Mean Streets

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.

RMPBS Passport

Please log in to your PBS Passport account to watch this video

Become a Member

Mean Streets

Season 10 Episode 8 | 52m 9s | CC

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the family trees of comedian Tracy Morgan & actor Anthony Ramos—two native New Yorkers whose roots stretch to surprising places and contain inspiring stories. Moving from the Canary Islands to battlefields in Europe & Asia to slave plantations in Virginia, long-lost records reveal ancestors who laid the groundwork for Tracy and Anthony’s success by fighting to survive.

Finding Your Roots

Watch more episodes

52:09

Finding Your Roots

Viewers Like You

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. solves mysteries for 3 everyday Americans chosen to be guests.

52:09

Finding Your Roots

Born to Sing

Explore the roots of Alanis Morissette and Ciara and their hidden connections to history.

52:09

Finding Your Roots

Forever Young

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. unearths the hidden roots of Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser.

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.

Subscribe to Our Newsletters

Get trusted Colorado stories, programs, and events from Rocky Mountain PBS straight to your inbox.

Set Your Preferences >