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Finding Your Roots
A Family of Sharecroppers
Brown University President Ruth Simmons grew up in a family of sharecroppers, a notorious system in which farmers pick cotton and live on someone else's land for a share of the profits. But they had to pay such high charges for rent, they often fell into a cycle of debt.
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52:10
Family mysteries are solved for actor Laurence Fishburne & scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
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52:10
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of actor Sheryl Lee Ralph & historian Lonnie Bunch.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the family trees of actors Debra Messing & Melanie Lynskey.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps the roots of married actors Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. meets musician Rubén Blades & journalist Natalie Morales.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the ancestry of notable chefs José Andrés & Sean Sherman.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the ancestry of actor Sharon Stone & model Chrissy Teigen.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals inspiring ancestors of novelist Amy Tan & poet Rita Dove.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the Italian roots of Joy Behar & Michael Imperioli.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. connects Lea Salonga & Amanda Seyfried to their dramatic ancestors.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. solves mysteries for 3 everyday Americans chosen to be guests.
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52:09
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the surprising roots of Michael Douglas & Lena Dunham.