Back to Show
Finding Your Roots
Roots of Freedom
Season 2
Episode 4
These guests’ families have long been engaged in the battle for freedom and civil rights, but didn’t know those principles were passed down through generations. NAACP president Ben Jealous learns the heroic story of his great-grandfather who purchased his own family to keep them safe and Khandi Alexander learns of her grandfather’s possible murder.
Support Provided By
Season
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. solves mysteries for 3 everyday Americans chosen to be guests.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the surprising roots of Michael Douglas & Lena Dunham.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. maps family trees of comedian Tracy Morgan & actor Anthony Ramos.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. shares ancestry with actor Danielle Brooks & singer Dionne Warwick.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Sunny Hostin and Jesse Williams discover ancestors from very diverse places.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Bob Odenkirk and Iliza Shlesinger—two very funny people whose family trees brim with drama
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Sammy Hagar and Ed O’Neill discover the dramatic stories hidden within their own roots.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
LeVar Burton & Wes Studi grew up fatherless, haunted by questions about their family trees
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. unearths the hidden roots of Valerie Bertinelli and Brendan Fraser.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Explore the roots of Alanis Morissette and Ciara and their hidden connections to history.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Henry Louis Gates uncovers the lost roots of actors Billy Crudup and Tamera Mowry-Housley.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:09
Journalists Jim Acosta and Van Jones uncover the ancestors who blazed a trail for them.