1 00:00:04,966 --> 00:00:06,733 GATES: I'm Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 2 00:00:06,733 --> 00:00:09,600 Welcome to "Finding Your Roots". 3 00:00:09,900 --> 00:00:13,133 In this episode, we'll meet singer Dionne Warwick and 4 00:00:13,133 --> 00:00:15,566 actor Danielle Brooks. 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,933 Two African Americans in search of their enslaved ancestors. 6 00:00:21,666 --> 00:00:23,333 WARWICK: I know I'm a strong woman. 7 00:00:23,333 --> 00:00:27,166 I've been strong literally from birth. 8 00:00:27,866 --> 00:00:30,833 So I want to know where it all came from. 9 00:00:30,833 --> 00:00:32,500 BROOKS: It's so cool, 10 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:35,800 because first I didn't have a name... 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:37,700 And now I have a name. 12 00:00:37,700 --> 00:00:39,966 And then I didn't have a story. 13 00:00:39,966 --> 00:00:42,133 And now I have a story. 14 00:00:42,366 --> 00:00:46,500 GATES: To uncover their roots, we've used every tool available. 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,933 Genealogists combed through paper trails 16 00:00:48,933 --> 00:00:51,700 stretching back hundreds of years. 17 00:00:51,900 --> 00:00:54,500 WARWICK: Amazing. Absolutely amazing. 18 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:57,700 GATES: While DNA experts utilized the latest advances 19 00:00:57,700 --> 00:01:01,133 in genetic analysis to reveal secrets that have 20 00:01:01,133 --> 00:01:03,400 lain hidden for generations. 21 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,100 ♪ BROOKS: That blew my mind! ♪♪ 22 00:01:07,433 --> 00:01:11,000 GATES: And we've compiled it all into a Book of Life. 23 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,666 A record of all of our discoveries. 24 00:01:13,666 --> 00:01:15,633 WARWICK: Oh wow! 25 00:01:15,633 --> 00:01:18,566 GATES: And a window into the hidden past. 26 00:01:18,566 --> 00:01:20,200 So you know what that means? 27 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:21,566 BROOKS: He fought. 28 00:01:21,566 --> 00:01:25,600 GATES: Dolphin joined the Union Army to fight for 29 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:27,033 the freedom of our people. 30 00:01:27,033 --> 00:01:29,066 BROOKS: That is cool! 31 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,333 WARWICK: This has been one of the most enlightening, 32 00:01:32,333 --> 00:01:36,033 fulfilling moments I felt in a long, long time. 33 00:01:36,433 --> 00:01:39,600 BROOKS: It changes the game for my family. 34 00:01:40,733 --> 00:01:43,500 GATES: Danielle and Dionne came to me facing one of 35 00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:46,966 the greatest of all genealogical challenges: 36 00:01:47,700 --> 00:01:51,200 reconnecting roots that have been severed by slavery. 37 00:01:52,300 --> 00:01:55,733 In this episode, we'll overcome that challenge, 38 00:01:55,733 --> 00:01:58,700 recovering names that were erased willfully, 39 00:01:58,700 --> 00:02:03,166 and revealing stories that are profoundly uplifting. 40 00:02:09,700 --> 00:02:22,000 (theme music plays). 41 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,533 ♪ ♪ 42 00:02:26,533 --> 00:02:27,800 (book closes) 43 00:02:32,633 --> 00:02:46,833 ♪ ♪ 44 00:02:46,833 --> 00:02:50,333 GATES: Dionne Warwick is a national treasure. 45 00:02:51,300 --> 00:02:53,433 For more than six decades, 46 00:02:53,433 --> 00:02:56,900 she's captivated the world with her gorgeous voice... 47 00:02:58,566 --> 00:03:02,700 Selling over 100 million records. 48 00:03:03,233 --> 00:03:06,600 ♪ WARWICK: If you see me walking down the street ♪ 49 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,333 ♪ and I start to cry each time we meet. ♪ 50 00:03:11,333 --> 00:03:14,700 ♪ Walk on by ♪ ♪ 51 00:03:15,766 --> 00:03:17,100 GATES: But in person, 52 00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:20,866 the woman who's thrilled so many is modest, 53 00:03:21,466 --> 00:03:24,100 and credits her success to God. 54 00:03:24,966 --> 00:03:29,466 After all, Dionne got her start as child in church when 55 00:03:29,466 --> 00:03:34,700 her grandfather, a minister, decided she had an obligation 56 00:03:34,700 --> 00:03:36,766 to serve with her voice. 57 00:03:38,333 --> 00:03:42,033 WARWICK: My grandpa called me up out of the congregation. 58 00:03:42,033 --> 00:03:43,266 And he whispered to me, 59 00:03:43,266 --> 00:03:45,300 "I want you to sing a song for me." 60 00:03:45,300 --> 00:03:47,500 I said, "You don't want me to sing a song. 61 00:03:47,500 --> 00:03:49,333 You can't do this to me." 62 00:03:49,333 --> 00:03:51,333 He said, "Yes, you're going to sing a song." 63 00:03:51,333 --> 00:03:52,666 GATES: Mm-hmm. 64 00:03:52,666 --> 00:03:56,900 WARWICK: And I closed my eyes as tight as I could get them, 65 00:03:56,900 --> 00:03:58,200 and I started singing, 66 00:03:58,200 --> 00:03:59,466 "Jesus Loves Me." 67 00:03:59,466 --> 00:04:00,600 GATES: Mm-hmm. 68 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:01,933 WARWICK: And all of a sudden, 69 00:04:01,933 --> 00:04:04,400 I kept hearing little things out of the congregation. 70 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:05,700 "Oh, how sweet." 71 00:04:05,700 --> 00:04:07,933 Oh, she sings really good. 72 00:04:07,933 --> 00:04:09,966 That's lovely. Yes. 73 00:04:09,966 --> 00:04:11,666 Sing it baby. Sing it." 74 00:04:11,666 --> 00:04:14,800 And all of a sudden I said, "Oh, they like me." 75 00:04:15,033 --> 00:04:17,433 So, I opened my eyes up and I just kind of gave it to them. 76 00:04:17,433 --> 00:04:18,666 GATES: Oh, that's great. 77 00:04:18,666 --> 00:04:21,500 WARWICK: It's my first standing ovation. 78 00:04:21,733 --> 00:04:24,433 GATES: While this first ovation came easily, 79 00:04:24,433 --> 00:04:26,633 challenges lay ahead. 80 00:04:26,633 --> 00:04:30,133 The music industry at the time offered few opportunities 81 00:04:30,133 --> 00:04:32,233 to African Americans. 82 00:04:32,533 --> 00:04:36,666 Indeed, Dionne was a 21-year-old background singer 83 00:04:36,666 --> 00:04:39,633 when she met an up-and-coming composer 84 00:04:39,633 --> 00:04:41,500 named Burt Bacharach. 85 00:04:42,466 --> 00:04:45,800 Then, suddenly: everything changed. 86 00:04:46,900 --> 00:04:49,533 Together with lyricist Hal David, 87 00:04:49,533 --> 00:04:53,133 the three formed an incredible team, 88 00:04:53,133 --> 00:04:56,233 crafting a series pop masterpieces, 89 00:04:56,233 --> 00:04:58,400 starting in 1962, 90 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,600 with "Don't Make Me Over". 91 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,700 ♪ WARWICK: Don't make me over. ♪ 92 00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:10,266 ♪ Now that I'd do anything for you. ♪ 93 00:05:11,933 --> 00:05:14,966 ♪ Don't make me over. ♪ 94 00:05:15,466 --> 00:05:20,033 ♪ Now that you know how I adore you. ♪ ♪ 95 00:05:20,733 --> 00:05:24,400 GATES: The song was a breakout hit which took everyone, 96 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,066 including Dionne, by surprise... 97 00:05:28,066 --> 00:05:31,066 WARWICK: I heard my record being played on the radio 98 00:05:31,066 --> 00:05:33,500 for the first time. 99 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:35,666 I was on my way back from Newark Airport. 100 00:05:35,666 --> 00:05:36,800 GATES: Mmm. 101 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:38,933 WARWICK: I dropped some friends off and I'm 102 00:05:38,933 --> 00:05:41,033 driving back home. 103 00:05:41,033 --> 00:05:44,600 And the renowned Frankie Crocker was, 104 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:48,866 "And here she is. Miss Dionne Warwick with 105 00:05:48,866 --> 00:05:52,333 "Don't Make Me Over." I heard the radio. 106 00:05:52,866 --> 00:05:55,500 I said, "No, they didn't say that." 107 00:05:55,500 --> 00:05:57,833 I turned my radio up as loud as I could. 108 00:05:57,833 --> 00:05:59,733 I put all the windows down in the car. 109 00:05:59,733 --> 00:06:01,366 I pulled over to the side. 110 00:06:01,366 --> 00:06:02,633 And as cars were going by, 111 00:06:02,633 --> 00:06:04,733 I know they couldn't hear me anyway, but I said, 112 00:06:04,733 --> 00:06:06,800 "That's me. That's me." 113 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,366 It was unbelievable. 114 00:06:10,066 --> 00:06:11,600 GATES: Since that day, 115 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,933 Dionne has been on the radio almost constantly, 116 00:06:14,933 --> 00:06:18,033 with an ever-expanding fan base. 117 00:06:19,100 --> 00:06:23,333 In fact, she's widely credited as the artist who 118 00:06:23,333 --> 00:06:27,000 "bridged the gap" between Black and White audiences: 119 00:06:28,033 --> 00:06:32,633 the first African American soloist consistently to crack 120 00:06:32,633 --> 00:06:34,566 the Billboard Hot 100. 121 00:06:36,433 --> 00:06:38,466 But for all her triumphs, 122 00:06:38,466 --> 00:06:40,966 Dionne takes the greatest pleasure in what she 123 00:06:40,966 --> 00:06:44,333 first experienced in her grandfather's church, 124 00:06:45,233 --> 00:06:49,166 the simple joy of singing for others. 125 00:06:49,533 --> 00:06:52,900 WARWICK: I don't do it for recognition or fame or 126 00:06:52,900 --> 00:06:55,033 any of that craziness. 127 00:06:55,033 --> 00:06:57,066 I do it because I believe what I'm doing 128 00:06:57,066 --> 00:06:58,800 is going to be of service. 129 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:00,300 Like my grandpa said. 130 00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:02,233 GATES: Do you think your music brought people together? 131 00:07:02,233 --> 00:07:03,366 WARWICK: Absolutely. 132 00:07:03,366 --> 00:07:05,100 GATES: Being that "Artist who bridged the gap"? 133 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:06,600 WARWICK: Absolutely. GATES: As you were called. 134 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,933 WARWICK: Music is the medicine that cures everything. 135 00:07:09,933 --> 00:07:13,166 I truly believe that. I've seen it work. 136 00:07:13,166 --> 00:07:14,233 GATES: Mm-hmm. 137 00:07:14,233 --> 00:07:16,600 WARWICK: I've seen it work with elderly people. 138 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,500 I've seen it work with babies. 139 00:07:18,500 --> 00:07:21,333 I've seen it work with people who are 140 00:07:21,333 --> 00:07:24,000 thought to be mentally ill. 141 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:25,166 It's a healing force. 142 00:07:25,166 --> 00:07:26,700 GATES: Mm-hmm. It is. 143 00:07:26,700 --> 00:07:29,933 WARWICK: And I'm very, very privileged to be a part of that, 144 00:07:29,933 --> 00:07:34,200 you know, to know that my music can make you smile. 145 00:07:36,133 --> 00:07:39,200 GATES: My second guest is actor Danielle Brooks, 146 00:07:41,066 --> 00:07:44,600 who came to fame as "Taystee" Jefferson, 147 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,633 a foul-mouthed scene-stealing convict 148 00:07:47,633 --> 00:07:51,166 on the hit series "Orange Is The New Black". 149 00:07:52,233 --> 00:07:54,466 BROOKS: Let's get some mother-(bleep) fried chicken 150 00:07:54,466 --> 00:07:55,500 up in here! 151 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:56,666 (cheering) 152 00:07:56,666 --> 00:07:58,033 Yeah, I said it! I'm Black 153 00:07:58,033 --> 00:07:59,200 WILEY: She's Black! BROOKS: She Black! 154 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:00,266 WILEY: I'm Black! 155 00:08:00,266 --> 00:08:01,700 BROOKS: And we like fried chicken. 156 00:08:01,700 --> 00:08:03,033 That (bleep) is delicious. 157 00:08:03,033 --> 00:08:05,833 Everybody likes it. Chicken for the people! 158 00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:10,233 GATES: "Taystee" is an unforgettable character, 159 00:08:10,233 --> 00:08:12,633 but she has little in common with the woman 160 00:08:12,633 --> 00:08:14,933 who brought her to life. 161 00:08:15,333 --> 00:08:18,400 Growing up in Simpsonville, South Carolina, 162 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,533 Danielle's father was a deacon, and her mother a minister, 163 00:08:23,900 --> 00:08:26,733 faith was the fabric of their lives. 164 00:08:27,733 --> 00:08:29,366 BROOKS: We went to church every day. 165 00:08:29,366 --> 00:08:31,400 Every day. 166 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:33,700 There was not a day we weren't there, 167 00:08:33,700 --> 00:08:36,866 whether I was usher, choir rehearsals, 168 00:08:36,866 --> 00:08:41,366 praise team, step team, even Girl Scouts was at church. 169 00:08:43,100 --> 00:08:46,133 I mean my first play was from church. 170 00:08:46,133 --> 00:08:48,966 I did, um, a nativity play when I was six years old. 171 00:08:48,966 --> 00:08:50,133 GATES: Were you Mary? 172 00:08:50,133 --> 00:08:52,400 BROOKS: No, I was "Baby Girl." GATES: Oh, you were? 173 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:53,566 BROOKS: Because this was like, 174 00:08:53,566 --> 00:08:57,066 you know, we wrote it, my people wrote it, So. 175 00:08:57,633 --> 00:09:00,066 GATES: Oh, that's great. BROOKS: So, it was baby girl. 176 00:09:00,066 --> 00:09:04,033 And, I guess I did a great job, everybody told my mom and dad, 177 00:09:04,033 --> 00:09:05,500 and, and just was like, 178 00:09:05,500 --> 00:09:07,833 "Your daughter, she's good." 179 00:09:07,833 --> 00:09:10,866 So I, from, from then on, like, I caught it. 180 00:09:10,866 --> 00:09:13,033 GATES: You were hooked. BROOKS: Oh, I was hooked. 181 00:09:13,433 --> 00:09:17,000 GATES: Danielle's talents would reach a much wider audience, 182 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,166 but not before she made another crucial discovery. 183 00:09:20,666 --> 00:09:21,966 In high school, 184 00:09:21,966 --> 00:09:25,233 she was one of the few African American students in a 185 00:09:25,233 --> 00:09:28,533 drama program that had no Black teachers. 186 00:09:29,666 --> 00:09:33,233 She struggled to fit in until one day, 187 00:09:33,233 --> 00:09:36,900 while searching for a monologue to perform in a class, 188 00:09:36,900 --> 00:09:39,366 she chanced upon August Wilson's, 189 00:09:39,366 --> 00:09:41,766 "The Piano Lesson." 190 00:09:42,433 --> 00:09:45,433 BROOKS: That changed my world. GATES: Hmm. 191 00:09:45,433 --> 00:09:50,166 BROOKS: Because these people in this story spoke like my mom... 192 00:09:50,166 --> 00:09:51,200 GATES: Mm-hmm. 193 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:52,866 BROOKS: And aunties, and uncles did. 194 00:09:52,866 --> 00:09:55,266 GATES: Mm-hmm. BROOKS: It was so relatable. 195 00:09:55,266 --> 00:09:56,800 GATES: Mm-hmm. 196 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,633 BROOKS: And so, when I read one of the monologues from it, it... 197 00:10:00,633 --> 00:10:03,066 I was, I, my heart, everything was so open. 198 00:10:03,066 --> 00:10:04,233 GATES: Mm-hmm. 199 00:10:04,233 --> 00:10:06,866 BROOKS: So when I delivered it, it just was, 200 00:10:06,866 --> 00:10:11,233 it was an experience I hadn't had in any other monologue 201 00:10:11,233 --> 00:10:14,200 that I had done from Tennessee Williams' plays 202 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:16,866 or doing Shakespeare. 203 00:10:16,866 --> 00:10:19,000 I had never felt that before. 204 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,666 GATES: You occupied the role. BROOKS: Oh, yes sir. 205 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,233 GATES: "The Piano Lesson" took Danielle on a journey 206 00:10:26,233 --> 00:10:28,633 she could never have imagined. 207 00:10:29,733 --> 00:10:32,700 She used the monologue she'd found to audition for the 208 00:10:32,700 --> 00:10:36,300 prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. 209 00:10:36,766 --> 00:10:39,800 Two years after graduating from Juilliard, 210 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,533 she'd landed her part in "Orange is the New Black". 211 00:10:44,466 --> 00:10:48,733 Starring roles on Broadway and in Hollywood soon followed. 212 00:10:50,333 --> 00:10:54,233 Yet through it all, Danielle remained very much tied to 213 00:10:54,233 --> 00:10:56,866 her deeply religious parents, 214 00:10:57,566 --> 00:11:00,800 so much so that when she was first offered the part 215 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,100 of "Taystee" Jefferson, she hesitated... 216 00:11:04,733 --> 00:11:07,366 I heard that you almost didn't take the role. 217 00:11:07,366 --> 00:11:08,500 BROOKS: Yes. GATES: Is that right? 218 00:11:08,500 --> 00:11:10,233 BROOKS: I almost did not take this role because 219 00:11:10,233 --> 00:11:14,366 my mother was not feelin' it. 220 00:11:15,566 --> 00:11:18,466 And when you are, you know, that young, 221 00:11:18,466 --> 00:11:21,766 um, your parents' opinions really do matter. 222 00:11:22,033 --> 00:11:23,100 GATES: What did your mother object to? 223 00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:25,100 BROOKS: Well, she kinda had every right to 224 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:27,666 because in the first scene, I was supposed to be topless... 225 00:11:27,666 --> 00:11:29,266 GATES: Mm-hmm. BROOKS: Going into the shower. 226 00:11:29,266 --> 00:11:30,700 GATES: Right. BROOKS: And I was very... 227 00:11:30,700 --> 00:11:32,700 You know, I come from a Baptist household. 228 00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:33,866 GATES: Mm-hmm. 229 00:11:33,866 --> 00:11:35,866 BROOKS: Uh, so I was very leery of that... 230 00:11:35,866 --> 00:11:37,033 GATES: Mm-hmm. 231 00:11:37,033 --> 00:11:38,500 BROOKS: In like, how do, will that shape my career? 232 00:11:38,500 --> 00:11:39,600 GATES: Right. 233 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:40,700 BROOKS: And will people look at me a certain way? 234 00:11:40,700 --> 00:11:41,766 Will this mess me up? 235 00:11:41,766 --> 00:11:42,966 GATES: Right. 236 00:11:42,966 --> 00:11:45,466 BROOKS: Um, but I was wise enough to ask 237 00:11:45,466 --> 00:11:46,900 a lot of questions. 238 00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:51,500 And, I also was wise enough, in that scene, to say, 239 00:11:51,500 --> 00:11:55,133 "Do you have to see my top?" 240 00:11:55,133 --> 00:11:57,000 And they were like, "No, we don't." 241 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:58,000 GATES: Hmm. 242 00:11:58,000 --> 00:11:59,266 BROOKS: I found a way around it, 243 00:11:59,266 --> 00:12:02,566 and thank God that I did and did not say no 244 00:12:02,566 --> 00:12:04,133 to this part because it changed, 245 00:12:04,133 --> 00:12:06,500 I don't know if I'd be sitting here with you know? 246 00:12:06,500 --> 00:12:07,933 It changed my life. 247 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,566 GATES: My two guests both come from tightly knit families, 248 00:12:12,566 --> 00:12:15,200 but like so many African Americans, 249 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,633 they know next to nothing about their deeper roots. 250 00:12:19,466 --> 00:12:22,066 The reason? Slavery. 251 00:12:23,033 --> 00:12:26,033 Enslaved people were almost never listed by name 252 00:12:26,033 --> 00:12:28,200 in federal records, 253 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,666 and this has created what genealogists call 254 00:12:30,666 --> 00:12:32,466 a "brick wall", 255 00:12:32,766 --> 00:12:36,333 a barrier beyond which ancestors simply 256 00:12:36,333 --> 00:12:39,733 cannot be traced using the paper trail. 257 00:12:40,366 --> 00:12:44,466 But for Dionne and Danielle, the wall is going to fall. 258 00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:49,333 They're about to learn the names, and the stories, 259 00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:52,333 they've only dreamed of knowing. 260 00:12:52,900 --> 00:12:55,600 I started with Dionne Warwick, 261 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,766 and a story about her own name. 262 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,433 She was born Dionne "Warrick" with two r's. 263 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,300 But a spelling error on the cover of her first record 264 00:13:07,300 --> 00:13:11,166 changed that forever, much to Dionne's chagrin. 265 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,866 WARWICK: It was a mistake at the printing plant. 266 00:13:15,866 --> 00:13:18,633 They made me a "Wick" instead of a "Rick". 267 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:21,933 And I didn't like it at all. 268 00:13:21,933 --> 00:13:23,666 I hated it as a matter of fact. 269 00:13:23,666 --> 00:13:24,866 GATES: No, it wasn't your name. 270 00:13:24,866 --> 00:13:26,533 WARWICK: Exactly. By that time, of course, 271 00:13:26,533 --> 00:13:30,366 all the recordings had gone out and labels had been printed. 272 00:13:30,366 --> 00:13:33,966 And I said, "Well, when it comes back to being printed again, 273 00:13:33,966 --> 00:13:35,700 you going to put my name on there and not 274 00:13:35,700 --> 00:13:37,733 somebody else's name." 275 00:13:37,733 --> 00:13:41,233 And I really was very upset about that because you know, 276 00:13:41,233 --> 00:13:42,533 they took something that's mine. 277 00:13:42,533 --> 00:13:43,700 GATES: Yeah. 278 00:13:43,700 --> 00:13:46,300 WARWICK: Again, my grandfather, he said, 279 00:13:46,300 --> 00:13:48,900 "My baby, listen. Look at it this way. 280 00:13:49,966 --> 00:13:51,900 You know your name is Warrick. 281 00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:53,466 GATES: Mmm-hmm. 282 00:13:53,466 --> 00:13:56,033 WARWICK: Use Warwick as your stage name." 283 00:13:56,233 --> 00:13:58,400 GATES: Wow. WARWICK: Your professional name. 284 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:02,733 I said I didn't want to do it. I didn't. 285 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,766 But I said, "Okay, Grandpa, I can look at it that way." 286 00:14:07,900 --> 00:14:11,033 GATES: Unfortunately, the Warrick surname would 287 00:14:11,033 --> 00:14:13,400 prove elusive to our researchers. 288 00:14:14,733 --> 00:14:17,900 We were able to trace Dionne's beloved grandfather 289 00:14:17,900 --> 00:14:21,333 back just one generation before we hit 290 00:14:21,333 --> 00:14:24,100 the brick wall of slavery. 291 00:14:25,300 --> 00:14:28,033 We had better luck with Dionne's grandmother, 292 00:14:29,133 --> 00:14:32,266 we traced her ancestry back to a couple named 293 00:14:32,266 --> 00:14:35,300 Guy and Mary Ann Russ. 294 00:14:35,866 --> 00:14:39,200 They're Dionne's great-grandparents and 295 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,633 they're listed in the 1870 census, 296 00:14:42,633 --> 00:14:46,100 living in Jackson County, Florida 297 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:48,266 with their five children. 298 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:51,666 Have you ever been to this area of the country? 299 00:14:51,666 --> 00:14:52,933 WARWICK: Yes. GATES: Jackson County? 300 00:14:52,933 --> 00:14:54,966 Did you know you had such deep roots there? 301 00:14:54,966 --> 00:14:56,233 WARWICK: No, not at all. 302 00:14:56,233 --> 00:14:57,800 GATES: I mean, some serious roots. 303 00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,800 WARWICK: Yeah. I see. 304 00:15:00,466 --> 00:15:01,900 GATES: Now, Dionne. Think about this. 305 00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:05,166 This census was recorded five years after Emancipation. 306 00:15:05,166 --> 00:15:07,766 And both Guy and Mary Ann were adults. 307 00:15:07,766 --> 00:15:09,266 So, you know what that means. 308 00:15:09,266 --> 00:15:10,633 That your great-great-grandparents 309 00:15:10,633 --> 00:15:12,300 most likely were born into slavery. 310 00:15:12,300 --> 00:15:13,533 WARWICK: Yeah. 311 00:15:13,533 --> 00:15:15,233 GATES: But have you ever thought much about how slavery 312 00:15:15,233 --> 00:15:17,600 impacted your own ancestry? 313 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:22,333 WARWICK: You know I felt there had to be some sort of 314 00:15:22,633 --> 00:15:27,366 relationship to slavery within my family. 315 00:15:27,766 --> 00:15:29,333 GATES: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 316 00:15:29,333 --> 00:15:31,700 WARWICK: There's no way that it could have been gotten around. 317 00:15:31,700 --> 00:15:32,733 GATES: That's right. 318 00:15:32,733 --> 00:15:34,133 We all descend from enslaved people. 319 00:15:34,133 --> 00:15:35,733 WARWICK: Exactly. 320 00:15:35,733 --> 00:15:37,233 GATES: Nobody Black was on the Mayflower. 321 00:15:37,233 --> 00:15:39,633 WARWICK: You're right about that. 322 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,366 GATES: We now set out to see if we could find any evidence 323 00:15:45,366 --> 00:15:48,800 of Dionne's ancestors before emancipation. 324 00:15:50,033 --> 00:15:53,000 Since some formerly enslaved people took the surnames of 325 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,200 their former owners, 326 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,566 we searched for any White farmers in Jackson County 327 00:15:58,566 --> 00:16:01,833 with same surname as Guy and Mary Ann... 328 00:16:03,033 --> 00:16:04,966 Russ. 329 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:10,233 It was a painstaking process, but in the 1860 census, 330 00:16:10,866 --> 00:16:14,533 we found a slave schedule for a White farmer named 331 00:16:14,533 --> 00:16:16,766 Joseph Russ... 332 00:16:17,233 --> 00:16:22,733 It lists 31 enslaved people, not by name, only by age, 333 00:16:23,100 --> 00:16:25,200 gender and color... 334 00:16:25,666 --> 00:16:27,033 Now, what's it like to see that? 335 00:16:27,033 --> 00:16:30,733 To think that one of your ancestors might be represented 336 00:16:30,733 --> 00:16:33,233 by one of those hash marks? 337 00:16:33,233 --> 00:16:37,966 WARWICK: Yeah, well, it irks me, to even think that 338 00:16:37,966 --> 00:16:39,366 people were owned. 339 00:16:39,366 --> 00:16:40,633 GATES: Yeah. 340 00:16:40,633 --> 00:16:42,733 WARWICK: How can you dare own me? 341 00:16:42,733 --> 00:16:44,933 No, that's something you'll never do. 342 00:16:44,933 --> 00:16:47,000 GATES: Mm-hmm. WARWICK: But there it was. 343 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,100 You know... 344 00:16:49,333 --> 00:16:50,933 GATES: Now, your great-great-grandfather, 345 00:16:50,933 --> 00:16:54,066 Guy, was born between 1814 and 1816. 346 00:16:54,066 --> 00:16:57,033 So, in 1860, the year that census was taken, 347 00:16:57,033 --> 00:16:59,933 Guy would've been between 44 and 46. 348 00:16:59,933 --> 00:17:05,033 Do you see anyone listed there around that age 349 00:17:05,033 --> 00:17:06,433 on that record? 350 00:17:06,433 --> 00:17:08,933 WARWICK: "One Black male, 46 years old." 351 00:17:08,933 --> 00:17:10,900 GATES: We believe that you're looking at your 352 00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:12,766 great-great-grandfather, Guy. 353 00:17:12,766 --> 00:17:14,800 WARWICK: Wow. 354 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:16,333 GATES: Dionne, what's it like to see that? 355 00:17:16,333 --> 00:17:20,266 To see your ancestor, listed, namelessly? 356 00:17:20,766 --> 00:17:22,500 WARWICK: It's ugly. 357 00:17:22,500 --> 00:17:28,800 And the only way that those that were purported to own a 358 00:17:29,100 --> 00:17:34,833 human being could exist, was by transferring their name. 359 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,200 And I think it's only because they couldn't pronounce ours. 360 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,166 GATES: Yeah. WARWICK: Okay. 361 00:17:41,166 --> 00:17:42,633 GATES: That's true. 362 00:17:42,633 --> 00:17:45,600 WARWICK: That we had certain regality to our own. 363 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:47,533 GATES: The names we brought on the ships. 364 00:17:47,533 --> 00:17:49,600 WARWICK: The names we brought with us. 365 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:51,400 Language that we brought with us. 366 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:54,200 They could not understand. 367 00:17:54,466 --> 00:17:58,866 "How could you dare have something that we don't have?" 368 00:17:59,266 --> 00:18:00,800 GATES: And they took it all away. 369 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:02,666 WARWICK: They tried to. 370 00:18:02,666 --> 00:18:06,733 Because fortunately, there were those of us that 371 00:18:06,733 --> 00:18:09,500 were able to, kinda, escape it. 372 00:18:09,866 --> 00:18:11,533 GATES: Yeah. Some. WARWICK: Yeah. Not enough. 373 00:18:11,533 --> 00:18:13,566 GATES: Not enough. No. WARWICK: Exactly. 374 00:18:13,566 --> 00:18:16,600 GATES: When this census was recorded, 375 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:19,966 the Civil War was still a year away, 376 00:18:19,966 --> 00:18:24,400 meaning that Dionne's ancestor had roughly five more years of 377 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,666 bondage to endure on Joseph Russ' plantation. 378 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,300 Searching the records of that plantation, 379 00:18:32,300 --> 00:18:35,733 we were able to show Dionne a map of Russ's land, 380 00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:40,233 where Guy likely picked cotton during these years. 381 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:45,200 And we were able to show her something else as well. 382 00:18:46,066 --> 00:18:47,966 That's Joseph Russ. 383 00:18:47,966 --> 00:18:51,466 WARWICK: Yuck. Wow. 384 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:53,866 GATES: It puts a face on slavery, doesn't it? 385 00:18:53,866 --> 00:18:56,600 WARWICK: Yeah, it does. It's not a pretty face either. 386 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:57,633 GATES: No, it's not. 387 00:18:57,633 --> 00:18:59,533 WARWICK: It's a very ugly face. 388 00:18:59,533 --> 00:19:02,133 GATES: Yeah. WARWICK: You're an ugly man. 389 00:19:03,233 --> 00:19:05,133 GATES: Emancipation was proclaimed in 390 00:19:05,133 --> 00:19:08,800 Tallahassee, Florida, on May 20th, 1865. 391 00:19:09,266 --> 00:19:11,600 And on December 6th, 1865, 392 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:13,666 the 13th Amendment was ratified. 393 00:19:13,666 --> 00:19:16,166 Which officially abolished slavery in the United States. 394 00:19:16,166 --> 00:19:18,566 What do you think that moment was like for your 395 00:19:18,566 --> 00:19:21,400 great-great-grandfather, finally to taste freedom? 396 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,300 WARWICK: Oh, I think it was a jubilant day. 397 00:19:24,300 --> 00:19:28,966 You know, I feel that he finds that finally I can be me. 398 00:19:28,966 --> 00:19:30,133 GATES: Yeah. 399 00:19:30,133 --> 00:19:33,833 WARWICK: And all mine can be who they are. 400 00:19:33,833 --> 00:19:35,900 Finally. 401 00:19:35,900 --> 00:19:39,933 And Mr. Joseph Russ. 402 00:19:39,933 --> 00:19:44,500 I don't want to say what I want to, but bye, bye. 403 00:19:47,300 --> 00:19:49,166 GATES: Dionne's great-great-grandfather 404 00:19:49,166 --> 00:19:52,700 was roughly 50 years old when freedom came. 405 00:19:53,966 --> 00:19:57,633 The world around him must have seemed like a dream, 406 00:19:59,066 --> 00:20:04,433 as African Americans began to exercise their new civil rights. 407 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:07,133 In his own county, 408 00:20:07,133 --> 00:20:09,900 Black men were even elected constable 409 00:20:09,900 --> 00:20:11,966 and tax assessor, 410 00:20:11,966 --> 00:20:15,700 and gained two seats in the state house. 411 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,966 But a backlash was coming. 412 00:20:18,966 --> 00:20:20,866 Former slave-owners, 413 00:20:20,866 --> 00:20:24,333 and members of the nascent Ku Klux Klan, 414 00:20:24,333 --> 00:20:27,933 were not about to give up their power. 415 00:20:27,933 --> 00:20:30,633 And newspapers quickly filled with accounts of 416 00:20:30,633 --> 00:20:33,966 horrifying racial violence. 417 00:20:35,300 --> 00:20:38,200 WARWICK: "Some half a dozen cold-blooded murders 418 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:39,633 have been committed. 419 00:20:39,633 --> 00:20:43,033 And assassinations are the order of the day. 420 00:20:43,033 --> 00:20:47,000 Mobs scoured the country on foot and on horseback, 421 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:48,633 armed to the teeth, 422 00:20:48,633 --> 00:20:52,266 and do not hesitate to shoot down any 423 00:20:52,266 --> 00:20:54,966 who will incur their displeasure." 424 00:20:54,966 --> 00:20:57,266 GATES: From 1869 to 1871, 425 00:20:57,266 --> 00:21:00,533 White people terrorized Black people 426 00:21:00,533 --> 00:21:01,800 living in Jackson County. 427 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:02,966 WARWICK: Yeah. 428 00:21:02,966 --> 00:21:04,500 GATES: What's it like to see this? 429 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:06,466 Your great-great grandparents were living right there. 430 00:21:06,466 --> 00:21:08,500 WARWICK: Yeah, It's crazy. It's crazy. 431 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:10,233 GATES: Crazy, and guess what? 432 00:21:10,233 --> 00:21:14,733 In 1871, ministers at an AME church convention in 433 00:21:15,100 --> 00:21:19,533 Tallahassee, Florida suggested that all black people vacate 434 00:21:19,533 --> 00:21:22,833 that county because it was so racist. 435 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:24,500 WARWICK: Yeah. 436 00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:27,000 GATES: So, we wanted to see what your family did? 437 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,300 And I want you to guess, did they stay or did they go? 438 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,033 WARWICK: Knowing my family, they probably stayed. 439 00:21:35,166 --> 00:21:36,433 GATES: Let's see if you're right. 440 00:21:36,433 --> 00:21:38,266 Please turn the page. 441 00:21:39,466 --> 00:21:41,800 This is the 1880 census for Jackson County. 442 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,100 Would you please read the transcribed section? 443 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:49,433 WARWICK: "Guy Russ, aged 66. Farm Labor. 444 00:21:49,433 --> 00:21:53,566 M. A. 39. Wife, farm laborer." 445 00:21:53,933 --> 00:21:55,500 GATES: So, you guessed right. 446 00:21:55,500 --> 00:21:59,100 Your great-great grandparents remained in Jackson County. 447 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:01,233 WARWICK: I know my family. 448 00:22:02,133 --> 00:22:03,833 GATES: What is it about your family that made you 449 00:22:03,833 --> 00:22:07,300 guess correctly that they stayed to fight it out. 450 00:22:07,300 --> 00:22:12,500 WARWICK: From the immediate family that I know grew up 451 00:22:12,866 --> 00:22:16,066 around and with, 452 00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:18,833 we were never afraid of anything. 453 00:22:18,833 --> 00:22:24,300 You know, we had our own standards and lived by them. 454 00:22:25,133 --> 00:22:27,933 And nobody's going to run me out of town. 455 00:22:27,933 --> 00:22:29,466 GATES: Sure. 456 00:22:29,466 --> 00:22:34,800 WARWICK: But, you know, not that we are that brave, 457 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,433 but we believe in the right. 458 00:22:39,033 --> 00:22:43,733 GATES: Guy Russ passed away sometime before 1900. 459 00:22:44,433 --> 00:22:46,133 He survived slavery 460 00:22:46,133 --> 00:22:50,366 only to witness the brutal rise of Jim Crow, 461 00:22:50,566 --> 00:22:54,000 but he and his wife Mary Ann left a legacy behind 462 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,466 just the same, 463 00:22:56,766 --> 00:23:00,500 they stayed together, stayed on their land, 464 00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:03,366 and secured a future for their children. 465 00:23:03,833 --> 00:23:04,866 They paid their dues. 466 00:23:04,866 --> 00:23:06,133 WARWICK: They sure did. 467 00:23:06,133 --> 00:23:08,266 GATES: What's it been like for you to learn these details 468 00:23:08,266 --> 00:23:10,900 about your father's family? 469 00:23:11,133 --> 00:23:14,933 WARWICK: That all of what I am 470 00:23:17,533 --> 00:23:19,766 comes directly from this. 471 00:23:19,766 --> 00:23:23,033 You know, I know I'm a strong woman. 472 00:23:23,733 --> 00:23:28,366 I have been strong literally from birth. 473 00:23:29,100 --> 00:23:30,400 GATES: Mm-hmm. 474 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,133 WARWICK: I've never accepted certain things in my lifetime. 475 00:23:34,133 --> 00:23:36,533 The word no doesn't exist for me. 476 00:23:36,533 --> 00:23:39,466 The word can't does not exist for me. 477 00:23:40,666 --> 00:23:45,700 And I'm sure that that strength and the being that I 478 00:23:45,700 --> 00:23:50,033 am has an awful lot to do with these people 479 00:23:50,033 --> 00:23:51,600 who gave that to me. 480 00:23:53,700 --> 00:23:57,000 GATES: Much like Dionne, Danielle Brooks was about to 481 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,333 discover a story of profound strength hidden within 482 00:24:00,966 --> 00:24:02,866 her father's roots. 483 00:24:03,266 --> 00:24:05,766 It begins with her great-grandfather: 484 00:24:05,766 --> 00:24:10,433 Willie Lee Brooks, who died the year Danielle was born. 485 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:15,266 We found Willie in the 1910 census for 486 00:24:15,266 --> 00:24:18,966 Shelby County, Tennessee, living with his mother, 487 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,133 a woman named Ella Duke... 488 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:26,333 And finding Ella led us back another generation to 489 00:24:26,333 --> 00:24:29,733 her parents: Kate White 490 00:24:29,733 --> 00:24:32,933 and Adolphus, or "Dolphin", Duke. 491 00:24:34,266 --> 00:24:38,300 BROOKS: "1845 Germantown Shelby, Tennessee" is where 492 00:24:38,300 --> 00:24:41,166 "Dolphin", his nickname, Duke is from. 493 00:24:41,533 --> 00:24:42,800 GATES: Mm-hmm. 494 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,100 BROOKS: Kate White, which is crazy, these names, 495 00:24:45,100 --> 00:24:48,000 Duke and White, which is, that's, I'm guessing, 496 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,233 slave names, right, is born December, 25th, Christmas... 497 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:54,866 GATES: Mm-hmm. 498 00:24:54,866 --> 00:24:57,233 BROOKS: 1842 in DeSoto County, Mississippi. 499 00:24:57,233 --> 00:24:59,800 GATES: So you just met your third great-grandparents who 500 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:04,133 were born before the outbreak of the Civil War. 501 00:25:04,133 --> 00:25:05,300 BROOKS: Wow. 502 00:25:05,300 --> 00:25:06,733 GATES: And when you walked in here did you think 503 00:25:06,733 --> 00:25:08,333 we'd get back this far so quickly? 504 00:25:08,333 --> 00:25:10,533 BROOKS: I would believe you. Yeah, you could do it. 505 00:25:10,533 --> 00:25:13,166 If anybody could do it, you could do it. 506 00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:14,866 GATES: But you never heard these names before? 507 00:25:14,866 --> 00:25:17,166 BROOKS: Never, never, I've never heard past 508 00:25:17,166 --> 00:25:18,600 Willy Lee Brooks... 509 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:20,000 GATES: Gotcha. BROOKS: My great-grandfather. 510 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,466 GATES: How do you like that name, Dolphin? 511 00:25:21,466 --> 00:25:23,833 BROOKS: I love it. I think it's amazing. 512 00:25:23,833 --> 00:25:25,966 I love nicknames. I love it. 513 00:25:27,100 --> 00:25:30,533 GATES: Dolphin's unusual name would soon lead us to 514 00:25:30,533 --> 00:25:32,600 a painful discovery: 515 00:25:33,466 --> 00:25:37,000 the estate records of a Tennessee slave-owner 516 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,500 named Britton Duke. 517 00:25:40,300 --> 00:25:44,466 These records detail how Britton's human property was 518 00:25:44,466 --> 00:25:47,066 to be divided up among his heirs, 519 00:25:47,733 --> 00:25:52,000 assigning a cash value to each enslaved man, 520 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,600 woman, and child, 521 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,600 including a boy named "Dolphin" 522 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,866 who was worth $700. 523 00:26:02,966 --> 00:26:04,433 How do you feel seeing that? 524 00:26:04,433 --> 00:26:10,066 BROOKS: Yeah, it's a big deal. It's a big deal. 525 00:26:10,333 --> 00:26:12,766 GATES: You just found out the name of the White man 526 00:26:12,766 --> 00:26:15,600 who owned your enslaved ancestor and 527 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,733 what he had been valued at in the man's, 528 00:26:19,733 --> 00:26:21,233 effectively in his will. 529 00:26:21,233 --> 00:26:22,733 BROOKS: Yeah. Isn't that crazy? 530 00:26:22,733 --> 00:26:23,833 GATES: Isn't that crazy? 531 00:26:23,833 --> 00:26:29,000 $700 in 1856 is worth roughly $24,500 today, 532 00:26:29,666 --> 00:26:32,566 and he is 11-years-old. 533 00:26:32,566 --> 00:26:33,800 BROOKS: Wow. 534 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:35,466 GATES: He's listed as property just like the 535 00:26:35,466 --> 00:26:36,866 cows and the chickens. 536 00:26:36,866 --> 00:26:38,133 BROOKS: I know. 537 00:26:38,133 --> 00:26:40,200 GATES: What do you think that was like? 538 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,633 BROOKS: A lot. I, I mean, 539 00:26:44,566 --> 00:26:47,533 how could you feel like a human when you're 540 00:26:47,533 --> 00:26:49,233 treated like that? 541 00:26:50,066 --> 00:26:51,433 GATES: The slave system 542 00:26:51,433 --> 00:26:54,533 may have tried to strip Dolphin of his humanity, 543 00:26:54,533 --> 00:26:56,833 but it failed. 544 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,700 On April 12th, 1861 Confederate troops fired on 545 00:27:02,700 --> 00:27:06,300 Fort Sumter, sparking the Civil War. 546 00:27:07,166 --> 00:27:09,933 By June of 1863, 547 00:27:09,933 --> 00:27:12,433 Union forces had taken control of most of 548 00:27:12,433 --> 00:27:16,133 western Tennessee, including Shelby County, 549 00:27:17,266 --> 00:27:19,933 where Dolphin had been enslaved. 550 00:27:20,866 --> 00:27:23,833 Dolphin was now free, 551 00:27:23,833 --> 00:27:26,766 and he quickly showed that he was very much 552 00:27:26,766 --> 00:27:28,866 his own man. 553 00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:33,966 BROOKS: "Dolson Duke Company, 59 Regiment, 554 00:27:33,966 --> 00:27:37,500 U.S. Colored Infantry. Age 18. 555 00:27:38,300 --> 00:27:43,333 Enlistment, June 1st 1863 at Germantown, Tennessee. 556 00:27:43,833 --> 00:27:45,433 Term, three years." 557 00:27:45,433 --> 00:27:46,466 GATES: So you know what that means? 558 00:27:46,466 --> 00:27:47,800 BROOKS: He fought. 559 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:53,133 GATES: Dolphin listed here as "Dolson" joined the Union Army 560 00:27:53,133 --> 00:27:55,000 to fight for the freedom of our people. 561 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,833 BROOKS: That is pretty cool! 562 00:27:56,833 --> 00:27:59,333 GATES: Did it ever occur to you when you were watching, 563 00:27:59,333 --> 00:28:02,133 uh, "Glory" that you might have an ancestor who fought 564 00:28:02,133 --> 00:28:03,466 with the U.S. Colored Troops? 565 00:28:03,466 --> 00:28:05,500 BROOKS: Never! That's empowering. 566 00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:07,466 GATES: That's a big deal. BROOKS: Yeah. 567 00:28:08,366 --> 00:28:11,700 GATES: Dolphin's military records indicate that he was 568 00:28:11,700 --> 00:28:15,966 only five feet one inches tall, but that didn't hold him back. 569 00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:19,866 He was assigned to the 59th regiment of the 570 00:28:19,866 --> 00:28:22,600 United States Colored Troops, 571 00:28:23,733 --> 00:28:27,366 one of roughly 200,000 Black men who served 572 00:28:27,366 --> 00:28:29,533 in the Civil War. 573 00:28:30,333 --> 00:28:31,833 What's it like to see that? 574 00:28:31,833 --> 00:28:33,500 To think that your ancestor could have been 575 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:34,733 one of those men? 576 00:28:34,733 --> 00:28:37,700 You know, we don't know what he actually looked like. 577 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,633 BROOKS: Well, I'm big on pictures 'cause they tell 578 00:28:41,633 --> 00:28:42,866 100 stories, you know? 579 00:28:42,866 --> 00:28:44,066 GATES: Oh yeah. 580 00:28:44,066 --> 00:28:45,766 BROOKS: So even this and knowing his height, 581 00:28:45,766 --> 00:28:48,000 I might, could choose which one? 582 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,333 GATES: That little dude right there. 583 00:28:49,333 --> 00:28:51,833 BROOKS: Yeah. It's pretty amazing. 584 00:28:53,266 --> 00:28:56,066 The white gloves and the guns, 585 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,833 and just the amount of power they must have felt for the, 586 00:29:02,766 --> 00:29:04,833 like, first time in their life. 587 00:29:04,833 --> 00:29:07,400 GATES: Can you imagine being given the chance to go to war 588 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,833 to fight against the people who had enslaved you and 589 00:29:10,833 --> 00:29:12,733 your parents and your grandparents? 590 00:29:12,733 --> 00:29:13,800 BROOKS: Now that's a dream. 591 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,733 GATES: That is a dream. 592 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,533 BROOKS: That, that's a dream for you. 593 00:29:19,366 --> 00:29:22,666 GATES: Dolphin's dreams would soon collide with the 594 00:29:22,666 --> 00:29:25,400 harsh reality of war... 595 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:33,066 In June of 1864, his regiment marched south from Memphis 596 00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:36,133 into Mississippi and encountered the 597 00:29:36,133 --> 00:29:39,100 Confederate Army at a place known as 598 00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:41,633 Brice's Cross Roads... 599 00:29:42,333 --> 00:29:44,766 A brutal battle ensued. 600 00:29:44,766 --> 00:29:47,433 Union forces were soundly defeated, 601 00:29:47,433 --> 00:29:50,366 suffering thousands of casualties. 602 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,933 Dolphin likely saw many of his fellow soldiers 603 00:29:54,933 --> 00:29:57,266 fall around him. 604 00:29:58,066 --> 00:30:02,933 BROOKS: It's just mind-blowing to imagine 605 00:30:04,566 --> 00:30:06,733 seeing that much death. 606 00:30:06,733 --> 00:30:10,466 GATES: 750,000 men died during the American Civil War. 607 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,300 In contrast, 50,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War. 608 00:30:15,300 --> 00:30:16,633 BROOKS: Whoo. 609 00:30:16,633 --> 00:30:19,400 GATES: The bloodiest war in the history of the United States. 610 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:20,633 BROOKS: Wow. 611 00:30:20,633 --> 00:30:21,966 GATES: And this wasn't the only time your 612 00:30:21,966 --> 00:30:23,400 third great-grandfather, Dolphin, 613 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:24,933 found himself in danger. 614 00:30:24,933 --> 00:30:26,366 One month later, 615 00:30:26,366 --> 00:30:28,166 in July of 1864, 616 00:30:28,166 --> 00:30:30,900 the Union forces pushed in the Mississippi again, 617 00:30:30,900 --> 00:30:33,666 and Dolphin was soon in another battle. 618 00:30:33,666 --> 00:30:35,500 Please turn the page. 619 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,066 This is a letter written by a soldier who fought 620 00:30:38,066 --> 00:30:40,966 at what was called the Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi 621 00:30:40,966 --> 00:30:42,666 in July of 1864. 622 00:30:42,666 --> 00:30:44,833 We believe your ancestor was there too. 623 00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:46,766 Would you please read the transcribed section? 624 00:30:47,500 --> 00:30:49,766 BROOKS: "The tide of battle ebbs and flows beneath the 625 00:30:49,766 --> 00:30:52,266 hot rays of a July sun. 626 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:55,833 Once more, the rebel leaders urged their men to the charge... 627 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,366 But their men knew by bitter experience the men 628 00:30:59,366 --> 00:31:01,433 with whom they were fighting. 629 00:31:01,433 --> 00:31:04,733 Soon they break and escape to the woods. 630 00:31:04,733 --> 00:31:08,233 Infantry, Calvary and Negroes have all served 631 00:31:08,233 --> 00:31:10,266 their country faithfully, 632 00:31:10,266 --> 00:31:13,200 have fought like veterans as they are and 633 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,566 are entitled to the, their country's gratitude." 634 00:31:16,233 --> 00:31:17,766 GATES: They performed heroically. 635 00:31:17,766 --> 00:31:19,600 What's it like to know that? 636 00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:22,100 BROOKS: You know. 637 00:31:22,933 --> 00:31:25,566 (laughter) 638 00:31:25,966 --> 00:31:29,100 GATES: Dolphin's regiment had played a key role in a 639 00:31:29,100 --> 00:31:33,200 Union victory that helped secure supply lines for 640 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,366 General William T. Sherman's famed Atlanta campaign... 641 00:31:38,633 --> 00:31:42,466 And this was not the end of his military career. 642 00:31:43,500 --> 00:31:47,300 Dolphin served honorably for the rest of the war, 643 00:31:47,300 --> 00:31:51,733 then returned home to Memphis in January of 1866. 644 00:31:52,766 --> 00:31:56,500 By that time, he was roughly 21 years old, 645 00:31:56,500 --> 00:32:00,033 and he'd spent almost three years in the army. 646 00:32:00,566 --> 00:32:01,800 So he's back home. 647 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:03,066 BROOKS: What's he doing? 648 00:32:03,066 --> 00:32:05,166 GATES: What's he doing now? Please turn the page. 649 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,733 BROOKS: Making babies. 650 00:32:10,633 --> 00:32:12,433 GATES: Would you please read the transcribed section? 651 00:32:13,100 --> 00:32:16,733 BROOKS: "Dolphin Duke has this day, prayed and obtained 652 00:32:16,733 --> 00:32:20,100 a license to marry Kate White. 653 00:32:20,100 --> 00:32:25,433 Date of marriage, June 15th, 1867." Yes. 654 00:32:25,700 --> 00:32:27,000 GATES: What's it like to see that? 655 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:28,733 BROOKS: That is cool because, 656 00:32:28,733 --> 00:32:30,866 you know, with Black people, 657 00:32:30,866 --> 00:32:33,700 we didn't have marriage licenses and 658 00:32:33,700 --> 00:32:36,600 we were just jumping brooms. 659 00:32:37,133 --> 00:32:40,633 GATES: Danielle, of course, is correct. 660 00:32:40,633 --> 00:32:44,000 Southern legislators denied enslaved people 661 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,433 the right to marry. 662 00:32:46,433 --> 00:32:49,933 So African Americans resorted to symbolic ceremonies, 663 00:32:50,566 --> 00:32:54,033 sometimes involving jumping over a broom, 664 00:32:54,033 --> 00:32:56,500 to honor their relationships. 665 00:32:57,433 --> 00:33:00,900 For Dolphin and Kate, a legal marriage was a 666 00:33:00,900 --> 00:33:04,000 fundamental part of their new freedom. 667 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,700 It was also a springboard to a better life. 668 00:33:09,166 --> 00:33:12,533 After his marriage, Dolphin became a farmer 669 00:33:12,533 --> 00:33:16,166 in Shelby County, growing corn and cotton. 670 00:33:17,166 --> 00:33:20,066 He fathered at least seven children. 671 00:33:20,066 --> 00:33:24,100 And by the time he passed away in 1898 he had 672 00:33:24,100 --> 00:33:26,900 more than 20 grandchildren. 673 00:33:27,533 --> 00:33:29,300 Looking back on his life, 674 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:31,266 he fought for his and his country's freedom 675 00:33:31,266 --> 00:33:34,900 from slavery and he was able to live to see it in action. 676 00:33:34,900 --> 00:33:36,900 What do you make of him? 677 00:33:36,900 --> 00:33:39,500 What do you make of this ancestor of yours? 678 00:33:39,833 --> 00:33:41,933 BROOKS: First, he's a human being. 679 00:33:41,933 --> 00:33:43,333 GATES: Mm-hmm. 680 00:33:43,333 --> 00:33:47,100 BROOKS: A full, full person. That's like a big deal. 681 00:33:47,900 --> 00:33:50,066 GATES: Not just an anonymous, enslaved ancestor. 682 00:33:50,066 --> 00:33:52,233 BROOKS: Not just an anonymous enslaved ancestor, 683 00:33:52,233 --> 00:33:56,300 but also not just this generic ancestor. 684 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:58,966 GATES: You're right. BROOKS: He's a person. 685 00:33:59,300 --> 00:34:01,066 GATES: He's a person. BROOKS: You know? 686 00:34:01,066 --> 00:34:02,733 GATES: With a name on your family tree. 687 00:34:02,733 --> 00:34:06,900 BROOKS: Yes. It changes the game for my family. 688 00:34:09,566 --> 00:34:11,933 GATES: Turning back to Dionne Warwick, 689 00:34:11,933 --> 00:34:15,166 we focused on her maternal grandfather, 690 00:34:15,166 --> 00:34:18,833 a man named "Nitch", or "Nicholas", Drinkard, 691 00:34:19,900 --> 00:34:23,066 Nitch was a fixture of Dionne's childhood, 692 00:34:23,066 --> 00:34:27,533 and she vividly recalls his beautiful tenor voice. 693 00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:32,900 But Dionne knew almost nothing about her grandfather's roots. 694 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,266 We set out to change that 695 00:34:37,266 --> 00:34:42,066 and traced Nitch back two generations to his grandfather, 696 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,333 John Drinkard, Sr. 697 00:34:45,833 --> 00:34:49,733 John is Dionne's great-great-grandfather. 698 00:34:49,966 --> 00:34:53,133 And we noticed something unusual about him... 699 00:34:53,700 --> 00:34:59,033 He and his wife owned a farm in Georgia in the early 1900s, 700 00:34:59,833 --> 00:35:02,000 a time when most African Americans in the 701 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,566 south were landless sharecroppers. 702 00:35:06,866 --> 00:35:09,866 WARWICK: "This indenture made and entered into the 703 00:35:09,866 --> 00:35:14,900 11th day of August for the consideration of sum of $60. 704 00:35:16,266 --> 00:35:19,300 All that tracked or parcel of land. 705 00:35:19,300 --> 00:35:23,100 Situate, lying and being in the county of Early." 706 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:25,733 GATES: You know what you're looking at? 707 00:35:25,733 --> 00:35:26,766 WARWICK: Is that a deed? 708 00:35:26,766 --> 00:35:28,633 GATES: The deed of them buying their land. 709 00:35:28,633 --> 00:35:30,333 WARWICK: Yeah. GATES: Isn't that cool? 710 00:35:30,333 --> 00:35:32,033 That's your great-great grandparents 711 00:35:32,033 --> 00:35:33,300 purchasing their land. 712 00:35:33,300 --> 00:35:34,466 WARWICK: Mm-hmm. 713 00:35:34,466 --> 00:35:36,166 GATES: And you could see a map of your family's 714 00:35:36,166 --> 00:35:38,200 property on the left. 715 00:35:38,466 --> 00:35:40,933 That's the Drinkard family land. 716 00:35:41,133 --> 00:35:42,966 What's it like to see that? 717 00:35:42,966 --> 00:35:44,533 WARWICK: It's amazing. 718 00:35:44,533 --> 00:35:46,233 Especially during that period of time. 719 00:35:46,233 --> 00:35:48,766 GATES: Yeah, absolutely. WARWICK: That's fabulous. 720 00:35:50,533 --> 00:35:53,733 GATES: The Drinkard's owned a substantial farm near the 721 00:35:53,733 --> 00:35:58,633 border of Georgia and Alabama, where they likely grew cotton, 722 00:35:58,833 --> 00:36:01,100 the staple crop of the region, 723 00:36:01,100 --> 00:36:03,733 but they didn't stay on the farm for long. 724 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:06,566 By the late 1920s, 725 00:36:06,566 --> 00:36:09,666 they'd resettled in Newark, New Jersey, 726 00:36:09,900 --> 00:36:13,500 just miles from where Dionne would be born and raised. 727 00:36:14,666 --> 00:36:16,700 GATES: Did you ever hear any stories about why the family 728 00:36:16,700 --> 00:36:19,433 came north and what happened to that land? 729 00:36:19,433 --> 00:36:21,633 WARWICK: No. Never. Ever. 730 00:36:21,633 --> 00:36:24,000 I didn't even know there was land! 731 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,966 GATES: Okay. Please turn the page. 732 00:36:26,166 --> 00:36:28,200 WARWICK: Sure. 733 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:32,233 GATES: This is a newspaper article from September, 1919. 734 00:36:32,233 --> 00:36:35,000 Could you please read that transcribed section? 735 00:36:35,333 --> 00:36:38,666 WARWICK: "Weevils, caterpillars, spiders, and 736 00:36:38,666 --> 00:36:43,200 rain have combined to make almost a complete failure of 737 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:45,733 Early County's cotton crop this season. 738 00:36:46,833 --> 00:36:48,200 The price is low, 739 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,000 and only those who need the money are selling." 740 00:36:51,266 --> 00:36:52,700 GATES: Well, you know what a boll weevil is. 741 00:36:52,700 --> 00:36:53,900 WARWICK: Yeah. 742 00:36:53,900 --> 00:36:56,400 GATES: Boll weevils are beetles that eat cotton buds 743 00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,000 and flowers and a boll weevil infestation made its way to 744 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,200 Georgia in August, 1915. 745 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:03,166 By the end of 1919, 746 00:37:03,166 --> 00:37:06,600 the state had experienced 40 million in losses. 747 00:37:07,166 --> 00:37:10,100 That's worth 690 million today. 748 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:11,500 WARWICK: Wow. 749 00:37:11,500 --> 00:37:13,833 GATES: Two years later in 1921, 750 00:37:13,833 --> 00:37:16,600 the University of Georgia published a report 751 00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:18,533 stating that the boll weevil quote 752 00:37:18,533 --> 00:37:21,966 "Has disturbed our economic situation more than any other 753 00:37:21,966 --> 00:37:25,466 single factor since the conclusion of the Civil War." 754 00:37:26,166 --> 00:37:28,366 So this was affecting your ancestors cause that's 755 00:37:28,366 --> 00:37:29,366 how they were making... 756 00:37:29,366 --> 00:37:31,133 WARWICK: Farmers, yeah. GATES: Yeah. 757 00:37:31,133 --> 00:37:33,166 WARWICK: It's crazy. 758 00:37:33,700 --> 00:37:36,500 GATES: We can't be certain how this catastrophe 759 00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:38,566 impacted the Drinkard farm. 760 00:37:39,833 --> 00:37:42,166 There are no records to tell us. 761 00:37:42,733 --> 00:37:46,266 All we know is that in 1923, 762 00:37:46,266 --> 00:37:50,633 Dionne's grandfather Nitch defaulted on a bank loan, 763 00:37:52,066 --> 00:37:56,366 and his family's property was sold at auction. 764 00:37:56,733 --> 00:37:58,133 How do you think your grandfather felt? 765 00:37:58,133 --> 00:37:59,333 It must have been devastating. 766 00:37:59,333 --> 00:38:01,366 WARWICK: Oh, it had to be. You know... 767 00:38:01,366 --> 00:38:03,533 GATES: Your mom was just three years old. 768 00:38:03,533 --> 00:38:07,200 WARWICK: Yeah. Grandfather was a proud man. 769 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,233 GATES: Did he ever talk about this? 770 00:38:09,233 --> 00:38:11,933 WARWICK: No. I don't know why, 771 00:38:13,033 --> 00:38:16,066 but historical things of this nature that 772 00:38:16,066 --> 00:38:17,666 we're discussing today. 773 00:38:17,666 --> 00:38:20,600 It was never ever mentioned or talked about. 774 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,966 GATES: Why do you think? Too painful? 775 00:38:22,966 --> 00:38:25,000 WARWICK: Could possibly have been that, you know... 776 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,200 GATES: People think, "Well if I don't tell them why" 777 00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:29,466 WARWICK: Why make them suffer like I did? 778 00:38:29,466 --> 00:38:32,166 GATES: Yeah. Well, let's see what your family did next. 779 00:38:32,166 --> 00:38:34,000 Could you please turn the page? 780 00:38:35,233 --> 00:38:38,300 This is the 1930 census for Newark. 781 00:38:38,300 --> 00:38:40,333 Would you please read the first transcribed section 782 00:38:40,333 --> 00:38:42,466 on the top left? 783 00:38:42,466 --> 00:38:45,600 WARWICK: "Nitcholas Drinkard, head, 34, 784 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,866 molder at Essex Foundry. 785 00:38:49,066 --> 00:38:53,366 Dealyea May, wife, 27, housewife. 786 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:59,066 Willie D., son, 11. Author Lee, daughter, nine. 787 00:38:59,966 --> 00:39:05,100 Marie, daughter, seven. Handsome, son, five. 788 00:39:05,100 --> 00:39:09,533 Annie M., daughter, three." All these people I knew. 789 00:39:10,033 --> 00:39:11,100 GATES: Yeah. 790 00:39:11,100 --> 00:39:12,566 What do you think it was like for them to start a 791 00:39:12,566 --> 00:39:15,200 new life in a completely different place after all that 792 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,666 history that they had in Georgia? 793 00:39:17,666 --> 00:39:19,433 WARWICK: Yeah. GATES: You know? 794 00:39:19,433 --> 00:39:21,333 WARWICK: It must have been quite interesting 795 00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:23,433 to go from... 796 00:39:23,433 --> 00:39:24,766 GATES: A farm. 797 00:39:24,766 --> 00:39:26,066 WARWICK: Yeah. 798 00:39:26,066 --> 00:39:29,500 Into factories and doing things that they knew nothing about. 799 00:39:30,100 --> 00:39:31,733 GATES: After moving north, 800 00:39:31,733 --> 00:39:34,433 Nitch took a job in a metal foundry, 801 00:39:35,333 --> 00:39:38,366 but that wasn't all he did in his new home. 802 00:39:40,300 --> 00:39:45,733 Sometime in the early 1940s, he formed a family gospel group, 803 00:39:45,966 --> 00:39:49,733 and named them "The Drinkard Jubilairs". 804 00:39:50,100 --> 00:39:51,466 Tell me about this. 805 00:39:51,466 --> 00:39:52,866 How was the group first created? 806 00:39:52,866 --> 00:39:57,000 WARWICK: My grandfather. He loved to sing. 807 00:39:57,200 --> 00:40:02,066 He had a voice that was angelic and he knew 808 00:40:02,366 --> 00:40:03,933 his children could sing. 809 00:40:03,933 --> 00:40:06,233 And these are his children. 810 00:40:06,933 --> 00:40:10,433 It's my Uncle Nickie, my Aunt Annie, my Aunt Rebie, 811 00:40:10,433 --> 00:40:12,833 Uncle Larry, Aunt Cissy. 812 00:40:14,433 --> 00:40:17,166 GATES: So, what do you think that music meant to him, 813 00:40:17,166 --> 00:40:18,933 especially after losing the land, 814 00:40:18,933 --> 00:40:21,433 his family's inheritance being forced to come north 815 00:40:21,433 --> 00:40:22,966 and then starting all over? 816 00:40:22,966 --> 00:40:24,300 WARWICK: Starting all over again, yeah. 817 00:40:24,300 --> 00:40:25,666 GATES: Yeah. 818 00:40:25,666 --> 00:40:30,166 WARWICK: I'm certain that it was a jubilation for him, you know, 819 00:40:30,166 --> 00:40:32,900 which I think is probably why he called them Jubilairs. 820 00:40:32,900 --> 00:40:34,166 GATES: Yeah. 821 00:40:34,166 --> 00:40:37,566 WARWICK: But knowing that his children had that kind of 822 00:40:37,566 --> 00:40:43,933 talent and being able to sustain it and give it 823 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:48,533 foundation had to be a wonderful feeling. 824 00:40:49,066 --> 00:40:53,466 GATES: Dionne's grandfather passed away in 1952, 825 00:40:54,333 --> 00:40:56,800 but the Jubilairs kept going, 826 00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,833 and become a force in the music world. 827 00:41:00,666 --> 00:41:05,266 in 1958, renamed "The Drinkard Singers", 828 00:41:05,266 --> 00:41:08,433 they recorded one of the first gospel albums 829 00:41:08,433 --> 00:41:11,166 released on a major label. 830 00:41:11,633 --> 00:41:16,933 In the 1970s, members of the group sang background vocals 831 00:41:16,933 --> 00:41:20,600 for the likes of Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. 832 00:41:22,466 --> 00:41:24,233 What would your grandfather say if he could see how many 833 00:41:24,233 --> 00:41:26,933 people the Drinkard singing ministry reached? 834 00:41:26,933 --> 00:41:29,033 WARWICK: There's my babies. 835 00:41:29,033 --> 00:41:30,900 I know he'd be proud as punch. 836 00:41:30,900 --> 00:41:32,200 Yeah. 837 00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,100 GATES: What's it like to see the legacy he created 838 00:41:34,100 --> 00:41:35,100 throughout his life? 839 00:41:35,100 --> 00:41:38,033 WARWICK: Amazing. You know, um... 840 00:41:38,033 --> 00:41:40,200 I come from a singing family. 841 00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,366 GATES: So you're a walking embodiment of family tradition. 842 00:41:42,366 --> 00:41:44,466 WARWICK: The whole tree. 843 00:41:44,900 --> 00:41:47,900 GATES: Do you think that all these stories help you to 844 00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:50,066 understand who you are? 845 00:41:50,066 --> 00:41:51,400 WARWICK: No doubt. 846 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:57,033 I know, I know why I feel my strength, most times, 847 00:41:58,100 --> 00:42:01,833 and sometimes show it, when I have to. 848 00:42:01,833 --> 00:42:03,633 GATES: Right. 849 00:42:03,633 --> 00:42:08,066 WARWICK: Also, my beliefs in what I know 850 00:42:08,066 --> 00:42:10,033 I'm capable of doing. 851 00:42:10,033 --> 00:42:13,333 I don't fool myself into thinking I can do everything, 852 00:42:13,333 --> 00:42:15,966 as it's shown here. 853 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:18,433 They didn't feel they could do everything but what 854 00:42:18,433 --> 00:42:19,733 they could do, they did. 855 00:42:19,733 --> 00:42:21,233 GATES: Right, they did. That's right. 856 00:42:21,233 --> 00:42:23,433 WARWICK: They did it with fervor. 857 00:42:24,633 --> 00:42:27,233 GATES: We'd already traced Danielle Brooks' father's 858 00:42:27,233 --> 00:42:31,033 roots back into the slave era in Tennessee. 859 00:42:32,266 --> 00:42:36,233 Now, turning to the maternal side of her family tree, 860 00:42:36,233 --> 00:42:39,966 we found ourselves in Lowndes County, Mississippi 861 00:42:39,966 --> 00:42:41,800 in the 1850s, 862 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,666 looking for traces of Danielle's 5th great-grandparents, 863 00:42:45,666 --> 00:42:49,600 a couple named Frazier and Susan Sharp. 864 00:42:52,166 --> 00:42:55,400 Their surname led us to a slave schedule 865 00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:58,666 for a White farmer named Elijah Sharp. 866 00:42:59,866 --> 00:43:03,000 At the time this schedule was created Frazier was 867 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:07,700 roughly 35 years old, and Susan roughly 25... 868 00:43:09,466 --> 00:43:11,666 Do you see any people who match those ages? 869 00:43:11,666 --> 00:43:14,400 BROOKS: I do. I do. 870 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:16,466 "Three Black males, 37. 871 00:43:16,466 --> 00:43:18,833 One Black male, 36 years old, 872 00:43:18,833 --> 00:43:23,533 one mulatto male, 35, one mulatto male, 37, 873 00:43:24,300 --> 00:43:26,566 and one Black female 25 years old." 874 00:43:27,333 --> 00:43:29,366 GATES: Danielle, we believe that two of these people are 875 00:43:29,366 --> 00:43:32,033 your fifth great-grandparents, Frazier and Susan, 876 00:43:32,033 --> 00:43:34,666 but we wanted to be sure so we kept on digging and 877 00:43:34,666 --> 00:43:36,200 let me show you what we found. 878 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:37,433 BROOKS: Oh, boy. 879 00:43:37,433 --> 00:43:38,966 GATES: Please turn the page. BROOKS: Okay. 880 00:43:38,966 --> 00:43:42,366 GATES: This is a page from Elijah Sharp's probate record. 881 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:46,400 It's dated May 11th 1858, and it was filed in the 882 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,333 state of Mississippi after Elisha's death. 883 00:43:49,833 --> 00:43:52,033 Would you please read what we transcribed for you? 884 00:43:52,866 --> 00:43:55,333 BROOKS: "A true and perfect inventory and 885 00:43:55,333 --> 00:43:57,200 appraisement of the goods, 886 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:01,866 chattels and personal estate of Elijah H. Sharp deceased. 887 00:44:01,866 --> 00:44:04,100 A Negro man named Frazier, 888 00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:09,233 age 35 years old, valued at 1,350. 889 00:44:09,233 --> 00:44:11,233 A Negro woman named Susan, 890 00:44:11,233 --> 00:44:14,166 and three youngest children aged 25, 891 00:44:14,166 --> 00:44:16,366 valued at 2,000. 892 00:44:16,366 --> 00:44:19,233 A Negro boy named Nelson, age nine, 893 00:44:19,233 --> 00:44:21,366 valued at 800." 894 00:44:22,300 --> 00:44:24,100 That gets me every time. 895 00:44:24,100 --> 00:44:26,033 GATES: So, you can see your fifth great-grandparents, 896 00:44:26,033 --> 00:44:28,200 Frazier and Susan, and their son Nelson, 897 00:44:28,533 --> 00:44:30,166 listed on that page and valued. 898 00:44:30,766 --> 00:44:31,900 BROOKS: Wow. 899 00:44:31,900 --> 00:44:35,600 GATES: You now know who owned your ancestors 900 00:44:35,833 --> 00:44:37,800 on your dad's side and now your mom's side too. 901 00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:41,033 BROOKS: Yeah. It's sad. 902 00:44:42,433 --> 00:44:46,300 It's heartbreaking to think about that, you know. 903 00:44:47,500 --> 00:44:49,366 Yeah. I think it's crazy, too. 904 00:44:49,366 --> 00:44:52,600 I think about like $2,000, 905 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,800 you know, you can win that on a game show 906 00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:57,333 in 10 minutes. 907 00:44:57,333 --> 00:44:58,333 GATES: Yeah. 908 00:44:58,333 --> 00:45:00,200 BROOKS: You know? Is so crazy to me. 909 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:02,066 GATES: So crazy. 910 00:45:02,266 --> 00:45:04,766 Frazier and Susan somehow managed to survive 911 00:45:04,766 --> 00:45:08,433 slavery and keep their family together. 912 00:45:09,666 --> 00:45:12,366 We found them in the 1870 census for 913 00:45:12,366 --> 00:45:13,933 Lowndes County, 914 00:45:13,933 --> 00:45:16,233 living with four of their children. 915 00:45:17,566 --> 00:45:20,066 But freedom brought a new ordeal, 916 00:45:20,066 --> 00:45:23,400 one we'd already seen with Dionne's ancestors 917 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,600 in Florida, White terror. 918 00:45:28,266 --> 00:45:30,800 In the years after emancipation, 919 00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:34,066 Lowndes County exploded with violence against 920 00:45:34,066 --> 00:45:37,866 African Americans who tried to exercise their civil rights. 921 00:45:40,100 --> 00:45:44,433 The situation was described in harrowing detail by a man 922 00:45:44,433 --> 00:45:46,633 named Robert Gleed, 923 00:45:47,433 --> 00:45:52,633 a Black politician who testified before congress in 1875. 924 00:45:55,833 --> 00:45:57,966 BROOKS: "The election in our city and county was wound up 925 00:45:57,966 --> 00:46:01,266 on the 2nd of November and on the night before we 926 00:46:01,266 --> 00:46:04,000 had a very unfortunate occurrence in our city. 927 00:46:04,300 --> 00:46:08,066 Three buildings were set on fire, and four men 928 00:46:08,066 --> 00:46:10,266 on that night were killed. 929 00:46:10,266 --> 00:46:13,566 Most of the colored people were run out of their houses 930 00:46:13,566 --> 00:46:17,366 during the night and all the men laid out pretty well." 931 00:46:17,366 --> 00:46:19,733 Ooh, "And a good many women. 932 00:46:19,733 --> 00:46:21,766 It was the worst time, 933 00:46:21,766 --> 00:46:23,966 I believe, we have ever had in that county 934 00:46:23,966 --> 00:46:27,800 as far as an election was concerned." 935 00:46:32,933 --> 00:46:34,566 It makes me feel sick. 936 00:46:34,566 --> 00:46:37,700 GATES: The night before the November 1875 election, 937 00:46:37,700 --> 00:46:40,366 a mob of White men scoured Lowndes County, 938 00:46:40,366 --> 00:46:42,300 murdering four Black men and 939 00:46:42,300 --> 00:46:44,700 forcing Black families from their homes." 940 00:46:44,700 --> 00:46:47,133 Your ancestor were living in that county at that time. 941 00:46:47,133 --> 00:46:48,400 BROOKS: Mmm-hmm. 942 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:52,333 And this is only one story, one night, that's the thing. 943 00:46:53,366 --> 00:46:55,733 GATES: Yep. BROOKS: Aye-yi-yi. 944 00:46:56,233 --> 00:46:58,066 GATES: Let's see what happened. Please turn the page. 945 00:46:58,066 --> 00:46:59,666 BROOKS: Okay. 946 00:46:59,666 --> 00:47:02,366 GATES: This is another section of Robert Gleed's testimony. 947 00:47:02,366 --> 00:47:04,233 Would you please read that transcribed section? 948 00:47:04,833 --> 00:47:06,266 BROOKS: "We had a meeting. 949 00:47:06,266 --> 00:47:08,500 Dr. Lipscomb and Judge Sims, 950 00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:11,000 the candidate on the Democratic side were invited 951 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,966 to speak, to see if they could suggest some plan 952 00:47:13,966 --> 00:47:16,033 by which we could avoid any collision on the 953 00:47:16,033 --> 00:47:17,466 day of the election. 954 00:47:17,466 --> 00:47:20,100 He said the way we could have peace was by 955 00:47:20,100 --> 00:47:22,433 abstaining from voting altogether." 956 00:47:23,500 --> 00:47:25,300 GATES: Can you believe that? 957 00:47:25,300 --> 00:47:26,533 BROOKS: I can believe it. 958 00:47:26,533 --> 00:47:28,033 GATES: Is that intimidation, or what? 959 00:47:28,033 --> 00:47:29,666 Now we don't know whether or not your fifth 960 00:47:29,666 --> 00:47:32,100 great-grandfather Frazier attended this meeting, 961 00:47:32,100 --> 00:47:34,600 but what do you think he would've felt? 962 00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:37,300 He just gained the right to vote in 1867. 963 00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:39,133 And these people are saying, 964 00:47:39,133 --> 00:47:41,700 "If you vote, we gonna lynch you." 965 00:47:41,933 --> 00:47:46,000 BROOKS: Mmm, yeah, he might have stayed out of that one, 966 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,966 which is why we might have survived, you know. 967 00:47:50,300 --> 00:47:52,000 GATES: It certainly would have made you think twice. 968 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:53,166 BROOKS: Mm-hmm. 969 00:47:53,166 --> 00:47:56,000 Especially when you have a family to protect. 970 00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:00,366 GATES: Danielle's ancestor may well have thought seriously 971 00:48:00,366 --> 00:48:03,066 about staying away from the polls, 972 00:48:03,333 --> 00:48:06,400 or leaving Mississippi altogether, 973 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:09,866 but in the end, he chose a different path. 974 00:48:10,433 --> 00:48:11,733 BROOKS: Oh, snap. Okay. 975 00:48:11,733 --> 00:48:15,566 GATES: This is a record taken in Lowndes County, in 1876, 976 00:48:15,566 --> 00:48:19,533 one year after those threats made in the 1875 elections. 977 00:48:20,766 --> 00:48:23,266 Would you please read the transcribed section? 978 00:48:24,633 --> 00:48:27,500 BROOKS: "Registered voters in Crawfordville Election 979 00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:30,200 District Names: Frazier Sharp." 980 00:48:31,166 --> 00:48:34,266 GATES: Frazier Sharp. He refused to be intimidated. 981 00:48:34,266 --> 00:48:37,500 BROOKS: I love it. I love his bravery. 982 00:48:38,900 --> 00:48:41,400 That, yes, that is a man right there. 983 00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:42,700 GATES: What do you think that meant to him, 984 00:48:42,700 --> 00:48:43,966 signing up to register to vote? 985 00:48:43,966 --> 00:48:45,200 BROOKS: Oh, my gosh. 986 00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:48,466 I'm sure it was a, like he felt, like... 987 00:48:48,466 --> 00:48:51,633 It's like, "I'm not gonna back down. 988 00:48:51,633 --> 00:48:54,500 Um, you know, change does need to come." 989 00:48:54,500 --> 00:48:55,733 GATES: Yeah. 990 00:48:55,733 --> 00:48:57,733 BROOKS: "And to do it for the next generation, 991 00:48:57,733 --> 00:48:59,266 and the next generation, and the..." 992 00:48:59,266 --> 00:49:03,433 So, I'm very thankful to one of my grandfathers 993 00:49:03,433 --> 00:49:05,266 back in the day, 'cause I don't know which one it is. 994 00:49:05,266 --> 00:49:06,633 GATES: The fifth. Your fifth great-grandfather. 995 00:49:06,633 --> 00:49:08,166 BROOKS: It's the fifth one. GATES: Yeah. 996 00:49:08,166 --> 00:49:09,766 BROOKS: I'm very thankful to my fifth grandfather. 997 00:49:09,766 --> 00:49:11,500 GATES: Great-great-great- great-great- grandfather. 998 00:49:11,500 --> 00:49:15,200 The paper trail had run out for Danielle and Dionne. 999 00:49:16,600 --> 00:49:19,766 It was time to show them their full family trees. 1000 00:49:20,933 --> 00:49:22,233 WARWICK: That's quite a group. 1001 00:49:22,233 --> 00:49:23,966 GATES: That is quite a group. 1002 00:49:23,966 --> 00:49:25,766 WARWICK: Wow. GATES: Isn't that amazing? 1003 00:49:25,766 --> 00:49:28,500 WARWICK: Oh, that's getting framed immediately. 1004 00:49:28,500 --> 00:49:30,033 GATES: This is your family tree, darling. 1005 00:49:30,033 --> 00:49:32,866 BROOKS: Oh, my gosh. 1006 00:49:33,300 --> 00:49:36,333 This is life, this is, you know. 1007 00:49:37,166 --> 00:49:40,366 I am because of these people. 1008 00:49:40,366 --> 00:49:43,300 GATES: For each, it was a moment of awe... 1009 00:49:43,300 --> 00:49:45,266 WARWICK: It's amazing. 1010 00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:48,233 GATES: Offering the chance to see how their own lives 1011 00:49:48,900 --> 00:49:50,966 were part of a larger family story. 1012 00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:55,233 BROOKS: This is so cool. 1013 00:49:55,466 --> 00:49:58,800 There are names, like a lot of them. 1014 00:50:00,133 --> 00:50:02,100 I'm crying on this. This isn't good. 1015 00:50:02,100 --> 00:50:03,866 GATES: Oh, that's all right. It's yours, it'll dry. 1016 00:50:03,866 --> 00:50:05,466 BROOKS: Oh, my God. 1017 00:50:05,466 --> 00:50:08,800 WARWICK: This has been one of the most enlightening, 1018 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:12,866 fulfilling moments I felt in a long, long time. 1019 00:50:13,433 --> 00:50:15,233 It's wonderful. That's what it is. 1020 00:50:15,233 --> 00:50:17,633 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 1021 00:50:17,866 --> 00:50:20,900 GATES: My time with my guests was drawing to a close, 1022 00:50:21,366 --> 00:50:23,800 but there was a surprise still to come. 1023 00:50:24,533 --> 00:50:27,400 When we compared their DNA to that of others who have 1024 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:30,766 been in the series, we found a match for Danielle, 1025 00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:36,433 evidence within her own chromosomes of a relative that 1026 00:50:36,433 --> 00:50:38,800 she never knew she had. 1027 00:50:40,166 --> 00:50:42,400 Please turn the page and meet your DNA cousin. 1028 00:50:44,033 --> 00:50:45,333 BROOKS: This is gonna be hilarious, 1029 00:50:45,333 --> 00:50:46,533 I already can feel it. 1030 00:50:46,533 --> 00:50:48,833 (screams) 1031 00:50:49,100 --> 00:50:50,833 (claps) 1032 00:50:50,833 --> 00:50:54,200 Oh, yes! 1033 00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:56,266 Sterling K. Brown. 1034 00:50:57,266 --> 00:51:01,033 GATES: Danielle's mother shares a long stretch of DNA 1035 00:51:01,033 --> 00:51:03,200 on her 12th chromosome 1036 00:51:03,200 --> 00:51:06,833 with renowned actor Sterling K. Brown. 1037 00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:08,633 So, if your mother's related to Sterling, 1038 00:51:08,633 --> 00:51:09,833 then so are you. 1039 00:51:09,833 --> 00:51:11,133 What's it like to learn that? 1040 00:51:11,133 --> 00:51:12,366 BROOKS: You wanna hear a funny story? 1041 00:51:12,366 --> 00:51:13,400 GATES: Sure. 1042 00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:15,300 BROOKS: So I ran into him in LA. 1043 00:51:15,300 --> 00:51:16,566 And I was like, you know, 1044 00:51:16,566 --> 00:51:18,000 he's doing his thing and I was like, 1045 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:19,033 "I just wanna say hey." 1046 00:51:19,033 --> 00:51:21,300 So, I was like, "What up, bro?" 1047 00:51:21,500 --> 00:51:22,733 And I guess, 1048 00:51:22,733 --> 00:51:25,733 I accidentally scared him, and he said, "Jiminy Christmas." 1049 00:51:26,666 --> 00:51:28,833 And I was like, "What?" 1050 00:51:28,833 --> 00:51:30,733 GATES: Jiminy Christmas. BROOKS: Jiminy Christmas. 1051 00:51:30,733 --> 00:51:33,700 I was like, you, if you're not the, like, pure... 1052 00:51:33,700 --> 00:51:35,833 Most pure-hearted person I've ever met, 1053 00:51:35,833 --> 00:51:37,600 to like, truly not cuss... 1054 00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:38,666 GATES: Yeah, right. 1055 00:51:38,666 --> 00:51:39,866 BROOKS: But just to say, "Jiminy Christmas." 1056 00:51:39,866 --> 00:51:41,300 GATES: And say, "Jiminy Christmas." 1057 00:51:41,300 --> 00:51:42,466 BROOKS: Uh, I love that guy. 1058 00:51:42,466 --> 00:51:44,033 GATES: Well, Jiminy Christmas is your cousin. 1059 00:51:44,033 --> 00:51:45,166 BROOKS: That is cool. 1060 00:51:45,166 --> 00:51:47,366 I have so much respect for this guy. 1061 00:51:47,366 --> 00:51:52,200 So, it's really cool to know that somewhere down the line, 1062 00:51:52,200 --> 00:51:54,300 we are cousins. 1063 00:51:55,133 --> 00:51:58,033 GATES: That's the end of our journey with Danielle Brooks 1064 00:51:58,033 --> 00:51:59,666 and Dionne Warwick. 1065 00:51:59,666 --> 00:52:03,833 Join me next time when we unlock the secrets of the past 1066 00:52:03,833 --> 00:52:07,066 for new guests, on another episode of 1067 00:52:07,066 --> 00:52:09,400 "Finding Your Roots".