Roots of Freedom

For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.

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Roots of Freedom

Season 2 Episode 4 | 52m 40s | CC

These guests’ families have long been engaged in the battle for freedom and civil rights, but didn’t know those principles were passed down through generations. NAACP president Ben Jealous learns the heroic story of his great-grandfather who purchased his own family to keep them safe and Khandi Alexander learns of her grandfather’s possible murder.

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Corporate support for Season 11 of FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. is provided by Gilead Sciences, Inc., Ancestry® and Johnson & Johnson. Major support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Support is also provided by Ford Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Candace King Weir; by the Inkwell Society together with many of its members; and by public television viewers.

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