GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO FINDING YOUR ROOTS.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL EXPLORE THE FAMILY TREES OF ACTOR STERLING K. BROWN.

COMEDIAN SASHEER ZAMATA AND MUSICIAN JON BATISTE.

THREE AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO ARE ABOUT TO DISCOVER THE UNEXPECTED PLACES THAT THEIR ANCESTORS ONCE CALLED HOME... BATISTE: OREGON?

I THOUGHT WE WERE FROM THE SOUTH.

BROWN: I'LL BE DAMNED.

YOU FOUND EM.

WOW, YOU FOUND MY FAMILY, DUDE.

ZAMATA: I DID NOT KNOW HE MADE A TOWN.

NO ONE TOLD ME THIS.

(LAUGHS).

GATES: TO UNCOVER THEIR ROOTS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE... GENEALOGISTS HELPED STITCH TOGETHER THE PAST FROM THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND.

THIS IS AS RARE A DOCUMENT AS YOU CAN FIND.

BATISTE: WOOO!

THAT'S HEAVY.

GATES: WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD... BROWN: WOW.

GATES: AND WE'VE COMPILED IT ALL INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.

BROWN: THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT I'VE NEVER HEARD OF.

ZAMATA: THAT'S CRAZY!

BATISTE: THAT'S A LOT TO PROCESS!

GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OUR DISCOVERIES... BROWN: I FEEL LIKE I AM A STEP CLOSER TO FEELING LIKE WHERE'S MY PLACE.

ZAMATA: I'M GOING TO CRY.

THAT'S SO WEIRD TO KNOW.

GATES: MY GUESTS CAME TO ME FACING A DILEMMA COMMON TO MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS.

THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THEIR FAMILIES LIVED EVEN A FEW GENERATIONS BACK BECAUSE THEIR ANCESTORS' STORIES WERE OBLITERATED, FIRST BY SLAVERY AND THEN BY JIM CROW.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE ARE GOING RECONSTRUCT THOSE STORIES; GIVING THEM NEW INSIGHT INTO THE PEOPLE, AND THE PLACES, THAT MADE THEM WHO THEY ARE TODAY.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYS].

♪ ♪ GATES: HOME.

FOR MOST OF US, THIS SIMPLE WORD HAS ENORMOUS POWER... HOME IS SOMETHING WE LEAVE AND SOMETHING WE SEEK... A PLACE THAT MOLDS US AND COMFORTS US EVEN, OR ESPECIALLY, IN ITS ABSENCE.

FOR THE EMMY-WINNING ACTOR STERLING K. BROWN, STAR OF THE HIT SERIES "THIS IS US", HOME TODAY IS THE EPICENTER OF HIS PROFESSION.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

BUT IN HIS HEART, HOME IS ST LOUIS, MISSOURI WHERE HIS FATHER DIED WHEN HE WAS TEN YEARS OLD AND WHERE HIS MOTHER MADE A DECISION THAT FOREVER ALTERED HIS LIFE.

BROWN: MY MOTHER WAS A SCHOOL TEACHER, MY FATHER WAS A GROCERY CLERK AND, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT I LIVED IN WAS A PRIMARILY AFRICAN-AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD.

SHE TAUGHT ALL THE FRIENDS IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD... GATES: OH, WOW.

BROWN: AND THEN SHE SENT ME TO THE PRIVATE SCHOOL THAT WAS CLOSE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT NOT THE PUBLIC SCHOOL BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT ME TO BE TRACKED TOWARDS THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR, WHICH SHE FELT WAS HAPPENING WITH A LOT OF THE BLACK BOYS AT HER SCHOOL, SO SHE MADE THAT CHOICE.

BUT LIKE TO EVERYBODY IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD MISS BROWN, OH, MAN, YOUR MOMMA'S THE BEST, MAN.

MISS BROWN IS AWESOME.

I WAS LIKE HOW COME I NEVER GOT TO HAVE MISS BROWN?

(LAUGHS).

BROWN: CAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT ME THERE.

GATES: STERLING'S MOTHER WOULD PROVE TO HAVE VERY SOUND JUDGEMENT, HE TOLD ME THAT THE HIGH SCHOOL SHE'D CHOSEN ALLOWED HIM TO CHANGE AND GROW BY ENABLING HIM TO EXPLORE A WIDE RANGE OF INTERESTS.

HE WAS SOON STUDYING ECONOMICS, PLAYING LINEBACKER ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM, AND JOINING THEATER PRODUCTIONS WHICH, HE DISCOVERED, HE LOVED.

IT WOULD TAKE YEARS, HOWEVER, AND ANOTHER BIG MOVE FOR STERLING TO FOCUS FULLY ON ACTING... BROWN: I WAS READY TO PUT IT ASIDE WHEN I GOT TO COLLEGE.

I WAS LIKE COLLEGE IS NOT FOR FRIVOLOUS THINGS, I'M AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY, I GOT TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS, RIGHT?

GATES: RIGHT.

BROWN: AND BE A PROVIDER FOR MYSELF AND HOPEFULLY GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO THE FAMILY.

GATES: I'M GONNA BUY MY MOMMA A HOUSE, YOU KNOW?

BROWN: YEAH, YEAH, THAT, EXACTLY.

GATES: EVERYBODY BLACK WHO MAKES IT, IT'S THE FIRST THING OUT OF THEIR MOUTH, EVERY ATHLETE, I'M GONNA BUY MY MOMMA A HOUSE.

BROWN: RIGHT, RIGHT.

SO I, I WAS DOING THE ECON THING, AND I WOULD COME HOME DURING THE SUMMERS AND I WOULD WORK AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK, AND I REALIZED THAT I WAS BORED TO TEARS THAT I WAS DOING SOMETHING OUT OF A SENSE OF OBLIGATION RATHER THAN A SENSE OF PASSION.

EVERY TIME I WAS ON STAGE, I CAME TO LIFE... GATES: UH, HUH.

BROWN: IT JUST TOOK ME A MINUTE TO REALIZE THAT THE HOBBY WAS ACTUALLY THE CALLING.

GATES: ONCE STERLING EMBRACED HIS PASSION, SUCCESS CAME SLOWLY BUT STEADILY.

THE HARDEST PART, HE SAYS, WAS FIGURING OUT HOW TO EXPLAIN IT ALL TO HIS MOTHER... BROWN: I CALLED MY MOM, I SAID, "MOMMA, I'M THINKING ABOUT CHANGING MY MAJOR."

AND SHE SAYS, "OKAY," AND I SAID, "I'M THINKING ABOUT CHANGING IT TO DRAMA."

SHE SAID, "WOW," THEN SHE SAID, "DID YOU PRAY ABOUT IT?"

I SAID "YES, MA'AM, I DID."

AND THAT WAS, SHE SAID THEN DO WHAT YOU GOT TO DO.

GATES: OH, YOU HAVE A SPECIAL MOTHER.

BROWN: I HAVE A SPECIAL MOTHER.

WE LIKE EACH OTHER UM, A LOT.

AND WHEN I, I'M GETTING A LITTLE VERKLEMPT.

GATES: THAT'S OKAY.

BROWN: BUT MY MOM NEVER WAVERED, NEVER BATTED AN EYE.

SHE CAME TO SEE EVERY SHOW THAT I DID AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

AND SHE, SHE JUST ALLOWED A BROTHER TO FOCUS ON HIS DREAM WITHOUT ANY SORT OF CONSTERNATION WHICH IS A GIFT.

GATES: LIKE STERLING, JON BATISTE IS VERY MUCH A BENEFICIARY OF HIS FAMILY'S SUPPORT.

HE GREW UP IN KENNER, LOUISIANA, JUST OUTSIDE NEW ORLEANS, PART OF AN EXTENDED CLAN OF MUSICIANS.

HE LEARNED PIANO AS A CHILD AND BY THE TIME HE WAS A TEENAGER, JON WAS PERFORMING ALONGSIDE HIS FATHER, A BASS PLAYER ON THE LOCAL JAZZ SCENE, WHO COULD SEE THAT HIS SON HAD TALENT.

BATISTE: IT WASN'T JUST A, UM, UH, LOVING MENTORSHIP.

HE WOULD PUSH ME, IN HEALTHY WAYS.

SOMETIMES I WOULD SIT IN WITH HIM AT SHOWS HE WOULD DO, AND IT WOULD BE WITH OLDER MUSICIANS WHO ARE EXPERIENCED, AND IN MY MIND, I WOULD BE RATING MYSELF, AS TO, DID I CATCH THE HARMONY RIGHT?

UH, YOU KNOW, DID I FIND, UM, THE, THE MELODY AT THE RIGHT TIME?

WAS THE CONTOUR OF THE SOLO CORRECT FOR WHAT HAD COME BEFORE IT, ALL THESE THINGS THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT, AND SURE ENOUGH, AFTERWARDS HE WOULD TALK TO ME ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS.

GATES: JON LEFT LOUISIANA WHEN HE WAS SEVENTEEN TO STUDY MUSIC AT JUILLIARD IN NEW YORK CITY, BUT HE BROUGHT HIS ARTISTIC ROOTS WITH HIM.

IN 2004, HE FORMED A GROUP WITH TWO OF HIS JUILLIARD CLASSMATES AND BEGAN TO ADAPT THE LESSONS HE'D LEARNED FROM HIS FATHER TO HIS NEW SURROUNDINGS...

THE RESULT, WHICH CAME TO BE CALLED "LOVE RIOTS", WERE NEW ORLEANS-STYLE JAZZ CONCERTS, STAGED IN THE MOST UNLIKELY OF PLACES... BATISTE: SO WE WENT DOWN TO THE SUBWAY AND WE'D DO A CONCERT FOR FREE, NOT ASKING FOR MONEY.

PEOPLE WOULD THINK WE WERE BUSKING AT FIRST, BUT THEN WE'D PLAY FOR THIRTY MINUTES, THEY'D BE LIKE, WOW, THESE GUYS CAN REALLY PLAY, THIS IS GOOD.

THEN WE'D START MOVING, AND PROCESSING ON THE PLATFORM UP THE STAIRS, UP THE STREET.

BY THE TIME WE GET UP THE STREET, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE A CROWD, MAY HAVE STARTED WITH 20, IT'S NOW, LIKE, 200 PEOPLE.

GATES: "LOVE RIOTS," YOU CALL THEM.

BATISTE: LOVE RIOT.

THE ENERGY OF IT IS LIKE A RIOT, BUT EVERYBODY'S LIKE THIS, SMILING.

GATES: JON'S "LOVE RIOTS" WOULD BRING HIM FAME AND A VERY HIGH-PROFILE GIG.

COLBERT: TAKE US OUT, KEEP US HUMAN.

GATES: IN 2014, HE PERFORMED ON "THE COLBERT REPORT" COLBERT: JON BATISTE.

STAY HUMAN EVERYBODY.

GATES: AND ENDED UP AS STEPHEN'S BAND-LEADER AND MUSICAL DIRECTOR.

A POSITION HE STILL HOLDS TODAY.

AND WHILE THE JOB HAS KEPT HIM IN NEW YORK, JON REGULARLY RETURNS TO HIS LOUISIANA HOMETOWN.

DRIVEN BY A PROFOUND SENSE OF DEBT TO THE FAMILY THAT LAUNCHED HIM... BATISTE: WITH THE NAME BATISTE IN NEW ORLEANS, IT'S ALMOST LIKE MUSICAL ROYALTY, IN A WAY, WHERE YOU HAVE TO LIVE UP TO IT.

GATES: UH-HUH.

BATISTE: AND I REMEMBER ALWAYS FEELING, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER I STEPPED TO THE PIANO, UH, UH, I'M GONNA MAKE IT ROCK, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M A BATISTE.

GATES: MY THIRD GUEST IS SASHEER ZAMATA.

ZAMATA: HELO, HELLO.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING.

GATES: SASHEER BROKE THROUGH ON "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" AND SHE'S FAST BECOMING A MAINSTAY OF AMERICAN COMEDY.

UNLIKE JON AND STERLING, SASHEER GREW UP WITHOUT A STRONG CONNECTION TO ANY ONE PLACE IN PARTICULAR.

THE DAUGHTER OF AN AIR FORCE OFFICER, HER FAMILY WAS CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE AND HOME WAS A LIST OF DISPARATE TOWNS... ZAMATA: YEAH, WE MOVED AROUND A BUNCH.

UH, I WAS BORN IN OKINAWA, JAPAN.

THEN WE MOVED TO LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, AND THEN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA.

GATES: AND HOW DO YOU THINK IT SHAPED THE PERSON YOU ARE TODAY?

ZAMATA: WELL, I DO THINK IT AFFECTED HOW I VIEW FRIENDSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE I KNEW THAT I WOULD LEAVE SOON, SO I THINK THAT HINDERED ME FROM WANTING TO CREATE STRONG BONDS.

GATES: DON'T GET TOO ATTACHED.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

GATES: BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOUR HEART BROKEN.

ZAMATA: EXACTLY.

GATES: SASHEER TOLD ME THAT HER SENSE OF HUMOR DEVELOPED AS A WAY OF BONDING WITH OTHER KIDS AS SHE MOVED FROM PLACE TO PLACE BUT THAT SHE NEVER SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED IT AS A CAREER OPTION UNTIL SHE GOT TO COLLEGE, WHERE SHE BEGAN DOING THEATER AND ULTIMATELY DECIDED TO FORM AN IMPROV COMEDY GROUP... ZAMATA: I WAS TRYING TO BE A JOURNALIST, A BROADCAST JOURNALIST, AND THEN THE MORE I PERFORMED IN COLLEGE, THE MORE I WAS LIKE I THINK THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO... GATES: IF I HAD TOLD MY PARENTS, AND MY FATHER WAS FUNNY, AND MY MOTHER WAS FUNNY.

I TRIED TO BE FUNNY BUT IF I HAD TOLD THEM THAT I WAS GOING TO GO INTO COMEDY THEY WOULD'VE LOST THEIR MINDS.

ZAMATA: MM-HMM.

GATES: YOU KNOW, I WAS RAISED TO BE A DOCTOR.

DID YOUR PARENTS FLIP OUT OR DID THEY SAY, BABY, WE KNEW IT ALL THE TIME?

ZAMATA: MMM, WHEN I STARTED MAKING MONEY, THEY WERE LIKE, "WE KNEW IT ALL THE TIME."

GATES: YEAH.

RIGHT.

ZAMATA: BUT YEAH WHEN I TOLD MY MOM I'M CHANGING MY MAJOR TO DRAMA, AND SHE WAS LIKE.

"HOW?

WHY.

LIKE HOW WILL YOU MAKE MONEY?"

AND I WAS LIKE, "I DON'T KNOW.

I HAVE DREAMS.

I'LL EAT WITH MY DREAMS!"

GATES: SASHEER, OF COURSE, ENDED UP SUCCEEDING WELL BEYOND HER DREAMS.

BUT THERE WERE SOME VERY LEAN TIMES ALONG THE WAY.

AFTER COLLEGE, SHE MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY AND BEGAN AUDITIONING FOR ACTING JOBS.

SHE QUICKLY DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS MUCH HARDER THAN IT SEEMED...

INDEED, IT WOULD TAKE HER YEARS TO BREAK OUT...

BUT THROUGH IT ALL, SASHEER WAS BUOYED BY A ZEN-LIKE SENSE OF CALM AND A DEEP RESERVE OF SELF-CONFIDENCE, BOTH BYPRODUCTS, IT SEEMS, OF HER NOMADIC UPBRINGING... ZAMATA: I REMEMBER A MOMENT WHERE I WAS ON THE SUBWAY CRYING, UH, BECAUSE I WAS LIKE I FEEL LIKE I PROBABLY HAVE TO LEAVE SOON, AND LIKE THERE WAS THIS BUSKER SINGING "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD."

GATES: OH MAN.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG.

ZAMATA: YEAH, WHICH MADE ME CRY EVEN HARDER AND UH I DON'T KNOW.

SOMETHING ABOUT THAT I WAS JUST LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

LIKE THIS IS A STRUGGLE.

THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME ROUGH PATCHES, BUT LIKE I THINK I'LL BE OKAY HERE, AND THEN I WAS... GATES: AND THAT WAS YOUR MOMENT OF TRANSITION.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

GATES: YEAH.

ZAMATA: I CAN BET ON MYSELF AND I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT IN BEING LIKE I KNOW I'LL BE OKAY, AND SOMETIMES I'M FAKING IT AND I DON'T KNOW IF I'M GOING TO BE OKAY.

GATES: BUT THAT'S AN INSTINCT, THAT'S A GIFT.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

GATES: YOU HAVE TO LEARN THAT, YOU KNOW.

ZAMATA: YEAH, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I LEARNED IT, BUT I DO FEEL LIKE I LEARNED IT PRETTY EARLY.

GATES: MEETING MY GUESTS, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THEY HAD BEEN SHAPED BY THEIR CHILDHOODS IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS...

BUT TURNING TO THEIR ROOTS, THEIR EXPERIENCES BEGAN TO CONVERGE... ALL THREE HAD BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE THEIR FAMILIES CAME FROM AND ALMOST NO KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR DISTANT ANCESTRY.

IT WAS TIME TO PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS.

BROWN: I DON'T KNOW THAT MUCH ABOUT MY FATHER'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY BECAUSE HE PASSED AWAY WHEN I WAS FAIRLY YOUNG, SO TO KNOW SOME MORE ABOUT THAT.

GATES: I STARTED WITH STERLING K. BROWN AND WITH THE EVENT THAT SO DISRUPTED HIS CHILDHOOD HOME.

HIS FATHER'S DEATH FROM HEART DISEASE WHEN HE WAS JUST TEN YEARS OLD... A MEMORY THAT HAUNTS HIM TODAY.

BROWN: I WOKE UP IN THE MORNING TO GO TO SCHOOL, AND... MY MOM WAS IN THE KITCHEN ON THE PHONE WITH THE 911 DISPATCHER, AND I WALKED IN AND SHE'S CRYING.

AND UH, PARAMEDICS COME AND THEY TAKE HIM OUT, AND WE HAVE A SPLIT-LEVEL HOUSE SO WE HAVE TO GO DOWN THE STEPS TO GET TO THE FRONT DOOR.

AND I REMEMBER HIM, LIKE, WINKING AS THEY PULLED HIM OUT INTO THE UH, AMBULANCE.

AND I REMEMBER THINKING IN MY MIND, I WAS LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY IT, LIKE THAT'S PROBABLY IT, LIKE IT'S JUST SOMETHING UNSAID.

AND THEY DIDN'T LET ME GO TO THE HOSPITAL CAUSE THEY THOUGHT I WAS TOO YOUNG, WHAT HAVE YOU.

AND SO, THE NEXT DAY I JUST WANTED TO KEEP IT NORMAL AND UH, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT DAY OBVIOUSLY EVERYBODY'S BRINGING FOOD, AND ALL THESE OTHER PEOPLE ARE GRIEVING THE LOSS.

AND I REMEMBER EVERYBODY WAS GRIEVING, I WAS LIKE I KIND OF HAVE TO HOLD IT TOGETHER.

AND SO, IT WASN'T REALLY FOR ABOUT FIVE OR SIX YEARS THAT IT REALLY JUST ALL HIT AT THAT AT ONE TIME THAT HE WAS GONE AND NOT COMING BACK.

GATES: YEAH, YOU REPRESSED.

BROWN: YEAH.

GATES: YEAH.

BROWN: NOT, NOT ANYMORE.

NOW I JUST LOOK AT PICTURES, I'M LIKE, OH.

GATES: IN LOSING HIS FATHER, STERLING ALSO LOST THE CHANCE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS PATERNAL ROOTS.

HE TOLD ME THAT HE KNEW HIS GRANDFATHER, WHOM HE'D VISITED OCCASIONALLY AS A CHILD, BUT THAT THE REST OF HIS FATHER'S FAMILY TREE WAS A MYSTERY... A MYSTERY THAT EVEN INCLUDED HIS GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED WILLIE MAE BROWN.

GATES: NOW, STERLING, THIS RECORD WAS FILED IN THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS IN 1954.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIBED SECTION?

BROWN: "NAME OF DECEASED, WILLIE MAE BROWN.

DATE OF DEATH, OCTOBER 10, 1954.

DATE OF BIRTH, FEBRUARY 26TH, 1925."

OOH, 29.

GATES: THIS IS THE DEATH CERTIFICATE FOR YOUR FATHER'S MOTHER... BROWN: RIGHT.

GATES: NOW SHE DIED AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 29, A MONTH BEFORE YOUR FATHER'S THIRTEENTH BIRTHDAY.

BROWN: WOW.

GATES: DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT THAT, THAT YOUR FATHER, LIKE YOU, LOST A PARENT AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE?

BROWN: NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT.

UM, NO, I HAD NO IDEA.

AND SHE WAS...

I THINK ABOUT MY DAD BEING 45 AND HOW YOUNG HE WAS.

GATES: OH, YEAH.

BROWN: SHE WAS 29.

GATES: SHE HAD HEART COMPLICATIONS JUST LIKE YOUR FATHER DID.

BROWN: YEAH.

MY PEOPLE, MY PEOPLE.

GATES: THERE YOU GO.

BROWN: GOLLY.

GATES: ACCORDING TO HER DEATH CERTIFICATE, WILLIE MAE WAS BORN IN GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI AND WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE HER ANCESTRY BACK ALMOST A CENTURY IN THAT STATE.

ALL THE WAY BACK TO STERLING'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

A COUPLE NAMED HENRY WOODLEY AND SARAH NELSON WHO MARRIED IN THE YEAR 1870.

GATES: SO DID YOU EVER THINK THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO GO BACK THIS FAR IN TIME?

BROWN: NO.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO KNOW THEIR NAMES?

BROWN: I DON'T KNOW.

IT'S LIKE THE, THE MYSTERY OF IT ALL, LIKE THAT, THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY EXISTED.

YOU KNOW IN THEORY THAT LIKE YOU HAVE TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE BUT NOW YOU HAVE REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL NAMES AND REAL BIRTHPLACES... GATES: MMM-HMM.

BROWN: IT'S SURREAL IN ITS REALNESS, YOU KNOW, TO ACTUALLY SEE IT AND IF, IF EVEN IF IT DOESN'T GO FURTHER BACK THAN THAT, THE FACT THAT LIKE, LIKE NEXT TIME I GO TO MISSISSIPPI IT'S GONNA BE LIKE A, A DIFFERENT SORT OF THING FOR ME.

GATES: MISSISSIPPI WAS HOME TO AT LEAST THREE GENERATIONS OF STERLING'S ANCESTORS...

BUT TO TELL THEIR STORY MORE FULLY, WE HAD TO CONFRONT THE CENTRAL EVENT IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY.

IN THE 1900 CENSUS, WE FOUND STERLING'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDPARENTS HENRY AND SARAH LIVING WITH SARAH'S MOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED NANCY, AND DISCOVERED THAT THEY HAD ALL BEEN BORN BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR... GATES: SO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

BROWN: IT JUST HIT ME, LIKE THEY WERE SLAVES.

GATES: THAT MEANS THAT HENRY, SARAH AND NANCY WERE ALL LIKELY BORN INTO SLAVERY.

BROWN: WOW, MAN.

WOW.

GATES: HAVE YOU GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO YOUR ANCESTORS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN ENSLAVED?

I MEAN YOU SAW "ROOTS."

DID YOU GO THERE IN YOUR HEAD AND YOU'D THINK ABOUT IT?

BROWN: YES.

I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT I, I NEVER THOUGHT THAT LIKE I WOULD BE ABLE TO TRACE IT, TO ACTUALLY KNOW IT.

GATES: UH-HUH, AND NAME IT.

BROWN: YEAH.

GATES: NAME YOUR ANCESTORS FROM THERE.

YEP.

BROWN: YES.

NO, THIS IS AMAZING.

GATES: WE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STERLING'S ENSLAVED ANCESTORS, BUT WITH ONLY THE RAREST EXCEPTIONS, ENSLAVED PEOPLE WERE NOT IDENTIFIED BY NAME IN CENSUS RECORDS.

OUR ONLY HOPE WAS TO FIND THEM LISTED IN THE DOCUMENTS LEFT BEHIND BY THE PEOPLE WHO OWNED THEM...

SO WE BEGAN SEARCHING FOR SLAVE OWNERS WITH THE SAME LAST NAMES AS STERLING'S ANCESTORS... AND IN THE 1860 CENSUS FOR MISSISSIPPI, WE FOUND A PLANTER NAMED SAMUEL NELSON.

WHAT'S MORE, WE DISCOVERED THAT IN 1859, SAMUEL HAD APPLIED FOR A MORTGAGE...

PUTTING UP SIXTY-EIGHT OF HIS SLAVES AS COLLATERAL...

LISTING THEM BY AGE AND BY THEIR FIRST NAME.

SOME OF THOSE NAMES WERE VERY FAMILIAR... BROWN: "THE FOLLOWING SLAVES NOW ON THE SAID LAND TO WIT, GILBERT, 1, FIELDING, 30, NANCY, 24."

AND I'LL BE DAMNED.

YOU FOUND THEM, LIKE YOU FOUND THEM, MAN... NANCY.

WOW, YOU FOUND MY FAMILY, DUDE.

GATES: IT'S ONLY THROUGH DOCUMENTS LIKE THIS THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO APPROXIMATE THE IDENTITY OF A BLACK PERSON'S ANCESTORS WHO WERE ENSLAVED.

BROWN: RIGHT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS WEIRD SORT OF THING, AND YOU'LL UNDERSTAND THIS, BEING BLACK IN THIS COUNTRY, LIKE LIFE FOR ME BEGINS IN ST. LOUIS, RIGHT?

THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I KNOW.

AND IT'S JUST LIKE YOU GET SO USED TO NOT KNOWING FOR SO LONG THAT IT'S A, IT'S JUST A, IT'S A JOY TO KNOW THAT LIKE IT'S, IT'S REAL, LIKE I, I'M REAL IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.

GATES: MUCH LIKE STERLING, JON BATISTE GREW UP KNOWING VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIS ROOTS BUT FEELING STRONGLY ATTACHED TO A PLACE... NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA WHERE HIS MUSICAL FAMILY WAS MUCH CELEBRATED... BATISTE: IN NEW ORLEANS, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY KNEW MY NAME BEFORE THEY KNEW WHO I WAS.

GATES: ONE OF THE BATISTE BOYS.

BATISTE: YES, EXACTLY, YOU A PART OF THE BATISTE CLAN, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GO ON THE SCENE, YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO THE CLUBS OR YOU GO TO A PERFORMANCE, AND LIL BAT.

GATES: YOU'RE LITTLE BAT.

BATISTE: THAT'S RIGHT.

GATES: SURPRISINGLY, AS WE TURNED TO JON'S FAMILY TREE, OUR RESEARCH QUICKLY TOOK US FAR FROM HIS BELOVED NEW ORLEANS.

MOVING BACK JUST ONE GENERATION FROM HIS PARENTS, WE FOUND OURSELVES OVER 2000 MILES AWAY ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF PORTLAND, OREGON WHERE, IN THE EARLY 1940S, HIS GRANDMOTHER ESTELLA WAS WORKING IN A SHIPYARD... BATISTE: "ESTELLA CURTIS, VANPORT CITY, OREGON."

GATES: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF VANPORT CITY?

BATISTE: NEVER.

GATES: ANY IDEA WHAT ESTELLA MIGHT HAVE BEEN DOING IN VANPORT CITY, OREGON?

BATISTE: NO CLUE.

OREGON?

THOUGHT WE WERE FROM THE SOUTH.

GATES: AS IT TURNS OUT, ESTELLA ILLUMINATES A FASCINATING, YET LITTLE KNOWN ASPECT OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.

SHE WAS BORN IN 1915 IN RURAL GEORGIA, WHERE HER PROSPECTS WERE SEVERELY LIMITED BY THE BARRIERS IMPOSED BY JIM CROW.

BUT AS THE UNITED STATES PREPARED TO ENTER WORLD WAR II PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT CAME UNDER PRESSURE FROM BLACK LEADERS TO BAN RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN DEFENSE INDUSTRY HIRING PRACTICES... A DECISION THAT ULTIMATELY WOULD LEAD ESTELLA ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THEY WERE TRYING TO FORCE ROOSEVELT TO DE-SEGREGATE THE INDUSTRIES RELATED TO THE WAR EFFORT... BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: TO THE MILITARY.

HE'D BEEN TRYING TO GET HIM TO DE-SEGREGATE THE MILITARY, HE SAID NO, BUT THEY DID DE-SEGREGATE DEFENSE INDUSTRIES, AND THAT'S HOW YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS ABLE TO GET THAT JOB.

BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: THE KAISER SHIPBUILDING COMPANY HAD THREE SHIPYARDS ALONG THE COLUMBIA AND WILLAMETTE RIVERS, AND YOUR GRANDMOTHER WORKED AT ONE OF THOSE SHIPYARDS.

BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE HER ID AND BADGE.

BATISTE: WOW.

HOO.

GATES: AND YOU HAD NO IDEA?

BATISTE: NO, NO.

THIS IS AMAZING.

GATES: AND YOUR GRANDFATHER ALSO MOVED WEST TO WORK IN THE SHIPYARDS, AND WHEN THEY MARRIED, HE LIVED IN VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON.

BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW... BATISTE: DIDN'T KNOW THAT EITHER.

GATES: JON'S GRANDPARENTS WERE PART OF A SIGNIFICANT DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT AS PORTLAND'S BLACK POPULATION INCREASED TENFOLD DURING THE WAR.

SADLY, THE REGION'S WHITE POPULATION DIDN'T EXACTLY HANG OUT THE WELCOME SIGN FOR THEIR NEW NEIGHBORS... BLACK WORKERS WERE RELEGATED TO LIVING IN CHEAPLY-MADE PUBLIC HOUSING LIKE VANPORT CITY... GATES: WHICH WAS BUILT IN A FLOOD ZONE.

BATISTE: WOW, WOW.

GATES: BY 1946, YOUR GRANDPARENTS HAD MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS.

TWO YEARS LATER, THE DIKES AROUND VANPORT BREACHED.

BATISTE: HUH.

GATES: AND THE MARSHLAND CITY WAS WIPED OUT IN LESS THAN ONE HOUR... BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: 18,500 PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED BY THE FLOOD, AND YOUR GRANDPARENTS MISSED IT BY TWO YEARS, BY MOVING.

ISN'T THAT AMAZING?

BATISTE: WHOO, THAT'S HEAVY.

GATES: ALTHOUGH ESTELLLA WAS LUCKY TO GET OUT OF VANPORT CITY, JON'S FAMILY TOLD US THAT HIS GRANDMOTHER'S RETURN TO THE SOUTH WASN'T ENTIRELY A HAPPY ONE...

INDEED, THEY SAID THAT ESTELLA WAS NEVER COMFORTABLE IN JIM CROW NEW ORLEANS.

SHE'D GLIMPSED THE POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATION AND SHE WAS DETERMINED TO DO BETTER.

TURNING TO HER ROOTS, WE FOUND THAT SHE WASN'T THE FIRST MEMBER OF HER FAMILY TO SHOW SUCH DETERMINATION.

HER GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED SAM CURTIS, WAS BORN AROUND 1830, LIKELY INTO SLAVERY.

BUT WHEN FREEDOM CAME, SAM SHOWED THAT THE EXPERIENCE HAD LEFT HIM UNBOWED: HE SOON REGISTERED TO VOTE IN GEORGIA...

SIGNING HIS NAME WITH AN "X" BECAUSE HE, LIKE MOST FORMER SLAVES, WAS ILLITERATE... BATISTE: THIS IS, THAT'S POWERFUL.

THINK ABOUT THAT, JUST THE IDEA OF SIGNING SOMETHING, SIGNING SOMETHING, AND WE TAKE, WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.

GATES: AND THIS WOULD'VE BEEN THE FIRST THING HE PROBABLY, HE SIGNED... BATISTE: THE FIRST THING HE SIGNED.

GATES: RIGHT.

THAT'S ASTONISHING, MAN.

BATISTE: THAT'S A LOT TO PROCESS.

GATES: YEAH.

BATISTE: WHOO WHOO, X.

GATES: AND THAT IS HIS WRITING.

BATISTE: HE WAS LIKE... GATES: THAT'S ME.

BATISTE: THAT'S ME.

GATES: YEP, SAM X. BATISTE: YEAH.

GATES: SAM REGISTERED TO VOTE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS PASSED BY CONGRESS IN THE WAKE OF THE CIVIL WAR.

ACTS THAT WERE INTENDED TO REMAKE THE CONFEDERATE SOUTH BY GIVING THE FORMERLY ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICANS THE FULL RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP...

THE RESULTS, INITIALLY AT LEAST WERE ASTOUNDING... BY 1868, GEORGIA HAD THREE BLACK STATE SENATORS AND 29 BLACK CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES... GAINS THAT WERE PARALLELED THROUGHOUT THE FORMER CONFEDERACY!

TRAGICALLY, HOWEVER, THESE ADVANCES WERE QUICKLY UNDONE.

BY 1871, WHITE CONSERVATIVES HAD RE-ESTABLISHED COMPLETE CONTROL OVER GEORGIA'S LEGISLATURE AND A NEW ERA HAD BEGUN... GATES: IT'S AMAZING, YOU KNOW?

THE WHOLE HISTORY OF RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA WOULD HAVE, WOULD'VE BEEN DIFFERENT, HAD NOT RECONSTRUCTION BEEN ROLLED BACK.

BATISTE: OH MY GOODNESS, YEAH.

GATES: DOES THIS KNOWLEDGE HAVE AN EFFECT ON HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF?

BATISTE: YES, OF COURSE.

UM, THE, AND ALSO HOW I SEE OUR PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, THAT THE STORY OF COMING OUT OF SLAVERY AND FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S UNIQUE JUST TO MY LINE.

AND THAT, THAT BRINGS COMMUNITY TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT, UM, IS DEEPLY PROFOUND.

GATES: SEE, THAT'S WHY THEY HAD TO PUT THE GENIE BACK IN THE BOTTLE, MAN.

THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY RECONSTRUCTION, THEY GO, WHOA, WE HAVE UNLEASHED A MONSTER.

BATISTE: RIGHT, LET'S HOLD... LET'S HOLD THIS BACK AS... GATES: SAM HAS MADE HIS X. BATISTE: THEY UNDERESTIMATED... GATES: THEY UNDERESTIMATED, AND WHEN THEY REALIZED IT, THEY JUST CRUSHED IT.

BATISTE: ABSOLUTELY.

GATES: DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT YOUR FAMILY TREE?

ZAMATA: NOT A TON, NO.

GATES: MY THIRD GUEST, SASHEER ZAMATA, GREW UP IN A MILITARY FAMILY, MOVING FREQUENTLY.

BUT HER MATERNAL ANCESTRY IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND IN HER MOTHER IVORY'S HOMETOWN OF FORREST CITY, WE ENCOUNTERED A SURPRISING STORY.

HERE, IN 1965, IVORY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BLACK STUDENTS TO INTEGRATE THE LOCAL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL...

PLACING HER BRIEFLY ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT...

YET IVORY'S EXPERIENCE ILLUMINATES NUANCES OF THAT MOVEMENT THAT ARE RARELY DISCUSSED... ZAMATA: IT WAS ROUGH.

IT WAS REALLY ROUGH, AND I THINK SHE FELT LONELY AT SCHOOL, AT HOME... GATES: AND SHE FELT, SHE TOLD YOU THAT HER MOM PRESSURED HER INTO DOING THIS.

ZAMATA: OH YEAH, SHE DIDN'T GET A CHOICE.

GATES: RIGHT.

ZAMATA: IT WAS YOU ARE DOING THIS.

PARENTS COULD ELECT TO HAVE THEIR FAMILY PARTICIPATE IN THIS, AND SO THAT'S WHAT HER PARENTS DID, WHICH IS LIKE AWESOME, BUT IT'S A LOT OF WEIGHT FALLING ON THESE KIDS' SHOULDERS WHO DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS.

SHE WANTED TO BE WHERE THE OTHER BLACK KIDS WERE.

GATES: NO, SHE WAS TWELVE.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

GATES: YEAH, SO HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS TODAY?

DO YOU IDENTIFY MORE WITH YOUR MOM OR WITH YOUR GRANDMOTHER?

ZAMATA: I GET WHAT MY GRANDMA WAS DOING.

I MEAN IT'S LIKE SOMEONE HAS TO SAY YES, WE ARE STARTING THIS.

WE ARE CHOOSING TO, UM, MAKE A CHANGE.

BUT THAT'S REALLY HARD TO BE THE FIRST.

GATES: SASHEER'S GRANDMOTHER MAURICE MAHON SEEMED LIKE A FASCINATING FIGURE, BUT AS WE BEGAN TO RESEARCH HER ROOTS, WE HIT A WALL.

WE KNEW SHE WAS BORN IN ARKANSAS IN 1916 AND WE KNEW THAT HER FATHER WAS A MAN NAMED LEROY MAHON.

BUT WE COULDN'T GET BACK BEYOND LEROY.

THERE WERE SIMPLY NO MAHONS ANYWHERE IN ARKANSAS OR ANYWHERE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIS PARENTS.

FORTUNATELY, SASHEER'S MOTHER HAD HEARD A FAMILY STORY THAT LEROY HAD CHANGED HIS SURNAME AS AN ADULT AND HIS DEATH CERTIFICATE CONFIRMED THIS STORY; OPENING AN ENTIRELY NEW BRANCH ON SASHEER'S FAMILY TREE... ZAMATA: "LEROY WASHINGTON MAHON.

FATHER NAME, HENRY STENTHOUSE.

MOTHER MAIDEN NAME, VINA STENTHOUSE."

GATES: YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER LEROY HAD A DIFFERENT SURNAME THAN HIS PARENTS DID.

ZAMATA: HMM.

GATES: YOUR MOM NEVER TALKED ABOUT THIS?

ZAMATA: NO.

UH, UH.

GATES: YOUR MOTHER TOLD US THAT HER GRANDFATHER WAS BORN AS LEROY WASHINGTON STENTHOUSE AND ACCORDING TO YOUR MOM, HE ADOPTED THE NAME MAHON LATER IN LIFE.

ZAMATA: WOW.

GATES: SO YOU'VE NEVER HEARD THE NAME STENHOUSE?

ZAMATA: NO.

NEVER.

GATES: HM.

WELL THAT WAS YOUR ORIGINAL FAMILY NAME.

ZAMATA: VERY COOL.

GATES: WITH THIS NEW NAME IN MIND, WE SOON FOUND OURSELVES FAR AWAY FROM ARKANSAS... WE DISCOVERED THAT LEROY STENHOUSE HAD BEEN BORN IN GREENVILLE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA ALMOST CERTAINLY INTO SLAVERY... CENSUS RECORDS ALSO REVEALED THAT LEROY AND HIS PARENTS LIVED VERY CLOSE TO TWO WHITE MEN, BROTHERS NAMED JOHN AND ADAM STENHOUSE AND A SEARCH OF THEIR RECORDS INDICATED THAT ONE, OR BOTH, OF THESE BROTHERS LIKELY OWNED SASHEER'S ANCESTORS...

ALLOWING US TO SHOW SASHEER SOMETHING FEW AFRICAN AMERICANS CAN EVER SEE... ANY IDEA WHAT THAT IS?

ZAMATA: NO.

GATES: THAT'S THE HOME OF JOHN STENHOUSE, ONE OF THE TWO BROTHERS WE BELIEVE OWNED YOUR ANCESTORS.

THIS IS WHERE YOUR ANCESTORS LIKELY SPENT THEIR LIVES WORKING AS SLAVES.

WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

ZAMATA: THAT IS VERY STRANGE.

UH, YEAH.

IT'S WEIRD BECAUSE LIKE IT'S A HOUSE, BUT IT'S ALSO, UM, THE HOUSE THAT ENSLAVED MY FAMILY.

GATES: A PRISON HOUSE.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

BOY.

GATES: LIFE, OF COURSE, IMPROVED TREMENDOUSLY FOR SASHEER'S ANCESTORS WHEN FREEDOM CAME AND THEY LEFT THIS HOUSE.

BUT IT WAS STILL DIFFICULT...

THEY SCRAPED BY AS FARMERS, WORKING LAND THEY DIDN'T OWN SURROUNDED BY A RISING TIDE OF ANTI-BLACK RACISM THAT ACCOMPANIED RECONSTRUCTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA...

INDEED, BY 1868, WHAT WE NOW KNOW AS THE KU KLUX KLAN WAS NIGHT-RIDING THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

IT'S DIFFICULT EVEN TO IMAGINE WHAT SASHEER'S ANCESTORS HAD TO ENDURE... GATES: DID YOUR GRANDMOTHER MAURICE EVER TALK ABOUT ANY OF THESE EXPERIENCES OR... ZAMATA: NO, I DIDN'T GET THESE STORIES.

NO.

GATES: WELL.

WE KNOW THAT YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER LEE MOVED TO ARKANSAS AND CHANGED HIS LAST NAME.

I MEAN, I DON'T BLAME HIM.

YOU KNOW, I AM OUT OF HERE.

HE SAID I DON'T WANT TO BE A STENHOUSE AND I DON'T WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH NO SOUTH CAROLINA.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

GATES: BUT DID YOU EVER HEAR ANY STORIES ABOUT WHAT BROUGHT YOUR FAMILY TO ARKANSAS?

ZAMATA: NO.

GATES: WELL.

YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A BEFORE ARKANSAS.

ZAMATA: I JUST ASSUMED IT STARTED IN ARKANSAS.

GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

SASHEER, THIS IS THE JANUARY 5, 1882 EDITION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE HIGHLIGHTED LINES?

ZAMATA: "THE SOUTH CAROLINA EXODUS.

5,000 NEGROES SAID TO HAVE LEFT THEIR HOMES FOR ARKANSAS."

GATES: DID YOU EVER HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS IN ANY OF YOUR HISTORY LESSONS?

ZAMATA: NO.

GATES: IN THE LATE 1870S AND THE EARLY 1880S, BLACK SOUTHERNERS BEGAN PACKING UP THEIR FAMILIES AND HEADING WEST FOR ARKANSAS, COLORADO, KANSAS, AND OTHER STATES.

SOME PLANTATIONS WERE LITERALLY... (LAUGHS).

LIKE PEOPLE WOULD WAKE AND THE NEGROES WOULD BE GONE!

ZAMATA: THAT'S GREAT.

THAT'S AWESOME.

GATES: WE DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT MOTIVATED SASHEER'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER TO MIGRATE.

HOWEVER, WE BELIEVE LEROY ARRIVED IN ARKANSAS AROUND 1888 WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 28 YEARS OLD, AND WE BELIEVE THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY A BROTHER, BUT WE AREN'T CERTAIN.

WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT IN HIS NEW HOME STATE, LEROY DID SOMETHING REMARKABLE... ZAMATA: "THE TOWN OF FARGO WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1911 BY MR. LEROY WASHINGTON MAHON."

WAIT.

"THE TOWN OF FARGO WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1911 BY MR. LEROY WASHINGTON MAHON TAKING A 40-ACRE PLOT OF HIS FARM, HAVING IT SURVEYED AND MARKED OFF INTO STREETS AND LOTS, HE HAD THE PLANS FOR A LITTLE TOWN.

BLACK HOMEOWNERS BOUGHT LOTS AND BUILT HOMES."

WHAT?

UH, I DID NOT KNOW HE MADE A TOWN.

OH MY GOD, THIS IS CRAZY.

WHOA.

I LOVE THIS, AND THEN OTHER BLACK HOMEOWNERS LIVED THERE.

GATES: MM-HMM.

ZAMATA: THAT'S SO AWESOME.

(SIGHS).

THAT'S CRAZY.

HE STARTED A TOWN.

I'M GOING TO CRY.

THAT'S SO WEIRD TO KNOW.

GATES: HE WAS AN AMAZING MAN, AND YOU DESCEND FROM HIM.

ZAMATA: YEAH.

YEAH, THAT'S VERY COOL.

GATES: FARGO, ARKANSAS WAS SITUATED NEAR A RAILWAY LINE THAT RAN ACROSS THE SOUTH, CONNECTING MISSOURI TO TEXAS.

EVENTUALLY IT WOULD COME TO INCLUDE A TRAIN DEPOT AND A SCHOOL, WHICH EDUCATED GENERATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS.

BUT IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE VISION OF SASHEER'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER PROVIDING SASHEER, AT LAST, WITH A TRUE SENSE OF ROOTS... ZAMATA: ALL THIS STUFF IS LIKE, AMAZING.

AND IT'S REALLY EYE-OPENING TO SEE THESE HOLES BE FILLED.

I MEAN, FOR SUCH A LONG TIME I COULDN'T ANSWER QUESTIONS WHEN PEOPLE WERE LIKE WHERE ARE YOU FROM, WHAT'S YOUR MAKEUP, WHO ARE YOUR PEOPLE?

I DIDN'T KNOW, AND IT'S NICE TO HAVE ANSWERS.

GATES: WE HAD ALREADY TRACED STERLING BROWN'S FATHER'S ANCESTRY BACK FOUR GENERATIONS TO PARTS OF MISSISSIPPI THAT HE'D NEVER BEFORE CONNECTED TO HIS FAMILY.

NOW, TURNING TO HIS MOTHER'S ROOTS, WE WERE ABOUT TO VISIT A PLACE THAT WOULD PROVE EVEN MORE SURPRISING... OUR JOURNEY BEGAN WITH THE 1900 CENSUS FOR LIBERTY, MISSISSIPPI.

WHERE WE FOUND STERLING'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS: FRANK AND SALLIE BANKS.

THIS IS A LINE OF STERLING'S ANCESTRY THAT HE THOUGHT HE KNEW WELL...

ACCORDING TO FAMILY LORE, FRANK AND SALLY WERE EXCEPTIONALLY ACCOMPLISHED AND THE CENSUS BORE THIS OUT... GATES: CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE TRANSCRIPTION SAYS ABOUT THEIR HOME?

BROWN: OWNED OR RENTED?

GATES: YES.

OWNED.

BROWN: THEY OWNED IT.

GATES: THAT'S RIGHT.

YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, FRANK AND SALLIE, OWNED THEIR OWN FARM AND THAT WAS NO SMALL FEAT.

BROWN: NO.

GATES: IN 1900 LESS THAN 20% OF ALL BLACK FARMERS IN MISSISSIPPI OWNED THE LAND THAT THEY WORKED ON.

BROWN: LESS THAN 20%?

GATES: LESS THAN 20%.

AND THIS IS 35 YEARS OUT OF SLAVERY.

BROWN: RIGHT.

GATES: CAUSE SLAVERY ENDS IN 1865 AND IT'S 1900.

BROWN: THAT'S AMAZING.

GATES: YEAH.

BROWN: OKAY.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT, BANKS.

GATES: ARE, ARE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE THAT?

BROWN: THIS IS, THIS IS IN KEEPING WITH LORE.

THIS IS IN KEEPING WITH LORE, AND IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT LIKE, OKAY, THEY, THEY DIDN'T OVER-INFLATE THIS PART.

GATES: WHILE WE WERE CERTAINLY GLAD TO CONFIRM STERLING'S FAMILY STORIES, THAT WASN'T OUR MAIN PURPOSE HERE.

THE REASON WE'D FOCUSED ON THE BANK'S FAMILY WAS THAT THIS CENSUS RECORD CONTAINED A VERY IMPORTANT DETAIL... GATES: PLEASE READ WHO ELSE LIVES IN FRANK AND SALLIE'S HOUSEHOLD?

BROWN: "MALINDA ALLEN, GRANDMOTHER, WIDOW.

BORN APRIL, 1818 IN MISSISSIPPI."

GATES: THIS DOCUMENT DOESN'T SPECIFY WHOSE GRANDMOTHER MALINDA IS, BUT MOST OF THE RECORDS WE GATHERED SUGGEST THAT SHE WAS THE GRANDMOTHER OF SALLIE, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU JUST MET YOUR FOURTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

MALINDA ALLEN IS YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

BROWN: WOW.

GATES: AND ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS SHE WAS BORN ABOUT 1818 LIKELY IN SLAVERY IN MISSISSIPPI.

BROWN: RIGHT.

RIGHT.

RIGHT.

WOW.

OH, MY GOODNESS.

THAT'S AWESOME.

THAT'S, THIS, MY FAMILY'S GOING TO FLIP.

I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY KNOWS MALINDA ALLEN... GATES: YEAH.

BROWN: A NAME I'VE NEVER HEARD.

OH, WOW.

GATES: FOLLOWING MALINDA'S PAPER TRAIL, WE CAME TO THE 1880 CENSUS, WHERE WE FOUND HER LIVING WITH HER HUSBAND, JESSE ALLEN IN AMITE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI.

JESSE, ALMOST CERTAINLY, IS STERLING'S 4TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER... BROWN: I'LL BE DAMNED.

GATES: AND ACCORDING TO THIS CENSUS, JESSE WAS BORN ABOUT THE YEAR 1815, ALSO IN MISSISSIPPI.

BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT JESSE THAT I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY SURPRISED ME.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

BROWN: OKAY.

GATES: NOW, STERLING, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ WHERE JESSE'S PARENTS WERE BORN?

BROWN: "BIRTHPLACE OF FATHER, AFRICA.

BIRTHPLACE OF MOTHER, AFRICA."

WOW, MAN.

WOW.

THAT'S UH... THAT'S, THAT'S COOL, THAT'S COOL.

GATES: WE ALMOST NEVER SEE A NATIVE-BORN AFRICAN IDENTIFIED IN THE FAMILY TREES OF BLACK AMERICANS... AND IT TELLS US SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC.

SINCE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE SHIPMENTS BECAME ILLEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1808.

STERLING'S ANCESTORS LIKELY ARRIVED DURING THE VERY LAST FEW YEARS OF THE SLAVE TRADE...

WHEREAS MOST AFRICAN AMERICANS DESCEND FROM PEOPLE WHO ARRIVED HERE EARLIER... TOO EARLY TO BE RECORDED IN THE CENSUSES FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR... GATES: SO YOU'RE A RECENT AFRICAN... BROWN: WOW, THAT IS... GATES: ISN'T THAT INTERESTING BECAUSE LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE WOULD'VE BY 1820, WOULD'VE BEEN DESCENDED FROM GENERATIONS OF... BROWN: GENERATIONS.

GATES: AFRICAN, OF AMERICANIZED AFRICANS... BROWN: RIGHT.

GATES: THROUGH AFRICAN-AMERICAN, BUT YOU WEREN'T.

IT'S LIKE YOUR ANCESTOR CAME THAT... LAST BIG WAVE OF SLAVES BEFORE THEY DROPPED THE CURTAIN ON THE SLAVE TRADE.

BROWN: OH, MY GOODNESS.

THIS IS, THIS IS, LIKE I CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, WELL, YOU KNOW, MY FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHER, THEY WERE FROM AFRICA OR WHATNOT AND THEN... GATES: YEAH.

NOW YOU CAN SAY THAT.

YOU CAN SAY UNLIKE 99% OF OUR FELLOW AFRICAN-AMERICANS, YOU COULD SAY I KNOW ABOUT WHEN MY ANCESTORS CAME BECAUSE THEY WERE MY FIFTH GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

BROWN: THANKS, MAN.

THAT'S, THAT'S COOL.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY TAKEN JON BATISTE'S FATHER'S ROOTS BACK MORE THAN A CENTURY IN GEORGIA...

TURNING TO HIS MOTHER'S ANCESTRY, WE FOUND OURSELVES IN JON'S HOME STATE LOUISIANA, EXAMINING A LABOR CONTRACT INVOLVING JON'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED VICTOR BRICE...

THIS CONTRACT WAS WRITTEN IN FEBRUARY OF 1865... JUST MONTHS AFTER SLAVERY WAS ABOLISHED IN LOUISIANA.

IT CALLED FOR VICTOR TO WORK FOR A WHITE FARMER NAMED EDWARD GAY... AND ITS TERMS, UNSURPRISINGLY, WERE NOT FAVORABLE.

GATES: VICTOR WAS REQUIRED TO WORK TEN HOURS A DAY, SIX DAYS A WEEK, WITH ONLY THE FOURTH OF JULY OFF AS A HOLIDAY.

BATISTE: MMM.

GATES: TEN HOURS A DAY, SIX DAYS A WEEK.

BATISTE: TEN HOURS A DAY, SIX DAYS A WEEK.

GATES: SO, HE GETS SUNDAY OFF, AND THE FOURTH OF JULY, THAT'S THE ONLY HOLIDAY IN 365 DAYS.

BATISTE: ATROCIOUS.

GATES: AND HERE'S THE KICKER.

THE CONTRACT SAYS THEY'LL RECEIVE HALF OF THEIR WAGES EACH MONTH, AND THE OTHER HALF ONLY AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT YEAR.

BATISTE: READ THE FINE PRINT.

GATES: YOU GOT IT.

GATES: THIS CONTRACT, WHILE CERTAINLY UNFAIR, WAS A TREMENDOUS BOON TO OUR RESEARCH BECAUSE IT TOLD US THAT VICTOR HAD A CONNECTION TO EDWARD GAY IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING SLAVERY.

WHICH LEFT US WONDERING, COULD THE TWO MEN POSSIBLY HAVE HAD A CONNECTION DURING SLAVERY?

GATES: JON, THIS IS A LETTER DATED JANUARY 22, 1863, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CIVIL WAR.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

BATISTE: WOW.

"TO EDWARD J GAY.

MRS. BALTHAZAR, FAILED TO COMPLETE THE LEVEE IN FRONT OF HER LAND AND YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO SEND TWENTY HANDS WITH TEAMS OF HORSES TO WORK ON SAID LEVEE FORTHWITH."

GATES: EDWARD GAY WAS ORDERED TO LEND TWENTY HANDS, MEANING... BATISTE: TWENTY... GATES: SLAVES, RIGHT, TO HELP OUT REPAIRING A LEVEE IN FRONT OF LAND OWNED BY ONE OF HIS NEIGHBORS.

NOW, PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

JON, THIS IS A LIST OF THE ENSLAVED PEOPLE EDWARD GAY SENT TO WORK ON THE LEVEE PROJECT.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE NAMES IN THE TRANSCRIPTION?

BATISTE: "SILAS, BEN, VICTOR."

GATES: RECOGNIZE ONE OF THOSE NAMES?

BATISTE: VICTOR.

GATES: VICTOR!

BATISTE: YES!

GATES: WE BELIEVE THAT THAT IS YOUR THIRD-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: THAT MEANS THAT VICTOR WAS OWNED BY EDWARD GAY DURING SLAVERY AND WORKED FOR EDWARD GAY AFTER EMANCIPATION.

BATISTE: WOW.

GATES: ON THE LEFT, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE PICTURE OF THE WHITE MAN WHO OWNED YOUR FAMILY.

BATISTE: WOW.

HEAVY.

LOOK AT THAT.

THAT'S INTENSE, MAN.

GATES: NOW THAT WE'D IDENTIFIED EDWARD AS VICTOR'S OWNER, WE COULD SEARCH HIS RECORDS FOR FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT JON'S FAMILY.

WE SOON FOUND AN ESTATE INVENTORY FROM 1850 REVEALING THAT EDWARD INHERITED VICTOR FROM HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, A MAN NAMED ANDREW HYNES...

THIS LED TO A SOBERING DISCOVERY... GATES: WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

BATISTE: "PROPERTY BELONGING TO THE SUCCESSION OF ANDREW HYNES, VICTOR, AGED THREE YEARS, AT $200."

WOW.

GATES: THAT IS YOUR THIRD-GREAT-GRANDFATHER VICTOR, THREE YEARS OLD.

BATISTE: THREE YEARS OLD, PROPERTY.

GATES: READ THAT, WHAT'S HE WORTH?

BATISTE: $200.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE PUTTING A, A FIGURE ON A HUMAN BEING?

BATISTE: UNBELIEVABLE.

IT PUTS THIS COUNTRY'S HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE FOR ME, TO SEE A DOCUMENT THAT SAYS "PROPERTY" WHEN REFERRING TO A HUMAN BEING IN MY LINEAGE.

GATES: MMM-HMM.

BATISTE: THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT I CAN'T FATHOM HOW PEOPLE SAW IT, UM, AS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, TO LOOK YOU IN THE EYE, AND TO LOOK AT YOU AS A PIECE OF PROPERTY.

I DON'T SEE HOW PEOPLE COULD'VE BEEN OKAY WITH THAT.

GATES: THEY HAD TO KNOW BETTER.

THEY TRIED TO CREATE A IDEOLOGY, A MYTHOLOGY, A PHANTASMAGORIA, THAT WE WERE NOT HUMAN BEINGS.

BATISTE: YES.

GATES: THAT WE WERE REALLY MONKEYS, THE TOP END OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM... BATISTE: YES.

GATES: BUT THEY KNEW BETTER THAN THAT.

BATISTE: OH, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

GATES: WE HAD ONE FINAL REVELATION FOR JON.

EDWARD GAY LEFT BEHIND A TROVE OF DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE DAY-TO-DAY MANAGEMENT OF HIS SLAVES.

WITHIN THEM, WE FOUND A RECORD BOOK CONTAINING AN ENTRY FROM 1855, FIVE YEARS AFTER GAY TOOK OWNERSHIP OF VICTOR, SHOWING THAT JON'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS ISSUED A BLANKET... A SIMPLE, TELLING DETAIL, THAT BROUGHT HOME TO JON THE STARK REALITY OF VICTOR'S LIFE... BATISTE: IMAGINE THAT.

WOW.

GATES: YEAH.

BATISTE: YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A, A BLANKET OF YOUR OWN.

GATES: NNN-NNN.

NO.

BATISTE: THAT'S, THAT'S UNIMAGINABLE.

GATES: WHAT ARE YOU FEELING?

BATISTE: WELL, IT'S TRAGIC, BUT ME BEING HERE AND EMBODYING ALL THAT THEY WENT THROUGH, AND REPRESENTING THEM IS OPTIMISTIC TO ME, THE FACE OF THIS TRAGEDY THAT YOU SEE IN THESE PAGES.

THERE'S, THERE'S HOPE THAT I EMBODY, AND THAT THE GENERATIONS AFTER ME EMBODY.

GATES: YOU THINK THEY COULD'VE IMAGINED YOU?

BATISTE: NOT AT ALL.

WE ARE THEIR WILDEST DREAMS.

GATES: WILDEST DREAMS.

BATISTE: YOU SEE, AND THAT'S THE THING THAT GIVES ME THE HOPE, AND THE ABILITY TO PROCESS THIS INFORMATION FROM A PLACE OF OPTIMISM.

GATES: THE PAPER TRAIL HAD NOW RUN OUT FOR EACH OF MY GUESTS.

IT WAS TIME TO SHOW THEM THEIR FULL FAMILY TREES; NOW FILLED WITH NAMES THEY'D NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

TIED TO NEW PLACES THEY COULD AT LAST CALL HOME.

ZAMATA: I DIDN'T THINK THIS WAS POSSIBLE, HONESTLY.

I DIDN'T KNOW I'D BE ABLE TO SEE ALL THIS.

GATES: THERE THEY ARE.

THEY'RE YOUR PEOPLE.

ZAMATA: MY PEOPLE.

BATISTE: WOW.

AMAZING.

GATES: THESE ARE YOUR PEOPLE.

THEY WILL NEVER, EVER BE LOST AGAIN.

BATISTE: THAT'S RIGHT.

BOOM.

BROWN: OH, WOW.

THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL.

I FEEL LIKE A REAL PERSON.

I FEEL LIKE A REAL PERSON WHO HAS REAL ROOTS, AND WHEN YOU HEAR LIKE YOUR FRIENDS TALK ABOUT THEIR GERMAN ANCESTORS AND THEIR IRISH ANCESTORS AND ITALIAN ANCESTORS, LIKE I FEEL LIKE I'M, I'M, I'M ON THE CUSP OF LIKE I CAN IN, JOIN IN THAT CONVERSATION.

GATES: YES!

BROWN: RIGHT?

THIS IS AWESOME.

GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR JOURNEY WITH STERLING, SASHEER AND JON.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME WHEN WE UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE PAST FOR NEW GUESTS ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

LATIFAH: THIS IS ALL MIRACULOUS TO ME.

NARRATOR: NEXT TIME, ON "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

QUEEN LATIFAH.

LATIFAH: WE'RE A VERY UNIQUE FAMILY, WE MOVE AND SHAKE A DIFFERENT WAY.

NARRATOR: AND ACTOR, JEFFREY WRIGHT.

WRIGHT: THERE ARE SHADOWS OVER A LOT OF THE HISTORY IN MY FAMILY.

NARRATOR: UNEXPECTED STORIES... GATES: SO, YOU HAVE A RECENT WHITE ANCESTOR.

LATIFAH: I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE WERE TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.

NARRATOR: FROM A COMPLICATED WORLD... GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING NEIGHBORS WHO USED TO OWN YOU?

WRIGHT: I FEEL THESE PEOPLE.

GATES: UMM-HMM.

LATIFAH: THIS IS MIND BLOWING!

NARRATOR: ON THE NEXT, "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".