We know that BRCA1, BRCA2 - they're genetic. To be clear, I dont work for Finding Your Roots; Im just a professional genealogist who knows people who have worked on the show and I was present for the filming of an episode. Professor Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates Jr AP. He also wrote many non-fiction books on African American history, and won many awards in the process. I found the first edition when I was an adult. CORNISH: So as we said, this show features celebrities learning about their family history, and the controversy actually emerged from the Sony email hack, right? So PBS started an internal investigation to figure out what happened, and then on Wednesday they issued their findings. Millions of Irish Americans, especially those in New York, may be directly descended, like Gates, from Niall of the Nine Hostages, the most prolific warrior in Irish history. GATES: So if you were a Martian and came down to look at my DNA results, you'd think I was a white boy, you know? . Henry Louis Gates, (born Sept. 16, 1950, Keyser, W.Va., U.S.), U.S. critic and scholar. GATES: Don't you? executive producer (40 episodes, 2012-2023) Dyllan McGee . Finding the right genealogist for your projectmaking sure they are qualified, signing a contract, etccan be a confusing task, even if you have been researching your tree for awhile. GATES: But everyone who's in one of those databases has given some kind of permission. But I also watched TV. Furthermore, he is credited for 14 documentaries, and some of the most noted ones are: let the church say, Amen, Africa's great civilization, and many more. They were buried next to each other. And so then they came in - this is a big deal back in 2008. And they got the brothers in uniforms with swords and stuff coming out of the church with this sad, black church music. But they came from someplace else. . She paid cash for that house in what was largely a white neighborhood. There we go. said Henry Louis Gates Jr. "Encarta Africana 2000 is a captivating and engaging resource that can educate students of all ages." Within its 3,600 articles, the latest version includes new information and multimedia features that will allow students to learn even more about African culture and history. Become a member of THIRTEEN ($5 monthly or $60 annually) and get access to THIRTEEN Passport as our thanks for your support. GROSS: Have you been medically DNA tested? Family history books can vary widely from one genealogist to the next, but they may resemble chapter- or coffee-table books with sections devoted to your ancestors. GROSS: And it's a way of outing people as not being who they think they are and not recognizing that we're all descended from so many different people. He is an American professor, historian, filmmaker, and literary critic. Those same tens of thousands of American who saw the show are also unlikely to distinguish "soldier" from a one who is a member of a "regiment", "troop", "militia" or the "Native Guard". As host of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, Gates tells celebrities about their family history. And I make it every week over and over with "Finding Your Roots.". So that was a steal. And I would watch this beautiful, brilliant goddess. James Crowley, who was responding to a 911 caller's report of men breaking and entering the residence. But just in case youre not, there are other ways to get the Finding Your Roots experience off-screen. A team of geneticists at Trinity College led by professor Dan Bradley have discovered that as many as 3 million men worldwide may be descendents of the Irish warlord, who was the Irish "High King" at Tara, the ancient center of Ireland from A.D. 379 to A.D. 405. Gates has said back then that he and the producers decided not to include the information about Affleck's slave-owning history because they focused on other stuff they found more interesting about his family history. You get your Y DNA from your father, and that's what makes me a man. He has chaired Harvard University's department of Afro-American Studies for many years. It was during Winfrey's investigation that Gates Jr. discovered the potential of the show's format. I think you know where I'm heading here. And when they analyzed my mitochondrial DNA, it went to England. The genealogist should walk you through the research process. You've been known to sing on the set of "Finding Your Roots.". So where does that come from? Now you can get a full sequence for less than $5,000 - some people say $1,000 or $2,000. Isn't that a cool thing? And the black woman says all she wants is enough money to have a New Orleans-type funeral. Barack Obama understood that and, I think, certainly helped our nation to heal. RELATED VIDEOS. What percent would be from Europe? GATES: And because it was PBS, we negotiated a deal with this company Illumina which sequences everybody. And you realize it's Peola, grown up, coming back. Maria Hinojosa's Great-Great-Grandfather Was a Railway CEO. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Family. Gates Jr. explained how mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the female ancestry line, doesn't change. And when this little girl's passing for - she passes for white and breaks her mother's heart. After living in Lexington, Mass., following the death of his wife, Mr. Gates had resided for the past several years at the. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr S01 - Ep02 Mayor Cory Booker - Rep. John Lewis. And then they'll make their decision on when they're going to schedule the third season and if they're going to do a fourth season. GATES: I did an episode with Oprah and Quincy Jones and Bishop T.D. There is also the question of What is exhaustive? when it comes to family tree research. HENRY LOUIS GATES: Well, let's see what we found on your mom's side of the family. He was 97, as you said. GROSS: And you got this information from the 1870 census. One way of comparing research reports and family history books is to imagine a car: A research report is like the cars engine. And the only reason that I started making the series that became "Finding Your Roots" is because of that obituary and that photograph. Reader, ed. He reflects on his own history and some of the more controversial aspects of DNA testing. His dynasty lasted for centuries, continuing up until the Elizabethan conquest of Ireland at the end of the 16th century. GROSS: Let's look at your ancestry and see who's really in it. One thing they dont cover on Finding Your Roots is how much it would cost to get a similar experience in real life. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was born on 16 September, 1950 in Keyser, West Virginia, United States, is an American professor. Thank God. As host of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, Gates tells celebrities about their family history. The way to get a Finding Your Roots-style experience yourself is to hire a professional genealogist. I mean, they know Donald Trump. You can read more about genealogists specialties in my blog post on the subject. GATES: Well, the average African-American GATES: The average African-American is 24 percent European. I'm Dave Davies This is FRESH AIR. It was just misdiagnosed. This warlord was responsible for the very common Irish surname "O'Neill" -- which means "descendant son of Niall." CORNISH: And they said that they found the show's producers violated PBS standards by failing to shield the creative and editorial process from improper influence. If youre looking for a family history book in particular, here are some extra things youll want to look for during your search: Think about what youre hoping to get from a book: Some books mainly emphasize the genealogists findings, while others juxtapose findings alongside extensive oral history and/or interviews with living family members. Henry Louis Gates Jr. doesn't seem too worried about "critical race theory" or "white fragility" or "woke warriors" or any of those ridiculous buzzwords that get tossed around when . I hope you never come back, you know? To put it simply, Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a man who knows his history, and if knowledge is power, he is a powerful man indeed. But we have a disproportionately higher risk of sickle cell. When I became a teenager, my father and I bonded. So my whole life is really an attempt to honor and please my parents and make them proud of me, you know. GROSS: So I want to squeeze in one more question. supervising producer (32 episodes, 2014-2023) . They had a medical doctor who specializes in sharing this information. Henry Louis Gates is an American literary critic, historian, professor, filmmaker, and public intellectual. And she dies of a broken heart because her little girl passes for white and goes off - and never sees her again. One thing that your real-life book probably will not contain is photographs of your ancestors that youve never seen before. Some people get really excited about what goes on under the hood, but some peoples eyes glaze over a bit. His expertise and experience eventually led him to TV, where he started working as a . Also, journalist Brian Palmer talks about how slavery and the Civil War are described at Confederate historic sites in the South. 1. GROSS: Huge story. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. So what I did - my father and I agreed, for science, that we'd put our genomes in the public domain so that any scholar or student can study our genome. My father loved sports, and I didn't care about sports that much. Or they stayed home, and they listened to or played music. And GATES: Yeah. And I was shocked by that. PBS has delayed scheduling the show's third season. There are similar shows on TV, but the host knows why his is a cut above the rest. In general, however, a family history book is a bound or digital book with sections devoted to your ancestors. And deep down, I realized in retrospect that my desire to make films was probably born about that time. And your father was a tailor, which is why we GATES: And my mother went to Atlantic City. in Keyser, West Virginia, USA , United States (72 years), This form allows you to report an error or to submit additional information about this family tree: Henry Louis GATES (1950), Biography from Wikipedia (see original) under licence CC BY-SA 3.0. And my grandfather was so white, we called him Casper behind his back. ", When Brian Cox comes on #FindingYourRoots to find out his real familys #SuccessionJoin us tomorrow night on @PBS at 8/7c for an all new episode of Finding Your Roots with guests Brian Cox and @ViolaDavis! Be sure to watch Finding Your Roots on PBS on Tuesday nights! GATES: No. Henry Louis Gates Jr. 0:30. The Life Summary of Henry Louis. CORNISH: As it turns out, Affleck asked the program not to include the fact that one of his ancestors owned slaves, and the information did not air. I killed my mama. Testing showed he had ancestors from sub-Saharan Africa, Ireland and England. Copyright 2015 NPR. We wanted to see what more we could tell Ben Affleck about the roots of his family's interest in social justice. Henry serves as a Trustee of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. For tips, you can check out my three-part series of blog posts about How to Find a Professional Genealogist. CORNISH: Meanwhile, the program "Finding Your Roots," what's been the fallout for the show? CLIP. He is a Trustee of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. (PBS, 2019), and the related books, Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow, with Tonya Bolden (Scholastic, 2019), and Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White . Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. It is also the name of Irish pubs all over the world. He is the host of the PBS television series "Finding Your . I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross. And at the time, the airwaves were so segregated, they only put black films on "The Late Late Show." This is called an admixture test. S7 E7 | 0:01:16. Old photographs are usually kept in families and passed down through the generations, so family albums and attics are the most logical place to look for them. He went to Trinity College in Dublin to have his DNA analyzed. But one story not told to most Irish elementary schoolchildren was of Niall's prolificacy. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. GROSS: It has been a great honor to speak with you. Writing samples might range from blog posts to published research in peer-reviewed journals. This sounds really obvious, but when youre comparing genealogists, make sure the genealogist offers family history books. But you know what? 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, WNET is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. He looked white. The blog walks you through how to evaluate a genealogists resume, potential red flags, and tips for where to find qualified professionals online. The minister would call on her. African-Americans all think that they're a descendant from a Native American. S9 E2 - 52m 11s. WAYNE, N.J. Henry Louis Gates Sr., 97, formerly a resident of Cumberland and Piedmont, W.Va., died peacefully on Christmas Eve, 2010, in Wayne, at home with his family gathered at his bedside. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a popular and revered scholar who has written many acclaimed books and made many acclaimed documentaries about black history (and was also forced to drink a beer with the . GROSS: OK. On your mother's side, you found out that you had three men in the family who were freed slaves - freed before 1776. He couldn't hear me, couldn't see me. In my experience, family history books may cost anywhere from $5,000 to over $50,000. In the show, notable guests discover their family roots based on genealogical research and DNA results. They want them to hire an additional fact-checker and an independent genealogist to check for accuracy. You were 9 years old when you found her picture. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a popular and revered scholar who has written many acclaimed books and made many acclaimed documentaries about black history (and was also forced to drink a beer with the . African-American - I love to joke about this. "And I go, 'What? edit data. Gates wrote a friend of his who was a top executive at Sony to ask for advice after Affleck objected to the inclusion of all this slavery material, so those emails came out in April after hackers took a bunch of information from Sony and WikiLeaks published the material. Why are they so expensive? And by in traction, I mean on my back with my foot up with weights. You know, and your family was, one of them anyways, was in the Revolutionary War. All rights reserved. GROSS: And then your slightly more contemporary ancestors not having any rights in the country, you know, or very few rights - not being able to vote, having to live in segregation. GATES: That's true. And she would stand up and read their obituary, their eulogy. Members get extended access to PBS video on demand and more. And I couldn't imagine what, but two sets of those fourth great-grandparents are from my mother's line. You don't get $1,400 by saving your nickels and dimes as a slave, right? Listen 9:01. Armstrong Williams, a person I really admire and like, I ask him, and he said absolutely not. A family history book is like the entire car. GATES: Yeah, yeah. Henry Louis Gates, PBS, . In a PBS series on African-American ancestry that he hosted in 2008, Gates discovered his Irish roots when he found he was descended from an Irish immigrant and a slave girl. Update 1/31/23, 1:15 p.m. The largest single event explicitly tied to race in the way it was covered during the year was the arrest on July 16, 2009 of Gates, who was mistakenly suspected of trying to break in to his own home. Henry Louis Gates Jr. reveals that he and John Lithgow are DNA cousins. ET: The headline on this article was updated for further clarity around Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s remarks. And I have my mother's certificate from this vocational school where she learned to be a seamstress. Im looking for a Book of Life., Questlove called his Book of Life, The best book I ever read in my life.. GATES: You know, I'm totally exposed. I also cover the pros and cons of hiring an individual genealogist vs. a large company for your project, in case that interests you. The story of Niall of the Nine Hostages is already the stuff of legend, which has been passed on to countless Irish schoolchildren over the years. 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