Stories include the tragic account of Tom Joyner's great-uncles who, in 1915, were convicted by an all-white jury and executed in the electric chair for a crime that new evidence suggests they did not commit, and Bliss Broyard, who lived her life unaware that her father, renowned New York Times critic Anatole Broyard, was a light-skinned black man who chose to "pass" as white.
Chris Rock and Don Cheadle share stories about their ancestors. Chris Rock's maternal great-great-grandfather, Julius Caesar Tingman, was a black Civil War veteran who was twice elected to the South Carolina State Legislature. Don Cheadle's ancestors were enslaved by Chickasaw Indians and brought to Oklahoma on the tail end of the "Trail of Tears," the forced relocation of Native Americans during the 1830s.
Stories of participants' ancestors during the early years of the United States, reveals a riveting account of life in slavery by Morgan Freeman's great-grandmother. Also a story about Peter Gomes' ancestors, who were freed and supported by Quaker families in Virginia in the late 1700s.
DNA analysis leads to fascinating discoveries about participants' lineages. A groundbreaking study links Professor Gates to a powerful ancient Irish warlord, while evidence suggests Peter Gomes' direct paternal line traces back to a Portuguese Jew who fled the country in the early 1500s to escape the Inquisition.