From AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES (2006) through the first season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS (2012), Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees.
Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.
Joining Gates in this new season of FINDING YOUR ROOTS will be a diverse group of guests, including Oscar winner Ben Affleck, award winning journalist Anderson Cooper, tennis great Billie Jean King, legendary author Stephen King, multi-platinum selling rapper Nas, and many more. With these guests and others, Gates continues his quest to understand our collective American identity, bringing to life the family histories of African American, Asian, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Latin American guests alike.
Over 10 episodes (Tuesdays, September 23 - November 26, 2014), the series will reveal rich family stories, tracing back to the subjects’ ancestors arrival on America’s shores, and beyond: deep into the history of their countries of origin. Each hour will highlight three guests bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link, as Gates treks through layers of ancestral history, uncovers secrets and surprises of their family trees and shares life-altering discoveries.
Episode One: "In Search Of Our Fathers" airs Tuesday, September 23 at 8 p.m. - Three guests know almost nothing about their fathers’ past. Stephen King’s father walked out on the family when Stephen was two years old and never returned.
Courtney B. Vance’s father was a foster child and never knew who his biological parents were — after his suicide, Courtney wants to learn more about his roots.
Gloria Reuben’s father was 78 years old when she was born — he died when she was young, taking the secret of his ancestry with him. Henry Louis Gates solves the mystery of their paternal ancestry and introduces them to relatives they never knew they had.
Every family has a unique genealogical journey, just waiting to be unlocked. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. asks you to share your own story!
NEXT WEEK: "Born Champions" features Billie Jean King, Derek Jeter and Rebecca Lobo.
FINDING YOUR ROOTS is on Facebook, and you can follow @HenryLouisGates on Twitter. Stephen King is on Facebook, and you can follow @StephenKing on Twitter. Courtney B. Vance is on Facebook, and you can follow @CourtneyBVance on Twitter. Gloria Reuben is on Facebook, and you can follow @Glo_Reuben on Twitter.
In Search of our Fathers Promo
"Three guests who know almost nothing about their fathers’ histories: Stephen King’s father walked out on the family when he was only two years old
Stephen King's Progressive Past
"Thanks to Professor Gates' research
Gloria Reuben's African Link
"Henry Louis Gates
Share Your Story Prompt
"Henry Louis Gates
