The Don Cheadle story was really interesting. I live in a county just outside of Charlotte that was Indian Land for a very very long time after slavery. I am now curious as to whether or not the tribes that lived here owned slaves.
This series is great family viewing, and even though it's on in February, it's refreshing. I also think it could be a great way to drive traffic to Dr. Gates' new website, but I didn't see a mention of it during the show. On 2/6/08 10:59 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Tonight I watched „African American Lives 2‰, the PBS special in which Henry > „Skip‰ Gates does genealogical history for several stars. Gotta admit, I was > a little doubtful about the show this time around. Not the concept, which is > cool. I was thinking that watching the lives of the rich and famous would > leave me a bit cold. "Give this chance to more of us regular folk, I thought. > The rich folk have enough money to get this done on their own". But I have to > say it moved me. Putting aside their celebrity and just seeing them as Black > people like me˜with hopes and dreams and sad and glorious stories in their > pasts˜I was really able to get into it. Skip Gates digs up some amazing > history on the ancestry of these stars (and one „regular‰ person chosen for > the show). The people are often moved to tears as they find out about > ancestors who were state senators, donated land for schools to be built, were > owned by Natives, fought in the Civil War, etc. The biggest shock of all is > Tom Joyne > r, who discovers that two of his uncles were electrocuted in South Carolina > for a crime they didn‚t commit, along with three other Blacks--all in the same > day. Great show, I highly recommend you check PBS schedule to see when it airs > again. > > http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_2_africanamericanliv > es2_2008-02-06 > > http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/about.html > > > ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2 > > Series Overview > Building on the widespread acclaim of African American Lives (2006) and > Oprah's Roots (2007), AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2 again journeys deep into > ancestry of an all-new group of remarkable individuals, offering an in-depth > look at the African-American experience and race relations throughout U.S. > history. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returns as series host, > guiding genealogical investigations down through the 20th century, > Reconstruction, slavery and early U.S. history, and presenting cutting-edge > genetic analysis that locates participants' ancestors in Africa, Europe and > America. Joining Professor Gates in the new broadcast are poet Maya Angelou, > author Bliss Broyard, actor Don Cheadle, actor Morgan Freeman, theologian > Peter Gomes, publisher Linda Johnson Rice, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio > personality Tom Joyner, comedian Chris Rock, music legend Tina Turner, and > college administrator Kathleen Henderson, who was selected from more than > 2,000 applicants to have her > family history researched and DNA tested alongside the series' well-known > guests. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >
