00:15:26,893 --> 00:15:28,962
a man named Arnold Lee.

337
00:15:29,663 --> 00:15:33,433
Arnold was born in
Selma, Alabama, in 1892.

338
00:15:34,534 --> 00:15:37,202
He worked much of his
life as a college instructor

339
00:15:37,203 --> 00:15:38,672
and band leader.

340
00:15:39,572 --> 00:15:42,308
But he also ran a family
singing group that performed

341
00:15:42,309 --> 00:15:43,843
across the South.

342
00:15:44,411 --> 00:15:46,946
A group that included
Spike's father.

343
00:15:48,982 --> 00:15:52,418
"One family musical
performance by Negroes will

344
00:15:52,419 --> 00:15:54,353
be presented at the
Selma University Chapel at

345
00:15:54,354 --> 00:15:55,921
8:00 Monday evening.

346
00:15:55,922 --> 00:15:59,758
Seats reserved for white
friends, wishing to attend.

347
00:15:59,759 --> 00:16:02,562
The troop have appeared before
numerous groups in the past."

348
00:16:03,096 --> 00:16:04,229
Isn't that wild?

349
00:16:04,230 --> 00:16:05,331
Have you ever seen that before?

350
00:16:05,332 --> 00:16:07,100
"Sound of Music,"
the Trap family.

351
00:16:07,634 --> 00:16:09,569
.

352
00:16:09,936 --> 00:16:11,705
♪ So long, farewell... ♪

353
00:16:13,173 --> 00:16:14,440
They weren't doing that.

354
00:16:14,441 --> 00:16:15,909
They weren't doing
Oscar Hammerstein.

355
00:16:16,309 --> 00:16:17,543
No.

356
00:16:17,544 --> 00:16:20,446
There is your grandfather
leading the family band in a

357
00:16:20,447 --> 00:16:22,582
performance at the
Selma University Chapel.

358
00:16:23,650 --> 00:16:26,319
Your father would've been
11 years old at the time.

359
00:16:27,420 --> 00:16:29,522
Did your dad ever talk
about those shows?

360
00:16:30,223 --> 00:16:31,557
Skip, I didn't know that.

361
00:16:31,558 --> 00:16:32,791
Mmm.

362
00:16:32,792 --> 00:16:34,026
I mean, that's, that's,
see this is why I'm here.

363
00:16:34,027 --> 00:16:37,363
I wanna learn about my family,
my heritage, my ancestors.

364
00:16:37,364 --> 00:16:40,100
Thank you for sharing this
with me and the world, too.

365
00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:41,834
You've come
to the right place.

366
00:16:41,835 --> 00:16:43,169
Yeah, I know that.

367
00:16:43,903 --> 00:16:46,171
{\an8}Spike wondered
how Arnold ended up as

368
00:16:46,172 --> 00:16:47,340
{\an8}a band leader.

369
00:16:48,375 --> 00:16:50,876
{\an8}The answer seems to be
that just like Spike,

370
00:16:50,877 --> 00:16:52,712
{\an8}he followed his dreams.

371
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,314
His father was a carpenter.

372
00:16:55,315 --> 00:16:57,416
And for a time, it
appeared that Arnold,

373
00:16:57,417 --> 00:17:00,553
too was destined
for a life of labor.

374
00:17:01,821 --> 00:17:04,724
"Arnold Wordsworth Lee,
age 24."

375
00:17:05,058 --> 00:17:06,091
Mm-hmm.

376
00:17:06,092 --> 00:17:08,328
"Date of birth,
October 28th, 1892."

377
00:17:08,661 --> 00:17:09,828
Mm-hmm.

378
00:17:09,829 --> 00:17:11,131
LEE "What is your
present occupation?

379
00:17:11,431 --> 00:17:12,831
Steam engineer.

380
00:17:12,832 --> 00:17:14,133
By whom employed?

381
00:17:14,134 --> 00:17:16,302
Buckeye Cotton Oil Company."

382
00:17:16,636 --> 00:17:18,604
There's your
grandfather, 24 years old,

383
00:17:18,605 --> 00:17:21,940
working as a steam
engineer at a factory.

384
00:17:21,941 --> 00:17:23,041
I thought he
was a musician?

385
00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:25,111
Yeah, and
that was a rough job.

386
00:17:25,912 --> 00:17:28,547
As a steam engineer, he
operated machinery that

387
00:17:28,548 --> 00:17:31,317
processed cotton seeds
into cottonseed oil.

388
00:17:31,885 --> 00:17:35,621
A popular ingredient used in
supermarket fats and soap.

389
00:17:35,622 --> 00:17:38,257
He was essentially
working on a factory floor,

390
00:17:38,258 --> 00:17:40,293
hot, humid, and loud.

391
00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:42,495
You think he could have
handled that for a living?

392
00:17:42,762 --> 00:17:44,229
Nuh-uh.
You know, in...

393
00:17:44,230 --> 00:17:48,067
And also you work
from sunup to sundown, too.

394
00:17:48,568 --> 00:17:50,402
Oh, yeah.

395
00:17:50,403 --> 00:17:54,374
But he quit this job to follow
his passion, which was music.

396
00:17:55,975 --> 00:17:57,177
Damn!

397
00:17:58,278 --> 00:17:59,679
Isn't that amazing?

398
00:18:00,346 --> 00:18:03,616
We wanted to trace the
Lee family back in time,

399
00:18:03,917 --> 00:18:06,286
and we were able to identify
Arnold's grandfather,

400
00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:11,191
who was likely born into
slavery around 1825,

401
00:18:12,125 --> 00:18:14,193
but we couldn't go any further.

402
00:18:14,194 --> 00:18:18,330
Enslaved people were
almost never listed by name

403
00:18:18,331 --> 00:18:19,732
in federal records.

404
00:18:20,333 --> 00:18:23,101
So to learn their stories,
we need to find them in the

405
00:18:23,102 --> 00:18:24,771
records of the people
who owned them.

406
00:18:25,839 --> 00:18:28,208
And we weren't able to
do that for the Lees.

407
00:18:29,275 --> 00:18:31,043
But when we shifted
to another line on

408
00:18:31,044 --> 00:18:32,946
Spike's father's family tree,

409
00:18:33,413 --> 00:18:35,248
our fortune seemed to change.

410
00:18:37,517 --> 00:18:40,118
Spike's third
great-grandparents,

411
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,789
a couple named
Albert and Mariah Craig,

412
00:18:43,590 --> 00:18:45,991
were living in
Dallas County, Alabama

413
00:18:45,992 --> 00:18:48,561
{\an8}after the Civil War,
as was their son,

414
00:18:49,462 --> 00:18:50,597
{\an8}Harrison Craig.

415
00:18:51,664 --> 00:18:54,267
And in the 1850s
census for that county,

416
00:18:54,767 --> 00:18:57,737
we found a white slave
owner named John J. Craig.

417
00:18:58,905 --> 00:19:01,841
The shared surnames were
impossible to ignore.

418
00:19:04,611 --> 00:19:06,979
So we kept looking
through the records of

419
00:19:06,980 --> 00:19:08,381
this white Craig family,

420
00:19:08,848 --> 00:19:13,285
because the only way
to trace black genealogy is

421
00:19:13,286 --> 00:19:16,755
to find the names of
your ancestors listed

422
00:19:16,756 --> 00:19:18,057
in their documents.

423
00:19:19,025 --> 00:19:20,692
By the people
enslaved, right?

424
00:19:20,693 --> 00:19:21,827
Yes.

425
00:19:21,828 --> 00:19:24,130
Like estate records
in wills, whatever.

426
00:19:24,397 --> 00:19:26,366
Sometimes we get lucky,
sometimes we're not.

427
00:19:26,766 --> 00:19:27,933
We get lucky?

428
00:19:27,934 --> 00:19:29,002
Please turn the page.

429
00:19:31,070 --> 00:19:32,604
You're looking at a
file for the estate of a

430
00:19:32,605 --> 00:19:34,574
man named James Craig.

431
00:19:35,008 --> 00:19:37,143
He was John J. Craig's father.

432
00:19:37,977 --> 00:19:40,747
It was recorded on
January 3, 1844.

433
00:19:41,314 --> 00:19:43,049
Would you please read
the transcribed section?

434
00:19:43,483 --> 00:19:45,150
"We, the undersigned,

435
00:19:45,151 --> 00:19:47,719
met this day and proceeded
to appraise, said Negroes.

436
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,955
We then proceeded to
put them into lots,

437
00:19:49,956 --> 00:19:52,225
which are drawn for as follows.

438
00:19:52,592 --> 00:19:55,261
Lot number one, Albert at $650."

439
00:19:56,229 --> 00:19:58,965
Mm-hmm.
"Mariah and Child $575."

440
00:19:59,599 --> 00:20:03,136
Mm-hmm.
Total $1,225.

441
00:20:04,537 --> 00:20:10,510
Lot number five. Harrison
at $200 drawn by J.D. Craig.

442
00:20:10,777 --> 00:20:12,110
There you go.

443
00:20:12,111 --> 00:20:14,346
Those are your third
great-grandparents listed

444
00:20:14,347 --> 00:20:19,285
by name with a
valuation placed on 'em.

445
00:20:21,754 --> 00:20:25,058
$650.
Yep.

446
00:20:25,458 --> 00:20:27,193
$575.
Yep.

447
00:20:27,460 --> 00:20:29,528
$1,225.

448
00:20:29,529 --> 00:20:33,900
And Harrison at the
cheap price of $200.

449
00:20:34,167 --> 00:20:37,170
$200.
A human life, $200.

450
00:20:38,137 --> 00:20:39,639
That is your bloodline.

451
00:20:39,872 --> 00:20:41,307
What's it like to see that?

452
00:20:41,808 --> 00:20:42,874
It's amazing.

453
00:20:42,875 --> 00:20:44,977
And when you think
about, and I, I,

454
00:20:44,978 --> 00:20:47,512
when you think about
your ancestors...

455
00:20:47,513 --> 00:20:49,715
You think you're going
through problems.

456
00:20:49,716 --> 00:20:50,949
And I, I've done this before.

457
00:20:50,950 --> 00:20:52,150
I said, what?

458
00:20:52,151 --> 00:20:53,518
And I got like, I hit myself
in the head like, yeah,

459
00:20:53,519 --> 00:20:54,853
this ain't nothing.

460
00:20:54,854 --> 00:20:56,121
Nothing.

461
00:20:56,122 --> 00:20:58,123
This is light stuff
compared to what our

462
00:20:58,124 --> 00:20:59,191
ancestors went through.

463
00:20:59,192 --> 00:21:01,094
Yeah.
Holy living hell!

464
00:21:03,029 --> 00:21:05,163
Looking closer at
the records that the white

465
00:21:05,164 --> 00:21:06,899
Craig family left behind,

466
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,836
we soon realized just
how much hell Spike's

467
00:21:10,837 --> 00:21:13,106
ancestors had endured.

468
00:21:14,641 --> 00:21:16,408
When James Craig died,

469
00:21:16,409 --> 00:21:18,443
Spike's third
great-grandparents became

470
00:21:18,444 --> 00:21:20,545
the property of his son.

471
00:21:20,546 --> 00:21:23,649
But their son, Spike's
great-great-grandfather,

472
00:21:23,650 --> 00:21:26,886
Harrison, was inherited
by another Craig relative.

473
00:21:29,722 --> 00:21:33,091
That is the moment
that your Craig family line

474
00:21:33,092 --> 00:21:34,694
was split apart by slavery.

475
00:21:34,894 --> 00:21:36,495
Mm-hmm.

476
00:21:36,496 --> 00:21:38,765
What's it
like to see that?

477
00:21:40,099 --> 00:21:42,801
Well, you know,
you think in your mind,

478
00:21:42,802 --> 00:21:46,105
you know what the
ancestors went through,

479
00:21:46,406 --> 00:21:49,042
but this just makes
it more, I mean,

480
00:21:49,275 --> 00:21:51,611
this is real right here,
this is not like conjecture.

481
00:21:51,811 --> 00:21:52,878
This, this happened.

482
00:21:52,879 --> 00:21:54,012
Mm-hmm.

483
00:21:54,013 --> 00:21:55,681
And this is how our
ancestors, not just my,

484
00:21:55,682 --> 00:21:57,049
but our ancestors were,

485
00:21:57,050 --> 00:22:01,721
were treated as a
piece of property inhuman.

486
00:22:02,488 --> 00:22:03,722
Mm-hmm.

487
00:22:03,723 --> 00:22:06,058
And could be killed,
discarded, raped, whatever.

488
00:22:06,059 --> 00:22:08,027
Uh, you know, and
that's gonna happen.

489
00:22:09,095 --> 00:22:11,096
Spike, of course,
is correct.

490
00:22:11,097 --> 00:22:15,101
Enslaved people had absolutely
no control over their lives.

491
00:22:16,369 --> 00:22:19,605
And there was an added
dimension to their torment.

492
00:22:19,872 --> 00:22:22,474
They had no idea that
their enslavement would ever

493
00:22:22,475 --> 00:22:25,311
come to an end.

494
00:22:25,745 --> 00:22:28,980
Albert and Mariah and
Harrison could not imagine

495
00:22:28,981 --> 00:22:31,818
if they'd ever be free
or be together again.

496
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:35,988
But you know what, though?

497
00:22:37,223 --> 00:22:38,957
I think they knew.

498
00:22:38,958 --> 00:22:42,260
They believed in
God and be like,

499
00:22:42,261 --> 00:22:47,133
may not be me or my children,
but somewhere down the line.

500
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,168
Mm-hmm.
A better day's coming.

501
00:22:50,169 --> 00:22:51,303
Better day's coming.

502
00:22:51,304 --> 00:22:52,905
Yeah?
Please turn the page.

503
00:22:55,475 --> 00:22:59,478
This is a year
after the Civil War, 1866,

504
00:22:59,479 --> 00:23:01,414
Dallas County, Alabama.

505
00:23:01,881 --> 00:23:03,750
Would you please read
that transcribed section?

506
00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:06,819
{\an8}"Albert Craig.
One male, 50 to 60 years old,

507
00:23:07,553 --> 00:23:09,922
{\an8}one female, 10 to 20 years old,

508
00:23:11,157 --> 00:23:13,392
{\an8}one female, 40 to 50 years old."

509
00:23:14,427 --> 00:23:16,495
{\an8}That is your
third great-grandfather,

510
00:23:16,496 --> 00:23:18,530
Albert as a free man.

511
00:23:18,531 --> 00:23:22,201
He's head of a household,
most likely, including his wife,

512
00:23:23,136 --> 00:23:24,669
that your third
great-grandmother,

513
00:23:24,670 --> 00:23:27,939
Mariah, and their son,
your great-great-grandfather,

514
00:23:27,940 --> 00:23:31,543
Harrison, was living with
his wife on another property

515
00:23:31,544 --> 00:23:33,045
in the same county.

516
00:23:33,713 --> 00:23:35,514
So they survived,

517
00:23:35,515 --> 00:23:38,050
and they kept
their family together.

518
00:23:38,484 --> 00:23:41,254
Religion, spirituality,
you know, you had, uh,

519
00:23:43,956 --> 00:23:47,692
I believe that someday,
maybe not themselves,

520
00:23:47,693 --> 00:23:50,462
but their children or
grandchildren, that, that, uh,

521
00:23:50,463 --> 00:23:52,265
we be treated as human beings.

522
00:23:53,566 --> 00:23:56,068
Spike's words
would prove prophetic.

523
00:23:56,869 --> 00:23:59,672
Freedom transformed his family.

524
00:24:00,339 --> 00:24:03,942
Within just two generations,
the Craigs would see their

525
00:24:03,943 --> 00:24:06,279
horizons expand dramatically.

526
00:24:07,046 --> 00:24:10,081
As Harrison's daughter
Alma gave birth to

527
00:24:10,082 --> 00:24:12,652
Spike's band leader,
grandfather Arnold,

528
00:24:13,686 --> 00:24:16,856
the man who laid the groundwork
for Spike's father's success,

529
00:24:17,657 --> 00:24:19,292
as well as his own.

530
00:24:19,926 --> 00:24:22,461
A fact that was
not lost on Spike.

531
00:24:23,963 --> 00:24:26,431
I got a whole lot
of people behind me.

532
00:24:26,432 --> 00:24:27,732
Yeah.

533
00:24:27,733 --> 00:24:29,267
Looking down on
me and say like,

534
00:24:29,268 --> 00:24:31,369
come on now, come on now.

535
00:24:31,370 --> 00:24:33,705
What we went through
and come on, lets,

536
00:24:33,706 --> 00:24:34,739
let's keep it going.

537
00:24:34,740 --> 00:24:35,974
Let's keep it going.

538
00:24:35,975 --> 00:24:39,811
Let's keep this, this family,
this generational thing,

539
00:24:39,812 --> 00:24:44,450
and let's strive to make a
positive mark in the world.

540
00:24:45,084 --> 00:24:46,318
Mm-hmm.
You know?

541
00:24:46,319 --> 00:24:50,355
And so it's empowering to
know that it's not just you.

542
00:24:50,356 --> 00:24:52,858
You know, there's some
people, you got relatives...

543
00:24:52,859 --> 00:24:53,892
Yeah.

544
00:24:53,893 --> 00:24:56,428
Generations
that paved the way.

545
00:24:56,429 --> 00:24:59,265
Right.
By name, now.

546
00:24:59,565 --> 00:25:04,070
Yeah, so it's not no
flim-flam, this is like...

547
00:25:04,537 --> 00:25:06,639
Yeah.
Documented.

548
00:25:08,407 --> 00:25:11,743
Much like Spike,
Kristen Chenoweth was about to

549
00:25:11,744 --> 00:25:15,815
find empowerment in a newfound
branch of her family tree.

550
00:25:17,116 --> 00:25:19,352
The journey began with
her biological mother,

551
00:25:20,486 --> 00:25:22,622
Wanda Lynn Cooper.

552
00:25:23,256 --> 00:25:25,523
When Kristen and
Wanda reconnected,

553
00:25:25,524 --> 00:25:27,626
it was largely
thanks to the efforts of

554
00:25:27,627 --> 00:25:31,530
Wanda's youngest daughter,
Kristen's sister Jennifer.

555
00:25:33,099 --> 00:25:35,500
But there was another
person who played a significant

556
00:25:35,501 --> 00:25:37,136
role in that effort.

557
00:25:37,503 --> 00:25:40,106
A man, Kristen never
got the chance to meet.

558
00:25:40,506 --> 00:25:44,610
Wanda's father, Kristen's
grandfather, Charles Cooper.

559
00:25:46,913 --> 00:25:50,248
Now I understand when your
grandfather was on his deathbed,

560
00:25:50,249 --> 00:25:52,083
he told your sister Jennifer...

561
00:25:52,084 --> 00:25:53,184
Mm-hmm.

562
00:25:53,185 --> 00:25:55,153
About you being
given up for adoption,

563
00:25:55,154 --> 00:25:59,759
which led her to register her
DNA in an adoption database.

564
00:26:00,993 --> 00:26:04,696
So in a sense, he's the
reason that you ended up here

565
00:26:04,697 --> 00:26:06,064
with me today.

566
00:26:06,065 --> 00:26:07,132
Yeah.

567
00:26:07,133 --> 00:26:08,300
So what's it like
to think about that?

568
00:26:08,301 --> 00:26:09,501
You
know what's funny?

569
00:26:09,502 --> 00:26:11,469
I've never thought about
the connection with him.

570
00:26:11,470 --> 00:26:14,339
I've only just thought about
her and my sister, my brother.

571
00:26:14,340 --> 00:26:15,407
You know what?

572
00:26:15,408 --> 00:26:16,574
I've never thought
about grandpa.

573
00:26:16,575 --> 00:26:18,143
But he made that
decision on his deathbed.

574
00:26:18,144 --> 00:26:19,444
I find that fascinating.

575
00:26:19,445 --> 00:26:20,545
I do too.

576
00:26:20,546 --> 00:26:22,480
I wonder, I mean,
I've always wondered if he

577
00:26:22,481 --> 00:26:24,349
felt guilty about it.

578
00:26:24,350 --> 00:26:25,450
Mm-hmm.

579
00:26:25,451 --> 00:26:26,451
Or just sad.

580
00:26:26,452 --> 00:26:27,619
Mm-hmm.

581
00:26:27,620 --> 00:26:29,387
You know,
wondering about that baby.

582
00:26:29,388 --> 00:26:30,889
As it turns out,

583
00:26:30,890 --> 00:26:33,224
Charles had many reasons
to be sympathetic

584
00:26:33,225 --> 00:26:35,061
to his granddaughter.

585
00:26:35,594 --> 00:26:38,097
He'd experienced great
suffering of his own.

586
00:26:39,799 --> 00:26:42,834
He lost his mother when
he was a young man.

587
00:26:42,835 --> 00:26:46,405
And when he was 21 years old,
he almost lost his own life.

588
00:26:48,741 --> 00:26:50,542
"The accident
occurred last Saturday

589
00:26:50,543 --> 00:26:53,212
near Natchez, and the
youth suffered six broken ribs."

590
00:26:53,579 --> 00:26:54,646
Ow.

591
00:26:54,647 --> 00:26:57,350
"Internal injuries
and a punctured lung.

592
00:26:57,984 --> 00:27:00,218
Two blood transfusions have
been given in an effort to

593
00:27:00,219 --> 00:27:01,620
bring him back to health."

594
00:27:02,088 --> 00:27:04,724
Wait, I didn't know that
he'd had a bad accident.

595
00:27:05,257 --> 00:27:07,826
Your grandfather was
in a terrible car accident.

596
00:27:07,827 --> 00:27:09,561
He had six broken ribs,
internal injuries,

597
00:27:09,562 --> 00:27:11,029
and a punctured lung...

598
00:27:11,030 --> 00:27:12,197
Lucky to be here.

599
00:27:12,198 --> 00:27:13,631
And two
blood transfusions.

600
00:27:13,632 --> 00:27:15,568
Can you imagine?

601
00:27:17,069 --> 00:27:19,104
Unfortunately,
I can imagine.

602
00:27:19,105 --> 00:27:21,640
I've had a bad accident myself.

603
00:27:21,874 --> 00:27:24,276
Broken ribs alone
will take you down.

604
00:27:24,677 --> 00:27:27,012
I mean, it doesn't sound
like that big of a deal,

605
00:27:27,013 --> 00:27:28,046
but they hurt.

606
00:27:28,047 --> 00:27:29,414
Oh, it's a big deal.

607
00:27:29,415 --> 00:27:30,715
They hurt.

608
00:27:30,716 --> 00:27:32,150
According to
another newspaper article,

609
00:27:32,151 --> 00:27:33,618
Charles was lucky to be alive,

610
00:27:33,619 --> 00:27:35,320
and he had to
struggle to recover,

611
00:27:35,321 --> 00:27:38,823
but he ended up back
home walking around in a month.

612
00:27:38,824 --> 00:27:40,525
Sounds like a tough guy.

613
00:27:40,526 --> 00:27:41,659
Yeah, tough.

614
00:27:41,660 --> 00:27:43,194
Is that how your
mom remembered him?

615
00:27:43,195 --> 00:27:44,462
Yes.
Mm-hmm.

616
00:27:44,463 --> 00:27:48,234
Big teddy bear.
But outwardly, maybe tough.

617
00:27:50,136 --> 00:27:52,504
{\an8}Charles's
toughness would soon be put

618
00:27:52,505 --> 00:27:54,106
{\an8}to another test.

619
00:27:54,507 --> 00:27:56,908
{\an8}Roughly four months
after his accident,

620
00:27:56,909 --> 00:27:59,544
{\an8}Japan attacked Pearl Harbor,

621
00:27:59,545 --> 00:28:02,114
drawing the United States
into World War II.

622
00:28:03,849 --> 00:28:05,583
Charles could have
tried to avoid military

623
00:28:05,584 --> 00:28:09,889
service on medical grounds,
but he chose a different route.

624
00:28:11,490 --> 00:28:12,957
"Cooper, Charlie E.

625
00:28:12,958 --> 00:28:14,960
Private, automotive
maintenance company."

626
00:28:15,261 --> 00:28:16,628
Your grandfather was drafted.

627
00:28:16,629 --> 00:28:18,096
Sure was.

628
00:28:18,097 --> 00:28:20,632
He survives a car
accident and still answers the

629
00:28:20,633 --> 00:28:22,700
call to serve his country.

630
00:28:22,701 --> 00:28:24,035
What do you make of that?

631
00:28:24,036 --> 00:28:25,336
I think
he's pretty badass.

632
00:28:25,337 --> 00:28:26,571
Pardon me.

633
00:28:26,572 --> 00:28:28,907
I think that's pretty cool
that he, you know, I, I,

634
00:28:28,908 --> 00:28:31,443
I would imagine that a lot
of people could have chosen

635
00:28:31,444 --> 00:28:32,510
not to do it.

636
00:28:32,511 --> 00:28:34,346
Sure.
But he did it anyway.

637
00:28:35,247 --> 00:28:38,683
Charles was assigned
to an Army Ordnance Corps and

638
00:28:38,684 --> 00:28:42,221
ended up in France, maintaining
equipment for frontline troops.

639
00:28:43,389 --> 00:28:46,257
Kristen told me that she
believes the experience took an

640
00:28:46,258 --> 00:28:47,893
emotional toll on him,

641
00:28:48,294 --> 00:28:51,797
a toll that her mother,
Wanda, observed firsthand.

642
00:28:52,631 --> 00:28:54,065
And as it turns out,

643
00:28:54,066 --> 00:28:57,335
Charles was not the first
member of Kristen's family to

644
00:28:57,336 --> 00:28:59,905
face such challenges.

645
00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:03,375
Shifting to another branch
of her mother's roots,

646
00:29:04,143 --> 00:29:06,946
we came to a man named
Oscar McKinley Brown.

647
00:29:08,047 --> 00:29:09,915
He's Kristen's
great-grandfather.

648
00:29:10,549 --> 00:29:14,186
And in 1917, when
he was 24 years old,

649
00:29:14,954 --> 00:29:18,223
he joined the United States
Army at the height of

650
00:29:18,224 --> 00:29:19,692
World War I.

651
00:29:21,327 --> 00:29:23,495
Now, we found this record
in the National Archives.

652
00:29:23,496 --> 00:29:24,796
Oh!

653
00:29:24,797 --> 00:29:26,131
Would you please
read the transcribed section

654
00:29:26,132 --> 00:29:27,232
over there?

655
00:29:27,233 --> 00:29:28,701
This is, look
how handsome he was.

656
00:29:29,835 --> 00:29:31,436
"Passenger list."

657
00:29:31,437 --> 00:29:36,809
Ah, "Fourth sanitary train,
date of sailing May 27, 1918.

658
00:29:37,543 --> 00:29:41,213
Port, New York. New York.
Oscar McKinley Brown.

659
00:29:41,981 --> 00:29:45,084
Medical Department,
Wagoner.

660
00:29:46,185 --> 00:29:49,754
Notify in case of emergency,
Mrs. Liz Lee Webb, sister.

661
00:29:49,755 --> 00:29:51,090
Address, Quentin, Oklahoma.

662
00:29:51,624 --> 00:29:55,027
In 1917, when he
was 24, Oscar enlisted.

663
00:29:56,162 --> 00:29:58,397
And you could see Oscar
there in his uniform.

664
00:29:58,998 --> 00:30:00,331
Any family resemblance?

665
00:30:00,332 --> 00:30:02,300
Yeah. The eyes.
Mm-hmm.

666
00:30:02,301 --> 00:30:04,136
For sure.
Very similar.

667
00:30:04,837 --> 00:30:06,371
Your great-grandfather
was assigned to the

668
00:30:06,372 --> 00:30:10,608
fourth sanitary train of
the fourth infantry division.

669
00:30:10,609 --> 00:30:13,077
Do you have any idea
what a sanitary train is?

670
00:30:13,078 --> 00:30:14,112
No, what is that?

671
00:30:14,113 --> 00:30:15,613
Please turn the page.

672
00:30:15,614 --> 00:30:16,814
Um, I think
it might be not something

673
00:30:16,815 --> 00:30:18,049
I would wanna do.

674
00:30:18,050 --> 00:30:19,317
I was thinking that.

675
00:30:19,318 --> 00:30:20,953
Oh, wow.

676
00:30:21,153 --> 00:30:24,155
Sanitary trains were
medical units that operated

677
00:30:24,156 --> 00:30:26,458
field hospitals in combat zones.

678
00:30:27,793 --> 00:30:32,430
Oscar's job was to transport
supplies and wounded soldiers

679
00:30:32,431 --> 00:30:35,100
along the trenches
of the Western Front.

680
00:30:36,068 --> 00:30:38,370
It was dangerous,
often deadly work,

681
00:30:38,904 --> 00:30:42,907
as evidenced by an account
written by a fellow soldier in

682
00:30:42,908 --> 00:30:44,443
Oscar's unit.

683
00:30:45,911 --> 00:30:47,745
"One of
our boys was at the

684
00:30:47,746 --> 00:30:50,682
dressing station helping a
lieutenant dress up a wound

685
00:30:50,683 --> 00:30:52,818
when a shell hit the dugout,
killing them both."

686
00:30:53,152 --> 00:30:54,285
Mmm.

687
00:30:54,286 --> 00:30:56,020
"Once the Germans
let a bomb fall just

688
00:30:56,021 --> 00:30:57,121
outside our hospital,

689
00:30:57,122 --> 00:30:58,489
it shook up the
chateau next door and smashed

690
00:30:58,490 --> 00:31:00,792
all the windows in our hospital.

691
00:31:00,793 --> 00:31:02,761
The air raid was the worst.

692
00:31:03,195 --> 00:31:04,829
You can hear the plane
right over you, and you know,

693
00:31:04,830 --> 00:31:06,264
it has death load for someone,

694
00:31:06,265 --> 00:31:09,134
and you just lay there and
wonder where it will fall."

695
00:31:09,501 --> 00:31:11,503
That is what your
ancestor experienced.

696
00:31:12,304 --> 00:31:14,606
The stress,
the not knowing whether

697
00:31:14,607 --> 00:31:15,840
you're gonna make it.

698
00:31:15,841 --> 00:31:18,176
You're in the line,
truly the line of fire.

699
00:31:18,177 --> 00:31:19,911
Mm-hmm.
Truly.

700
00:31:19,912 --> 00:31:21,646
Yeah. 24/7.
No respite.

701
00:31:21,647 --> 00:31:22,880
No, thank you.

702
00:31:22,881 --> 00:31:24,449
So what do you
think that was like for him

703
00:31:24,450 --> 00:31:25,783
to witness that carnage?

704
00:31:25,784 --> 00:31:27,385
I mean, now we always
talk about our trauma, right,

705
00:31:27,386 --> 00:31:28,453
in today's times?

706
00:31:28,454 --> 00:31:29,520
Yeah, oh yeah.

707
00:31:29,521 --> 00:31:30,755
This
is serious trauma.

708
00:31:30,756 --> 00:31:31,789
That's is serious trauma.

709
00:31:31,790 --> 00:31:33,858
Um, and that...

710
00:31:33,859 --> 00:31:35,994
Without even
having a word for it.

711
00:31:35,995 --> 00:31:37,128
Right.

712
00:31:37,129 --> 00:31:38,596
You know,
which makes it worse.

713
00:31:38,597 --> 00:31:39,731
Yeah, and I mean,

714
00:31:39,732 --> 00:31:41,165
he probably put it,
put it down here.

715
00:31:41,166 --> 00:31:42,567
Yeah, as best he could.

716
00:31:42,568 --> 00:31:43,669
As best he could.

717
00:31:44,169 --> 00:31:45,770
We don't
know how he did it,

718
00:31:45,771 --> 00:31:48,707
but Oscar was able to
leave the war behind him.

719
00:31:49,408 --> 00:31:53,311
In 1919, he returned to
America and set out to build

720
00:31:53,312 --> 00:31:54,747
a life for himself.

721
00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:56,347
The following year,

722
00:31:56,348 --> 00:31:58,250
he married Kristen's
great-grandmother,

723
00:31:58,717 --> 00:32:00,386
a woman named Ola Blaylock,

724
00:32:00,986 --> 00:32:02,521
and started a family.

725
00:32:02,788 --> 00:32:05,957
He would help raise three
children and support them by

726
00:32:05,958 --> 00:32:09,428
running a taxi service
and later a farm.

727
00:32:10,796 --> 00:32:12,430
Surveying his life,

728
00:32:12,431 --> 00:32:14,967
Kristen's thoughts
turned first to her mother,

729
00:32:15,768 --> 00:32:18,236
Oscar's granddaughter.

730
00:32:18,237 --> 00:32:19,738
When I
think of Mama Lynn,

731
00:32:19,972 --> 00:32:21,139
I think about her resilience.

732
00:32:21,140 --> 00:32:22,774
That's really what stands
out the most to me.

733
00:32:22,775 --> 00:32:23,841
Mm-hmm.

734
00:32:23,842 --> 00:32:27,845
Because of
the trauma, if I may,

735
00:32:27,846 --> 00:32:29,781
that she went through of
having me and giving me away.

736
00:32:29,782 --> 00:32:31,182
Yeah, oh yeah.

737
00:32:31,183 --> 00:32:32,917
Um,
but continuing on.

738
00:32:32,918 --> 00:32:34,285
Mm-hmm.

739
00:32:34,286 --> 00:32:35,486
And staying tough.

740
00:32:35,487 --> 00:32:36,754
Mm-hmm.

741
00:32:36,755 --> 00:32:38,222
And life did hand,
hand her a lot of lemons.

742
00:32:38,223 --> 00:32:39,490
Mm-hmm.

743
00:32:39,491 --> 00:32:40,892
But she made
lemonade out of it.

744
00:32:40,893 --> 00:32:42,226
Yeah.

745
00:32:42,227 --> 00:32:43,494
And so did this guy.

746
00:32:43,495 --> 00:32:44,696
Mm-hmm.

747
00:32:44,697 --> 00:32:45,797
It's funny,
I have this too.

748
00:32:45,798 --> 00:32:48,132
People don't always
see me coming.

749
00:32:48,133 --> 00:32:50,001
They just don't know
that I'm as tough...

750
00:32:50,002 --> 00:32:51,302
Uh-huh.

751
00:32:51,303 --> 00:32:52,804
But when
push comes to it...

752
00:32:52,805 --> 00:32:54,005
Mm-hmm.

753
00:32:54,006 --> 00:32:55,407
I'm pretty tough.

754
00:32:56,775 --> 00:32:58,343
We'd already
traced Spike Lee's

755
00:32:58,344 --> 00:33:00,312
father's roots in Alabama,

756
00:33:01,013 --> 00:33:03,882
exploring a family that
ended up as a musical group.

757
00:33:05,684 --> 00:33:08,087
Now, turning to Spike's
mother's ancestry,

758
00:33:08,754 --> 00:33:11,556
we found ourselves
back in the deep south with

759
00:33:11,557 --> 00:33:13,225
a very different
kind of family.

760
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,363
The story begins with Spike's
great-great-grandparents,

761
00:33:18,430 --> 00:33:20,733
Richard and Mary Paschal.

762
00:33:21,633 --> 00:33:24,970
They're listed in the
1880 census for Georgia,

763
00:33:25,904 --> 00:33:27,906
along with their seven children.

764
00:33:28,741 --> 00:33:31,610
And almost all of
them had the same job.

765
00:33:33,345 --> 00:33:36,148
"Henry, age 16, son.
farm hand.

766
00:33:36,615 --> 00:33:39,184
Felix, age 14, son.
farm hand.

767
00:33:39,985 --> 00:33:43,021
Ida, age 11, daughter.
farmhand.

768
00:33:43,922 --> 00:33:47,226
Birch, age nine, daughter.
Will, age seven, son.

769
00:33:47,926 --> 00:33:51,597
Jack, age five, son.
Jerry, age three son."

770
00:33:52,431 --> 00:33:55,466
So you worked as soon as you
could walk, you're working.

771
00:33:55,467 --> 00:33:57,101
You got it, farmhand.
Yeah.

772
00:33:57,102 --> 00:33:58,469
That's why
they had big families.

773
00:33:58,470 --> 00:33:59,537
Mm-hmm.

774
00:33:59,538 --> 00:34:00,738
So they're your
great-great grandparents.

775
00:34:00,739 --> 00:34:03,142
That ain't the only reason.

776
00:34:04,243 --> 00:34:05,376
Yeah, well,
there were no movies.

777
00:34:05,377 --> 00:34:07,612
Nothing was streaming.

778
00:34:07,613 --> 00:34:09,313
They're your great-great
grandparents,

779
00:34:09,314 --> 00:34:12,351
Richard and Mary Paschal,
living with their children.

780
00:34:12,684 --> 00:34:14,919
And as you could see,
they were working on a farm,

781
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:16,755
an 11-year-old working.

782
00:34:17,156 --> 00:34:19,123
Uh, think back
when you were 11,

783
00:34:19,124 --> 00:34:21,427
how much cotton can you
plant and pick, and clean?

784
00:34:22,461 --> 00:34:24,129
Not much.

785
00:34:25,063 --> 00:34:27,665
We estimate that Richard
and Mary were both born in

786
00:34:27,666 --> 00:34:30,536
Georgia sometime in the 1830s.

787
00:34:31,837 --> 00:34:35,407
So, they were both almost
certainly born into slavery.

788
00:34:36,408 --> 00:34:38,176
And when we set out to see
if we could learn about their

789
00:34:38,177 --> 00:34:42,747
lives before emancipation,
we kept hitting the same brick

790
00:34:42,748 --> 00:34:45,784
wall we'd hit with Spike's
father's ancestors,

791
00:34:47,186 --> 00:34:51,355
like all enslaved people,
their names were almost never

792
00:34:51,356 --> 00:34:53,392
recorded in federal records.

793
00:34:54,426 --> 00:34:57,696
But then one of our researchers
noticed something unusual.

794
00:34:59,031 --> 00:35:01,866
In the years following
the Civil War,

795
00:35:01,867 --> 00:35:05,737
Richard Paschal also went by
the name Richard Wellborn.

796
00:35:07,372 --> 00:35:11,210
He used two surnames,
more or less interchangeably.

797
00:35:11,844 --> 00:35:14,612
He said, I'm free,
I'm gonna name myself.

798
00:35:14,613 --> 00:35:17,548
And some days he woke up,
he was Richard Paschal.

799
00:35:17,549 --> 00:35:19,518
He sounds like a Lee.

800
00:35:20,018 --> 00:35:21,419
Isn't that amazing?

801
00:35:21,420 --> 00:35:22,453
Mm-hmm.

802
00:35:22,454 --> 00:35:23,754
So we don't
see this often,

803
00:35:23,755 --> 00:35:26,324
and at first it was hard for
us to understand the track,

804
00:35:26,325 --> 00:35:29,193
but there are multiple
records listing your

805
00:35:29,194 --> 00:35:31,128
great-great-grandfather
by both names.

806
00:35:31,129 --> 00:35:32,330
Both names, huh?

807
00:35:32,331 --> 00:35:34,999
At various times
in the 1870s and the 1880s.

808
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,835
And we know it's him,
because as you could see,

809
00:35:37,836 --> 00:35:40,439
the names and ages of his
children all remain the same.

810
00:35:42,574 --> 00:35:44,442
So you've never heard any
stories about these people?

811
00:35:44,443 --> 00:35:45,476
I never heard that.

812
00:35:45,477 --> 00:35:47,612
I mean, a lot of stuff...

813
00:35:47,613 --> 00:35:50,616
Skip, this is, like, all new.

814
00:35:51,283 --> 00:35:52,350
Mm-hmm.

815
00:35:52,351 --> 00:35:53,952
All new.

816
00:35:55,420 --> 00:35:58,190
{\an8}Spike was about to
learn much more that was new,

817
00:35:58,624 --> 00:36:01,126
{\an8}but some of it
would prove painful.

818
00:36:02,427 --> 00:36:06,197
{\an8}Discovering that Richard used
the surname Wellborn led us to

819
00:36:06,198 --> 00:36:09,268
a white Georgia planter
named Abner Wellborn.

820
00:36:10,235 --> 00:36:13,471
When he passed
away in 1842,

821
00:36:13,472 --> 00:36:16,408
Abner owned 72 human beings,

822
00:36:17,409 --> 00:36:20,077
and his estate records
assigned a name and a dollar

823
00:36:20,078 --> 00:36:21,880
value to each of them.

824
00:36:23,382 --> 00:36:26,050
"We have this day proceed
to make said division to

825
00:36:26,051 --> 00:36:29,120
Miss Martha Wilburn, we've
allotted and assigned Negroes,

826
00:36:29,121 --> 00:36:30,722
Harriet and five children.

827
00:36:31,323 --> 00:36:35,794
Mertus, Richard, Polina,
Martha, George value,

828
00:36:37,329 --> 00:36:42,067
let's see, five children
valued at $1,600."

829
00:36:43,001 --> 00:36:45,503
There's your
great-great-grandfather

830
00:36:45,504 --> 00:36:48,740
Richard, part of
Abner Wellborn's estate,

831
00:36:49,875 --> 00:36:52,511
alongside his four
siblings and their mother.

832
00:36:53,178 --> 00:36:54,245
You just met your

833
00:36:54,246 --> 00:36:57,348
great-great-great-grandmother,
Harriet.

834
00:36:57,349 --> 00:37:00,351
And that's your family listed
together as property in the

835
00:37:00,352 --> 00:37:01,753
estate of that white man.

836
00:37:02,020 --> 00:37:03,287
Human beings, property.

837
00:37:03,288 --> 00:37:04,689
Human being as property.

838
00:37:04,690 --> 00:37:07,326
After Abner's death, they were
inherited by his daughter,

839
00:37:08,460 --> 00:37:10,761
Martha Wellborn from...

840
00:37:10,762 --> 00:37:12,363
Like an heirloom man.

841
00:37:12,364 --> 00:37:13,564
"Oh, you get the piano."

842
00:37:13,565 --> 00:37:15,701
Or an old coat.
Yeah.

843
00:37:16,668 --> 00:37:19,136
In 1847, three years
after that record,

844
00:37:19,137 --> 00:37:21,238
Martha Wellborn
married a man named

845
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:23,809
Lodowick Merriweather Hill,

846
00:37:24,610 --> 00:37:26,344
who was a prominent
plantation owner...

847
00:37:26,345 --> 00:37:28,079
I don't like him
already, that name.

848
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:29,547
.

849
00:37:29,548 --> 00:37:30,716
Please turn the page.

850
00:37:33,051 --> 00:37:34,385
Mm.

851
00:37:34,386 --> 00:37:36,788
That is the main house
at Lodowick Merriweather Hills

852
00:37:37,022 --> 00:37:39,958
Plantation in
Wilkes County, Georgia.

853
00:37:40,292 --> 00:37:41,960
Woo. Lord.

854
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:46,331
Your ancestors saw that
house every day of their lives.

855
00:37:47,032 --> 00:37:48,566
That was the big house.

856
00:37:48,567 --> 00:37:51,703
Spike, he owned
7,000 acres of land.

857
00:37:52,004 --> 00:37:53,604
7,000?

858
00:37:53,605 --> 00:37:55,740
7,000.
Is all cotton?

859
00:37:55,741 --> 00:37:58,377
Produced a variety
of crops, including cotton.

860
00:37:58,877 --> 00:38:00,211
Mm.
Cotton was money.

861
00:38:00,212 --> 00:38:01,746
High cotton.

862
00:38:01,747 --> 00:38:04,281
Did you ever imagine
you'd see a picture of the big

863
00:38:04,282 --> 00:38:07,085
house on a plantation where
your family was enslaved?

864
00:38:10,622 --> 00:38:12,557
Nooka, never.

865
00:38:14,426 --> 00:38:17,829
Lodowick Hill was a
significant figure in his day.

866
00:38:18,797 --> 00:38:21,032
A wealthy farmer and
businessman who left a

867
00:38:21,033 --> 00:38:23,001
substantial legacy behind.

868
00:38:24,369 --> 00:38:25,870
Combing through it,

869
00:38:25,871 --> 00:38:27,772
we were not only
able to give Spike a

870
00:38:27,773 --> 00:38:30,241
glimpse of his plantation,

871
00:38:30,242 --> 00:38:33,745
we were also able to
show Spike his face.

872
00:38:37,115 --> 00:38:38,483
Oh, now.

873
00:38:40,185 --> 00:38:43,622
That is the man
who owned your ancestors.

874
00:38:43,989 --> 00:38:45,022
So not only do you...

875
00:38:45,023 --> 00:38:46,457
He looks evil!

876
00:38:46,458 --> 00:38:47,858
Yeah.
What's it like to see that?

877
00:38:47,859 --> 00:38:49,561
What are you feeling
when you look at that?

878
00:38:50,295 --> 00:38:51,962
That's a evil man.

879
00:38:51,963 --> 00:38:53,899
Mm.
Slavery was evil.

880
00:38:56,001 --> 00:38:58,636
I mean, he just, he just,
I don't think this guy was

881
00:38:58,637 --> 00:39:00,137
capable of a smile.

882
00:39:00,138 --> 00:39:01,873
Mm.

883
00:39:03,275 --> 00:39:07,578
We believe that Lodowick Hill
held Spike's family in bondage

884
00:39:07,579 --> 00:39:09,548
for roughly 18 years...

885
00:39:10,282 --> 00:39:12,484
And that wasn't the
end of their ordeal.

886
00:39:13,685 --> 00:39:16,654
When freedom finally came,
white southerners were

887
00:39:16,655 --> 00:39:20,459
determined to suppress the
rights of the formerly enslaved

888
00:39:21,993 --> 00:39:25,030
and willing to use violence
to achieve those goals.

889
00:39:26,765 --> 00:39:30,701
Paramilitary groups like the
Ku Klux Klan emerged almost

890
00:39:30,702 --> 00:39:34,672
immediately after the
Civil War ended to terrorize

891
00:39:34,673 --> 00:39:36,241
African Americans.

892
00:39:36,775 --> 00:39:39,710
But Spikes' great-great-
grandfather was not

893
00:39:39,711 --> 00:39:41,880
a man to be intimidated.

894
00:39:42,681 --> 00:39:44,682
"State of Georgia,
county of Wilkes,

895
00:39:44,683 --> 00:39:47,986
personally appeared on the
fifth day of August, 1867.

896
00:39:48,386 --> 00:39:51,922
Richard Paschal, who makes oath
as follows, I Richard Paschal,

897
00:39:51,923 --> 00:39:54,225
do solemnly swear in the
presence of Almighty God that

898
00:39:54,226 --> 00:39:56,994
I am a citizen of the
state of Georgia and I resided

899
00:39:56,995 --> 00:39:58,362
in said state for 12 months.

900
00:39:58,363 --> 00:40:00,698
I now reside in the county
of Wilkes in said state.

901
00:40:00,699 --> 00:40:03,501
I will faithfully support the
Constitution and obey the laws

902
00:40:03,502 --> 00:40:06,036
of the United States, and
do the best of my ability,

903
00:40:06,037 --> 00:40:07,371
encourage others to do so.

904
00:40:07,372 --> 00:40:08,472
So help me God.

905
00:40:08,473 --> 00:40:10,142
Richard Paschal."

906
00:40:10,475 --> 00:40:14,846
Your ancestor registered
to vote as soon as he could.

907
00:40:15,614 --> 00:40:17,715
Heroic.
Mm-hmm.

908
00:40:17,716 --> 00:40:19,550
I mean, he's
doing something new.

909
00:40:19,551 --> 00:40:24,189
There could be some, uh,
be killed, family killed,

910
00:40:25,757 --> 00:40:27,058
burned off the land.

911
00:40:27,259 --> 00:40:30,262
You know, just, he knew there
was consequences of his action,

912
00:40:30,529 --> 00:40:33,031
but he had to do, I don't
wanna say do the right thing,

913
00:40:33,231 --> 00:40:34,932
I'm just saying that he had
to do what he had to do.

914
00:40:34,933 --> 00:40:36,467
He knew who was just.

915
00:40:36,468 --> 00:40:37,701
Yeah.

916
00:40:37,702 --> 00:40:41,006
And he knew that had
to do that for his children.

917
00:40:41,606 --> 00:40:42,673
Mm-hmm.

918
00:40:42,674 --> 00:40:44,042
Had to do that
for generations...

919
00:40:45,777 --> 00:40:46,844
For me!

920
00:40:46,845 --> 00:40:48,045
That's right.

921
00:40:48,046 --> 00:40:51,249
My, my, my sisters,
my, my sister, my siblings.

922
00:40:51,616 --> 00:40:53,685
For us to, he can't even...

923
00:40:55,086 --> 00:40:57,022
Somewhere, he's like this...

924
00:40:57,489 --> 00:40:58,589
"Somewhere down the line,

925
00:40:58,590 --> 00:41:01,058
I don't know how
long it's gonna be.

926
00:41:01,059 --> 00:41:02,259
This is gonna make an impact."

927
00:41:02,260 --> 00:41:03,427
That's right.

928
00:41:03,428 --> 00:41:05,230
So he's looking forward.

929
00:41:05,664 --> 00:41:07,798
We'd already
traced Kristin Chenoweth's

930
00:41:07,799 --> 00:41:09,568
biological mother's roots,

931
00:41:10,268 --> 00:41:13,071
uncovering a tradition
of toughness and bravery.

932
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,576
Now turning to Kristen's
biological father,

933
00:41:18,577 --> 00:41:21,112
we encountered a very
different kind of tradition.

934
00:41:21,947 --> 00:41:23,615
One of creativity.

935
00:41:24,482 --> 00:41:27,452
Kristen's father, a man
named Billy Etheridge,

936
00:41:28,119 --> 00:41:31,089
was a talented musician who
played with the Chessmen,

937
00:41:31,556 --> 00:41:33,258
a seminal rock band.

938
00:41:33,892 --> 00:41:37,261
But Kristen had no idea that
she and Billy had an even

939
00:41:37,262 --> 00:41:41,498
deeper connection until we
showed her a newspaper clipping

940
00:41:41,499 --> 00:41:43,235
from his childhood.

941
00:41:45,136 --> 00:41:46,503
The
Junior Player's Guild

942
00:41:46,504 --> 00:41:48,073
stage production of the...

943
00:41:50,442 --> 00:41:52,142
of the "Wizard of Oz,"

944
00:41:52,143 --> 00:41:54,345
opening at 8:00 PM Friday
in the Great Hall of

945
00:41:54,346 --> 00:41:55,746
St. Matthew's Cathedral.

946
00:41:55,747 --> 00:41:57,883
The cast for the
Wizard is as follows:

947
00:41:58,550 --> 00:42:01,286
Oz, Billy Eugene Etheridge."

948
00:42:01,653 --> 00:42:04,456
Are you kidding me,
are you kidding me?

949
00:42:05,957 --> 00:42:06,991
Oh my gosh.

950
00:42:06,992 --> 00:42:08,092
That is, is that not freaky?

951
00:42:08,093 --> 00:42:09,527
That's freaky.

952
00:42:10,829 --> 00:42:12,797
That's nuts.

953
00:42:14,199 --> 00:42:16,201
"The Wizard of Oz?"

954
00:42:17,369 --> 00:42:19,503
Wow.

955
00:42:19,504 --> 00:42:20,872
Hmm.

956
00:42:21,239 --> 00:42:22,807
Well,
we were a lot alike.

957
00:42:23,041 --> 00:42:24,476
And that's not
your only connection.

958
00:42:24,776 --> 00:42:26,510
Growing up, Billy was in
musical productions of

959
00:42:26,511 --> 00:42:27,745
"The King and I."

960
00:42:27,746 --> 00:42:29,714
"A Connecticut Yankee
in King Arthur's Court."

961
00:42:30,482 --> 00:42:32,984
And he also participated
in a dance review,

962
00:42:33,318 --> 00:42:35,253
a music club,
and the school choir.

963
00:42:37,455 --> 00:42:39,624
You know, I
think of Billy as a rockabilly.

964
00:42:40,558 --> 00:42:42,326
Mm-hmm.

965
00:42:42,327 --> 00:42:44,561
I mean, he was
an incredible guitarist and,

966
00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:46,664
and also pianist and,

967
00:42:46,665 --> 00:42:49,234
but I don't think of him
as this music theater kid.

968
00:42:49,801 --> 00:42:50,834
Yeah.

969
00:42:50,835 --> 00:42:52,002
But he was...

970
00:42:52,003 --> 00:42:53,370
But he was, that
makes you believe in fate.

971
00:42:53,371 --> 00:42:54,805
It, right.

972
00:42:54,806 --> 00:42:56,040
Yeah.

973
00:42:56,041 --> 00:42:57,274
Right there.

974
00:42:57,275 --> 00:42:59,510
Oh, I wish he was alive
so I could just be like,

975
00:42:59,511 --> 00:43:01,012
"Look at this."

976
00:43:01,646 --> 00:43:04,748
As it turns out,
Billy was not the only creative

977
00:43:04,749 --> 00:43:07,285
spirit in Kristen's
newfound family tree.

978
00:43:08,853 --> 00:43:10,355
Moving back along
his mother's line,

979
00:43:11,289 --> 00:43:12,990
we came to another,

980
00:43:12,991 --> 00:43:15,459
Kristen's third
great-grandfather,

981
00:43:15,460 --> 00:43:17,862
a man named Peter Delbrel.

982
00:43:19,097 --> 00:43:22,633
Peter passed away
in Texas in 1859,

983
00:43:22,634 --> 00:43:25,270
just a few hundred miles
from where Kristen was born.

984
00:43:26,504 --> 00:43:28,806
But as we looked
into Peter's life,

985
00:43:28,807 --> 00:43:31,910
we found ourselves in
an unexpected place...

986
00:43:32,477 --> 00:43:34,679
The archives of
Bordeaux, France.

987
00:43:36,147 --> 00:43:39,517
"January 23, 1811
appeared Mr. François Delbrel,

988
00:43:40,385 --> 00:43:45,089
who presented an infant of the
masculine sex born the morning

989
00:43:45,090 --> 00:43:50,228
before at six o'clock to the
Declarant and to Ann Coast...

990
00:43:50,595 --> 00:43:51,962
Coast, uh-huh.

991
00:43:51,963 --> 00:43:54,499
His wife and to whom
he gives the forename of Pierre.

992
00:43:56,067 --> 00:43:58,102
You just read your
third great-grandfather's birth

993
00:43:58,103 --> 00:44:00,171
record from France.

994
00:44:00,638 --> 00:44:02,139
Did you know you
had French roots?

995
00:44:02,140 --> 00:44:04,174
No, I didn't.

996
00:44:04,175 --> 00:44:05,843
I assume
you've been to France.

997
00:44:05,844 --> 00:44:07,478
I sang
at the Paris Opera.

998
00:44:07,479 --> 00:44:08,846
I love France.

999
00:44:08,847 --> 00:44:10,414
That's probably
my best language.

1000
00:44:10,415 --> 00:44:11,682
Well...

1001
00:44:11,683 --> 00:44:13,350
Uh, foreign language.
It comes natural.

1002
00:44:13,351 --> 00:44:14,585
Yeah...
Because...

1003
00:44:14,586 --> 00:44:16,020
It's in my DNA.
It's in your DNA.

1004
00:44:16,021 --> 00:44:17,888
That's crazy.

1005
00:44:17,889 --> 00:44:19,256
According
to this record,

1006
00:44:19,257 --> 00:44:21,392
Peter's father was
a barrel maker.

1007
00:44:21,393 --> 00:44:25,462
It was an ancient occupation
and crucial to the economy of

1008
00:44:25,463 --> 00:44:28,533
Bordeaux, but it was
also backbreaking work,

1009
00:44:29,868 --> 00:44:31,770
and it seems that Peter
wanted more for himself.

1010
00:44:33,438 --> 00:44:35,473
So rather than take
up his father's trade,

1011
00:44:36,408 --> 00:44:37,876
he boarded a ship.

1012
00:44:39,978 --> 00:44:42,881
So Peter got to America,
let's see how he got there.

1013
00:44:43,214 --> 00:44:44,314
Okay.

1014
00:44:44,315 --> 00:44:45,482
Um, please turn the page.

1015
00:44:45,483 --> 00:44:47,285
Wow, wow, wow.
This is so cool.

1016
00:44:47,552 --> 00:44:48,952
Oh gosh.

1017
00:44:48,953 --> 00:44:50,587
Now, there are no
records because Ellis Island

1018
00:44:50,588 --> 00:44:52,956
wouldn't open until 1891.

1019
00:44:52,957 --> 00:44:54,058
Mm-hmm.

1020
00:44:54,059 --> 00:44:56,427
But he arrived
sometime in the 1830s,

1021
00:44:56,428 --> 00:45:00,098
and this is the kind of ship
that he'd likely sailed on.

1022
00:45:00,565 --> 00:45:01,799
Oh my gosh.

1023
00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:03,300
It would held
around 200 people.

1024
00:45:03,301 --> 00:45:04,368
Oh, wow.

1025
00:45:04,369 --> 00:45:06,270
Almost all
of them immigrants.

1026
00:45:06,271 --> 00:45:07,972
The trip would've
taken about six weeks,

1027
00:45:08,606 --> 00:45:10,908
and there would've
been no running water and

1028
00:45:10,909 --> 00:45:14,044
no, uh, sanitation facilities.

1029
00:45:14,045 --> 00:45:15,345
Are you
sure we're related?

1030
00:45:15,346 --> 00:45:16,814
I wouldn't be able to handle it.

1031
00:45:16,815 --> 00:45:18,849
Man, I often, think that.

1032
00:45:18,850 --> 00:45:21,319
Whoa, I bet you
could smell that ship.

1033
00:45:21,786 --> 00:45:24,189
Yeah,
they knew it was coming.

1034
00:45:25,156 --> 00:45:28,993
Peter arrived in
America sometime in the 1830s

1035
00:45:29,294 --> 00:45:31,129
when he was in his 20s.

1036
00:45:31,763 --> 00:45:34,766
By 1838, he'd settled in Texas,

1037
00:45:35,467 --> 00:45:38,870
which at the time
was an independent nation

1038
00:45:39,070 --> 00:45:41,039
not yet part of
the United States.

1039
00:45:42,674 --> 00:45:45,309
Texas offered opportunities
that Peter never could have

1040
00:45:45,310 --> 00:45:46,945
found back in France.

1041
00:45:48,246 --> 00:45:52,784
But it was also an unstable
and sometimes a violent place.

1042
00:45:54,452 --> 00:45:56,720
So what do you think it
was like for your ancestor?

1043
00:45:56,721 --> 00:45:59,089
Listen, I
think they were probably

1044
00:45:59,090 --> 00:46:00,424
in a state of shock.

1045
00:46:00,425 --> 00:46:02,193
Oh, you say
"Damn" in French?

1046
00:46:02,494 --> 00:46:03,594
Right.

1047
00:46:03,595 --> 00:46:04,728
.

1048
00:46:04,729 --> 00:46:06,330
But think about this...

1049
00:46:06,331 --> 00:46:10,934
It's likely that he
never saw Bordeaux or his

1050
00:46:10,935 --> 00:46:12,504
parents ever again.

1051
00:46:15,974 --> 00:46:17,441
Because
he came by himself.

1052
00:46:17,442 --> 00:46:19,076
That was a big
decision to make...

1053
00:46:19,077 --> 00:46:21,246
That's hard.
...to immigrate.

1054
00:46:21,513 --> 00:46:23,213
What do you think
that was like for him?

1055
00:46:23,214 --> 00:46:25,749
Lonely,
and I wonder if he had

1056
00:46:25,750 --> 00:46:28,920
any Frenchmen that came
with him and that he knew.

1057
00:46:29,487 --> 00:46:30,821
Well, we
know he was single,

1058
00:46:30,822 --> 00:46:32,589
so he didn't come with a wife.

1059
00:46:32,590 --> 00:46:34,159
Do you think the
sacrifice was worth it?

1060
00:46:36,594 --> 00:46:38,362
Heck yeah.

1061
00:46:38,363 --> 00:46:39,931
Said like a true American girl.

1062
00:46:41,599 --> 00:46:43,635
{\an8}Peter would
prove Kristen right.

1063
00:46:44,169 --> 00:46:47,739
{\an8}He soon settled down in
Galveston, an Island City,

1064
00:46:48,206 --> 00:46:52,609
{\an8}on the Texas coast, where he
started a family and launched

1065
00:46:52,610 --> 00:46:54,179
an unusual business.

1066
00:46:56,147 --> 00:46:58,449
"Occupation,
restaurant keeper,

1067
00:46:59,484 --> 00:47:01,686
value of real estate owned $300.

1068
00:47:02,520 --> 00:47:05,223
Theresa, age 20,"
I guess that's his wife.

1069
00:47:05,557 --> 00:47:06,657
Mm-hmm.

1070
00:47:06,658 --> 00:47:08,091
"Francis, age six.

1071
00:47:08,092 --> 00:47:09,326
Charles, age five.

1072
00:47:09,327 --> 00:47:12,095
Selena or Selena, age three."

1073
00:47:12,096 --> 00:47:13,096
So those were his kids.

1074
00:47:13,097 --> 00:47:14,364
That's right.

1075
00:47:14,365 --> 00:47:16,033
That's Peter living
with his wife.

1076
00:47:16,034 --> 00:47:18,235
You just met your great
- great-great-grandmother.

1077
00:47:18,236 --> 00:47:19,269
That's nuts.

1078
00:47:19,270 --> 00:47:20,704
And he was a
restaurant keeper.

1079
00:47:20,705 --> 00:47:23,273
He started an oyster house.

1080
00:47:23,274 --> 00:47:24,341
You like oysters?

1081
00:47:24,342 --> 00:47:25,676
Oh, no.

1082
00:47:25,677 --> 00:47:28,712
San...
San Jacinto Oyster House.

1083
00:47:28,713 --> 00:47:30,147
Stop.

1084
00:47:30,148 --> 00:47:33,350
Well, you don't get all
everything from and through DNA

1085
00:47:33,351 --> 00:47:34,451
from your ancestor.

1086
00:47:34,452 --> 00:47:35,653
That's right.

1087
00:47:36,254 --> 00:47:38,021
When Peter
started his business,

1088
00:47:38,022 --> 00:47:39,924
restaurants were
a rarity in Texas.

1089
00:47:41,192 --> 00:47:43,962
But the waters off Galveston
were filled with oyster beds,

1090
00:47:45,296 --> 00:47:47,265
and Peter put those
oysters to good use.

1091
00:47:48,666 --> 00:47:49,866
Did you ever...

1092
00:47:49,867 --> 00:47:51,134
No.

1093
00:47:51,135 --> 00:47:52,970
...Imagine that you
descended from a restaurateur?

1094
00:47:52,971 --> 00:47:56,040
No, no,
that's cool though.

1095
00:47:56,741 --> 00:47:58,141
Your ancestors
did very well.

1096
00:47:58,142 --> 00:47:59,142
Turn the page.

1097
00:47:59,143 --> 00:48:00,344
Oh my goodness.

1098
00:48:00,345 --> 00:48:01,946
This is so neat.

1099
00:48:03,715 --> 00:48:06,284
Kristen, this is from
a newspaper published in 1850,

1100
00:48:06,551 --> 00:48:09,820
it's an advertisement,
and from a Galveston, Texas

1101
00:48:09,821 --> 00:48:11,923
paper called
"The Semi Weekly Journal"

1102
00:48:12,490 --> 00:48:14,425
March 26th, 1850.

1103
00:48:14,659 --> 00:48:16,527
Would you please read what
we've transcribed here?

1104
00:48:16,828 --> 00:48:18,662
I mean, I've been
offered to play this role.

1105
00:48:18,663 --> 00:48:19,730
Jenny Lind.

1106
00:48:19,731 --> 00:48:20,897
Isn't that amazing?

1107
00:48:20,898 --> 00:48:22,299
It says,
"Jenny Lind,

1108
00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:24,034
the "Swedish Nightingale"
is coming to enliven this land

1109
00:48:24,035 --> 00:48:25,802
of liberty with her sweet music.

1110
00:48:25,803 --> 00:48:28,673
She said to be the sweetest
singer in the world.

1111
00:48:29,007 --> 00:48:33,043
But the best, freshest, and
fattest oysters are to be had

1112
00:48:33,044 --> 00:48:36,513
at the San Jacinto House where
all orders will be promptly

1113
00:48:36,514 --> 00:48:39,616
attended to for raw or
roasted, stewed or steamed,

1114
00:48:39,617 --> 00:48:40,885
broiled or fried."

1115
00:48:41,586 --> 00:48:43,187
That's crazy.

1116
00:48:43,721 --> 00:48:46,390
Jenny Lind was a
world-famous opera singer who

1117
00:48:46,391 --> 00:48:50,795
toured America in the 1850s,
often drawing huge crowds.

1118
00:48:51,963 --> 00:48:54,365
And it seems that Peter
felt she could help him

1119
00:48:54,632 --> 00:48:56,234
promote his restaurant.

1120
00:48:56,868 --> 00:48:57,934
He was a marketer.

1121
00:48:57,935 --> 00:48:59,403
He was, and guess what?

1122
00:48:59,404 --> 00:49:01,238
We looked high and low.

1123
00:49:01,239 --> 00:49:03,140
We don't think Jenny,
Jenny Lind ever came.

1124
00:49:03,141 --> 00:49:04,976
Oh, well, he probably
false advertised right here.

1125
00:49:05,543 --> 00:49:06,678
Anything to get 'em in town.

1126
00:49:07,145 --> 00:49:08,412
Peter was a busy man.

1127
00:49:08,413 --> 00:49:10,381
Not only did he have
a restaurant to run,

1128
00:49:10,748 --> 00:49:13,985
a family to raise, he was
also a lighthouse keeper.

1129
00:49:14,686 --> 00:49:17,888
He sounds like an
extremely enterprising guy.

1130
00:49:17,889 --> 00:49:19,189
Yeah.

1131
00:49:19,190 --> 00:49:22,259
You see any of those
traits in yourself, Kristin?

1132
00:49:22,260 --> 00:49:23,560
Same.

1133
00:49:23,561 --> 00:49:27,565
The adventurous, the a
little bit entrepreneurial,

1134
00:49:28,132 --> 00:49:29,433
a little bit.

1135
00:49:29,434 --> 00:49:31,968
Mm-hmm.

1136
00:49:31,969 --> 00:49:34,504
Um, and, and
pardon the word, but hustler.

1137
00:49:34,505 --> 00:49:35,907
Yeah.

1138
00:49:37,842 --> 00:49:40,545
The paper trail had now run
out for each of my guests.

1139
00:49:41,179 --> 00:49:44,881
It was time to show them
their full family trees.

1140
00:49:44,882 --> 00:49:46,216
Oh my God.

1141
00:49:46,217 --> 00:49:47,551
This is your family tree.

1142
00:49:47,552 --> 00:49:49,354
My gosh.
This is so cool.

1143
00:49:49,754 --> 00:49:53,091
They're now filled with
names they'd never heard before.

1144
00:49:54,092 --> 00:49:56,661
I'm getting this framed,
this is getting framed today,

1145
00:49:57,095 --> 00:49:58,496
the framer!

1146
00:49:58,696 --> 00:49:59,931
For each, it
was a revelation,

1147
00:50:01,265 --> 00:50:04,569
but Kristen's newfound
roots also contained

1148
00:50:04,836 --> 00:50:06,437
an unsettling discovery.

1149
00:50:07,505 --> 00:50:10,775
Her mother descends from
at least eight slave owners.

1150
00:50:11,609 --> 00:50:12,809
They had slaves?

1151
00:50:12,810 --> 00:50:14,578
Yeah.

1152
00:50:14,579 --> 00:50:16,813
You know, look,
it's a part of our history.

1153
00:50:16,814 --> 00:50:17,981
Mm-hmm.

1154
00:50:17,982 --> 00:50:20,016
Um, I'm glad to know
that about my history.

1155
00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:21,251
Sure.

1156
00:50:21,252 --> 00:50:25,055
Um, I'd like to think
that through education and

1157
00:50:25,056 --> 00:50:28,592
evolution, they would not
make the same choice today.

1158
00:50:28,593 --> 00:50:29,793
Oh yeah.

1159
00:50:29,794 --> 00:50:32,095
But this is a real
part of the truth,

1160
00:50:32,096 --> 00:50:33,564
and it's the ugly truth.

1161
00:50:33,898 --> 00:50:36,701
I wish it weren't,
but it is a fact.

1162
00:50:37,335 --> 00:50:38,635
For Spike,

1163
00:50:38,636 --> 00:50:41,338
seeing his family's
journey laid out from

1164
00:50:41,339 --> 00:50:45,309
slavery to freedom,
provided nothing but joy.

1165
00:50:46,377 --> 00:50:48,078
Just one of
greatest days of my life.

1166
00:50:48,079 --> 00:50:50,348
Mmm, thank you.

1167
00:50:51,649 --> 00:50:53,451
'Cause I'm not here alone.

1168
00:50:55,019 --> 00:50:56,821
Not here alone.

1169
00:50:57,722 --> 00:50:58,822
Didn't get here alone either.

1170
00:50:58,823 --> 00:51:00,357
No.

1171
00:51:00,358 --> 00:51:03,694
A whole bunch of my
ancestors are right here.

1172
00:51:03,961 --> 00:51:05,263
Yeah.

1173
00:51:05,797 --> 00:51:08,032
My time with my
guest was running out,

1174
00:51:08,399 --> 00:51:10,701
but I still had one
surprise to share.

1175
00:51:11,736 --> 00:51:14,905
When we compared Kristen's
genetic profile to that of

1176
00:51:14,906 --> 00:51:17,207
others who've been
in the series,

1177
00:51:17,208 --> 00:51:19,309
we found a match.

1178
00:51:19,310 --> 00:51:22,646
Evidence of a distant cousin
she could never possibly have

1179
00:51:22,647 --> 00:51:24,482
imagined she had.

1180
00:51:25,516 --> 00:51:26,818
.

1181
00:51:28,119 --> 00:51:30,120
You are cousins.

1182
00:51:30,121 --> 00:51:31,188
Wanda Sykes?

1183
00:51:31,189 --> 00:51:32,723
Wanda Sykes.

1184
00:51:33,991 --> 00:51:35,459
I'm so
happy right now.

1185
00:51:35,460 --> 00:51:36,827
You don't even know.

1186
00:51:36,828 --> 00:51:38,295
I love her so much.

1187
00:51:38,296 --> 00:51:41,231
I, I, this like actually
makes me so emotional.

1188
00:51:41,232 --> 00:51:42,834
I love her.

1189
00:51:43,434 --> 00:51:45,836
Kristen shares
a long segment of DNA

1190
00:51:45,837 --> 00:51:48,706
with comedian Wanda Sykes,

1191
00:51:49,140 --> 00:51:52,509
{\an8}which means that
the two share a common ancestor

1192
00:51:52,510 --> 00:51:55,546
{\an8}somewhere in the branches
of their family trees.

1193
00:51:56,647 --> 00:51:58,081
{\an8}She's my favorite.

1194
00:51:58,082 --> 00:51:59,483
{\an8}Well, she is your cousin.

1195
00:51:59,484 --> 00:52:01,051
{\an8}She's your absolute cousin.

1196
00:52:01,052 --> 00:52:02,152
{\an8}End of our journey.

1197
00:52:02,153 --> 00:52:03,921
{\an8}That's the
best surprise ever!

1198
00:52:04,422 --> 00:52:08,091
{\an8}That's the end of our
journey with Kristen Chenoweth

1199
00:52:08,092 --> 00:52:09,360
{\an8}and Spike Lee.

1200
00:52:09,894 --> 00:52:13,297
{\an8}Join me next time when we
unlock the secrets of the past

1201
00:52:13,865 --> 00:52:17,767
{\an8}for new guests on
another episode of

1202
00:52:17,768 --> 00:52:19,604
{\an8}"Finding Your Roots."