Henry Louis Gates Jr. discusses Finding Your Roots season 12 discoveries
7 reported
In a recent interview, Henry Louis Gates Jr., host of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, discussed two discoveries from season 12. Actress America Ferrera learned one of her ancestors was a free mulatto of mixed African origin and that she is a distant cousin of director Ava DuVernay. Actress Sanaa Lathan discovered she is the descendant of a wealthy white slave owner. Gates also described the show's ethics protocol for revealing sensitive information, such as when a guest's biological father is not the man they believed. He noted that the show has never had a breach of information and that guests receive all their research. Gates mentioned that research for a guest can take six months on average, though one case took five years due to a DNA mystery. He also stated that the series, which began with African American Lives in 2006, expanded to include all ethnicities after he realized everyone has a hidden family history. [See above]
What’s reported
Season 12 of Finding Your Roots includes discoveries for America Ferrera and Sanaa Lathan.
Ferrera learned an ancestor was a free mulatto of mixed African origin and that she is a distant cousin of Ava DuVernay.
Lathan learned she is the descendant of a wealthy white slave owner.
Gates described an ethics protocol for revealing that a guest's biological father is not the man they believed.
The show has never had a breach of information, according to Gates.
Research for a guest takes at least six months on average; one case took five years.
The series began with African American Lives in 2006 and later expanded to include all ethnicities.
Key figures
Henry Louis Gates Jr., host of Finding Your Roots
America Ferrera, actress and guest on season 12
Ava DuVernay, director and distant cousin of Ferrera
Sanaa Lathan, actress and guest on season 12
CeCe Moore, genetic genealogy expert
Joe Manganiello, guest mentioned for a past discovery
Téa Leoni, guest mentioned for a past discovery
Delroy Lindo, guest on the past season
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
