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Finding Your Roots
Lena Dunham Uncovers Her Ancestor's Complex Legacy
We trace Lena Dunham's ancestry back to her paternal eighth great-grandfather, Stephanus van Cortlandt, a pivotal figure in the early history of New York City. Stephanus's life story unfolds as one of ambition, becoming the first native-born Mayor of New York. But Lena confronts the more troubling aspects of his legacy, including his dealings with the Lenape tribe and his involvement in slavery.
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Uncover the paternal ancestry of Stephen King, Gloria Reuben and Courtney B. Vance.
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The ancestral pasts of Adrian Grenier, Michelle Rodriguez, and Linda Chavez.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. reveals the ancestral pasts of John Legend and Wanda Sykes.
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The ancestral pasts of Martha Stewart, Margaret Cho, and Sanjay Gupta.
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The ancestral pasts of Samuel L. Jackson, Condoleezza Rice, and Ruth Simmons.
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A look at the ancestral pasts of actors Robert Downey, Jr. and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
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The family histories of Pastor Rick Warren, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, and Sheikh Yasir Qadhi.
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The ancestral pasts of married Hollywood actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick.
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The ancestral pasts of journalist Barbara Walters and educator Geoffrey Canada.
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The family histories of New Orleans musicians Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr.
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr. examines the pasts of politicians, John Lewis and Cory Booker.