Finding Your Roots

Country Roots
Henry Louis Gates Jr. uncovers the remarkably diverse backgrounds of country music icons Clint Black and Rosanne Cash.
TRANSCRIPT
GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.
WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".
IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL MEET COUNTRY MUSIC STARS
CLINT BLACK AND ROSANNE CASH.
EACH WILL BE CONFRONTED BY SECRETS THAT HAVE BEEN
CONCEALED WITHIN THEIR FAMILY TREES FOR GENERATIONS...
CASH: I DIDN'T KNOW THESE PEOPLE EXISTED.
I KNEW SOMEBODY MUST HAVE EXISTED,
BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM.
BLACK: I'VE JOKED WITH FRIENDS ABOUT WHAT KIND OF RASCALS
WE'D FIND IN MY ANCESTRY,
BUT YOU STILL WANT TO BE CONNECTED TO PEOPLE
WHO HAVE DONE GOOD.
GATES: TO UNCOVER THEIR ROOTS,
WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE.
GENEALOGISTS COMBED THROUGH THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR
ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND, WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE
LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS
HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD...
AND WE'VE COMPILED EVERYTHING INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.
CASH: WOW!
GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OUR DISCOVERIES.
CASH: HOW DID YOU FIND A PICTURE OF THIS?
GATES: THAT'S WHAT WE DO. CASH: THAT'S WHAT YOU DO.
WOW.
BLACK: THAT'S THE BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY.
GATES: AND A WINDOW ONTO THE HIDDEN PAST...
CASH: SO HE WAS HALF BLACK, HALF WHITE.
GATES: HE WAS MIXED RACE.
BLACK: I KNOW WE'VE BEEN A GREAT BIG MELTING POT AND
I DON'T MIND BEING MELTED.
GATES: MY TWO GUESTS HAVE SPENT DECADES IN THE LIMELIGHT,
GIVING NEW VOICE TO ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST SUBLIME
MUSICAL TRADITIONS...
HELPING TO DEFINE THE WAY WE SEE OURSELVES AND OUR HISTORY.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE'RE GOING TO MEET ANCESTORS WHO
WILL COMPEL THEM TO RETHINK THAT HISTORY...
REVEALING THAT THEIR FAMILIES ARE FAR MORE COMPLICATED AND
FAR MORE DIVERSE THAN THEY EVER IMAGINED.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYS).
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
GATES: CLINT BLACK IS A MAVERICK...
BENEATH HIS SIGNATURE COWBOY HAT AND EASY CHARM LIES AN
UNCOMPROMISING ARTIST.
A COUNTRY MUSIC STAR WHO PLAYS HIS OWN SONGS.
♪ BLACK: I'VE TRIED LIVING RISKY ♪♪
GATES: HONORING THE TRADITIONS OF HIS GENRE,
EVEN AS HE REINVENTS THEM.
BUT CLINT'S SUCCESS CAME NEITHER QUICKLY, NOR EASILY...
EVEN HIS OWN FATHER WASN'T SURE THAT CLINT WAS UP TO THE
STANDARDS OF COUNTRY MUSIC'S GLORIOUS PAST...
BLACK: MY DAD DIDN'T REALLY BELIEVE IN ME AS A SONGWRITER
BECAUSE HE'S HEARING THESE SONGS ON THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR
WITHOUT A STEEL GUITAR AND FIDDLE AND TO HIM IT'S
ELEVATOR MUSIC AND DON'T BOTHER.
AND HE WAS GIVING ME THESE 45 RECORDS AND HE GAVE ME
"FOUR IN THE MORNING" BY WEBB PIERCE AND SAID,
"HERE'S A SONG YOUR GENERATION PROBABLY WON'T KNOW
AND IT'LL SEEM NEW TO THEM."
AND IT HIT ME THAT I DIDN'T WANT THAT.
I WANTED TO WRITE MY OWN SONGS AND I TOLD HIM THAT.
AND THAT WAS ABSURD TO HIM.
GATES: BOY, YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT.
BLACK: AND HE LET ME KNOW.
HE SAID, "YOU JUST HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH LIVING TO WRITE
REAL COUNTRY SONGS."
I WAS TWENTY-TWO AT THE TIME AND FORTUNATELY
HE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH LIVING I HAD DONE.
GATES: AS CLINT SET OUT TO PROVE HIS FATHER WRONG,
HE CONFRONTED A SET OF DAUNTING OBSTACLES.
AFTER DROPPING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL,
HE STARTED WORKING CONSTRUCTION;
PLAYING GIGS AT NIGHT IN BARS AND CLUBS AROUND
HIS TEXAS HOMETOWN...
HE WAS STRUGGLING JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEET AND IT DIDN'T
HELP THAT HIS FATHER REMAINED SKEPTICAL...
BLACK: MY DAD USED TO ENCOURAGE ME TO LEARN HOW
TO DO SOMETHING ELSE JUST IN CASE AND HE'D SAY.
WELL, AIR CONDITIONING IS ALWAYS IN GREAT NEED
HERE IN HOUSTON.
SO YOU LEARN TO REPAIR THOSE.
GATES: HE DID IT OUT OF LOVE.
BLACK: YEAH. HAVE SOMETHING TO FALL BACK ON,
AND MY ATTITUDE WAS I DON'T WANT TO HAVE SOMETHING
TO FALL BACK ON.
THIS HAS TO WORK.
GATES: CLINT'S ATTITUDE MAY HAVE SEEMED FOOLHARDY,
BUT IT WOULD PAY OFF IN A VERY BIG WAY.
IN 1989, HE RELEASED HIS FIRST ALBUM,
"KILLING TIME" WHICH GARNERED FOUR NUMBER ONE HITS
AND LAUNCHED HIS CAREER.
SINCE THEN, CLINT'S SOLD OVER
20 MILLION RECORDS WORLDWIDE...
HE'S WON A GRAMMY AND SIX COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS...
ALONG THE WAY, HE ALSO MADE A BELIEVER OUT OF HIS FATHER...
BLACK: HE PROBABLY RESTED HIS WORRIES ABOUT COUNTRY
MUSIC BECAUSE HE COULD SEE I WAS DOING THE WORK HE HAD
HOPED I WOULD.
GATES: CLASSIC COUNTRY.
BLACK: YEAH AND WE WOULD HAVE DEBATES ABOUT
WHAT WAS MORE TRADITIONAL,
WHAT WAS LESS TRADITIONAL.
I REMEMBER AT ONE POINT ASKING HIM, YOU KNOW,
"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SHARE THESE THINGS WITH ME?"
I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE.
I KNOW YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE EVERYTHING.
SO, AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE FELT LIKE PROBABLY ALL I
HEARD WAS FLATTERY.
I TOLD HIM, NO, THAT'S NOT ALL I HEAR.
AFTER THAT, HE REALLY SOFTENED AND I HEARD ONLY WHAT
HE LIKED AND THAT WAS NICE.
IT WAS NICE TO HAVE THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP.
I DID HEAR FROM CRITICS PLENTY IN MY BUSINESS.
YOU KNOW WE DO.
GATES: SURE, SURE.
BLACK: AND IT WAS NICE TO START HEARING MORE ABOUT
WHAT HE LIKED...
GATES: RIGHT.
BLACK: AND LESS ABOUT WHAT HE DIDN'T LIKE.
GATES: LIKE CLINT, ROSANNE CASH'S FATHER WAS STEEPED IN
THE CONVENTIONS OF COUNTRY MUSIC.
IN FACT, HE ACTUALLY DEFINED MANY OF THOSE
CONVENTIONS HIMSELF...
ROSANNE IS THE ELDEST DAUGHTER OF THE LEGENDARY JOHNNY CASH,
ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING VOICES IN THE HISTORY OF
AMERICAN MUSIC...
♪ CASH: BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE, I WALK THE LINE ♪♪
GATES: AND A LARGER-THAN-LIFE CHARACTER,
BOTH ON AND OFF STAGE.
CASH: ROSIE, WILL YOU SING IT WITH ME JUST THIS ONE TIME?
♪ BOTH: THEN ONE DAY HE WAS GONE... ♪♪
GATES: THOUGH ROSANNE FOLLOWED IN HER FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS,
IT WASN'T ALWAYS A SMOOTH JOURNEY...
CASH: HE WAS A DEVOTED FATHER.
HE DEEPLY LOVED US AND WE ALWAYS KNEW THAT.
AND I LOVED HIM AND ADMIRED HIM AND WAS PROUD OF HIM.
AT THE SAME TIME, IT WAS COMPLICATED BY MY MOTHER'S
FEARS ABOUT FAME.
SHE WAS A VERY PRIVATE PERSON AND IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR HER.
THEN WHEN MY DAD STARTED DABBLING IN DRUGS AND WAS ON
THE ROAD ALL THE TIME IT BECAME REALLY HARD FOR HER.
THEN THEREFORE HARD FOR THE CHILDREN.
GATES: ROSANNE'S PARENTS DIVORCED WHEN SHE WAS TWELVE
YEARS OLD AFTER A TEMPESTUOUS MARRIAGE AND ROSANNE TOLD ME
THAT AS A YOUNG WOMAN, HER MAIN AMBITION WAS SIMPLY
TO "GET OUT OF HER HOUSE."
BUT AFTER HIGH SCHOOL,
SHE SPENT TWO YEARS TOURING WITH HER FATHER;
STARTING OUT AS A WARDROBE ASSISTANT...
BUT ENDING UP AS A BACKGROUND SINGER,
WITH A NEW OUTLOOK.
CASH: IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROFOUND EXPERIENCES
I'VE EVER HAD.
NUMBER ONE, I GOT TO REALLY SOCK IN SOME TIME WITH MY DAD,
WHICH I HAD BEEN MISSING.
GATES: RIGHT.
CASH: ALSO, CARL PERKINS AND THE CARTER FAMILY WERE
ON THAT TOUR.
SO I SPENT TIME IN THE DRESSING ROOM WITH THEM AND
THE CARTER WOMEN TAUGHT ME ALL OF THOSE
APPALACHIAN BALLADS...
GATES: OH, REALLY?
CASH: AND THAT WAS LIFE CHANGING.
GATES: BOY, THAT'S LIKE GETTING A PHD IN MUSIC.
CASH: ABSOLUTELY.
GATES: ROSANNE WOULD SOON BE WRITING AND
PERFORMING HER OWN SONGS,
BLENDING WHAT SHE'D LEARNED BACKSTAGE WITH AN
ECLECTIC MIX OF INFLUENCES.
MAN: ROSANNE CASH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND
HERE SHE COMES.
GATES: THE RESULTS WOULD PROVE SPECTACULAR.
♪ CASH: YOU DON'T WANT NO MORE HEARTACHES AND I DON'T ♪
♪ WANT NO TEAR DROPS. ♪
♪ AND WHAT ELSE IS LEFT TO TALK ABOUT? ♪♪
GATES: ALL TOLD, AFTER FIFTEEN ALBUMS,
SHE'S WON FOUR GRAMMYS AND HAD ELEVEN NUMBER ONE HITS
ON THE COUNTRY CHARTS...
AND NOW, HAVING STEPPED OUT OF HIS SHADOW,
ROSANNE IS ABLE TO APPRECIATE ALL THE MORE DEEPLY
JUST HOW HER FATHER LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR HER SUCCESS.
CASH: EVEN INTO MY TWENTIES I THOUGHT THIS IS
TOO MUCH OF A BURDEN.
I DON'T WANT THE ASSOCIATIONS.
I DON'T WANT PEOPLE LOOKING THROUGH ME TO SEE MY DAD,
WHICH WAS WHAT I FELT A LOT OF TIME.
HOW CAN I FIND HER DAD IN HER?
GET RID OF HER.
BUT THEN I GREW TO REALIZE THAT I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL AND
DEEP LEGACY AND TO SEPARATE MYSELF FROM MY FAMILY IS TO
SEPARATE MYSELF FROM MYSELF.
GATES: MY TWO GUESTS ARE COUNTRY MUSIC ROYALTY,
TIED BY THEIR TALENT AND THEIR FAMILIES TO A QUINTESSENTIALLY
AMERICAN ART FORM.
YET, LIKE ALMOST ALL OF US, THEIR ROOTS LIE FAR FROM THESE
SHORES AND ARE COMPRISED OF ANCESTORS WHO DIDN'T BEGIN
THEIR LIVES AS QUINTESSENTIAL AMERICANS.
IT WAS TIME TO MEET THOSE ANCESTORS.
I STARTED WITH ROSANNE AND DISCOVERED THAT
SHE WAS ACTUALLY A LITTLE AHEAD OF ME...
IT TURNS OUT THAT HER FATHER WAS A GENEALOGY BUFF AND HAD
TRACED HIS CASH ANCESTRY BACK TO SCOTLAND,
WHERE SOME OF THE BALLADS THAT INSPIRED
HIS SONGS ORIGINATED...
ROSANNE HAS BEEN DELIGHTED BY THIS CONNECTION SINCE SHE
FIRST LEARNED OF IT...
CASH: I LOVE SCOTLAND, I LOVE THE SCOTS.
AND I LOVED THE MUSIC.
THAT SENSE OF MELANCHOLY, SENSE OF HISTORY IN THOSE
BALLADS JUST FELT RIGHT TO ME.
THEN WHEN I FIRST WENT TO THAT AREA WHERE THE CASH NAMES
WERE AROUND NEAR FALKLAND,
STRATHMIGLO IS THE NAME OF THE TOWN.
I FELT THIS SENSE OF HOME, YOU KNOW?
DEEP CONNECTION.
GATES: ISN'T THAT A SPECIAL FEELING?
CASH: DON'T TELL ME IT'S NOT TRUE.
(LAUGHTER).
GATES: I WAS CERTAINLY NOT ABOUT TO CORRECT JOHNNY CASH'S
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH,
WHICH AS IT TURNS OUT WAS QUITE GOOD.
AND FOR THAT REASON, ROSANNE HAS AN EXCELLENT UNDERSTANDING
OF THE PATERNAL SIDE OF HER FAMILY TREE.
BUT HER MATERNAL SIDE, WAS ANOTHER MATTER.
ROSANNE KNEW THAT HER MOTHER, VIVIAN LIBERTO,
COULD TRACE HER ANCESTRY BACK TO SICILY.
BUT BEYOND THAT, VIVIAN'S ROOTS WERE A MYSTERY.
WE SET OUT TO UNRAVEL THAT MYSTERY,
BEGINNING WITH THE MAN WHO BROUGHT
THE FAMILY TO AMERICA...
ROSANNE'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, ROSARIO LIBERTO.
GATES: ROSANNE, THIS IS A PASSENGER LIST FOR A SHIP
CALLED THE SS MONTEBELLO...
CASH: OH, MY GOD.
GATES: WHICH ARRIVED AT THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS ON
NOVEMBER 22, 1895.
COULD YOU READ THE HIGHLIGHTED SECTION?
CASH: "ROSARIO LIBERTO, AGE 21, OCCUPATION FARMER."
GATES: AND IF YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT YOU
CAN SEE THE VERY SHIP...
CASH: OH MY GOSH.
GATES: THAT CARRIED HIM TO THE UNITED STATES.
CASH: HOW DID YOU FIND A PICTURE OF THIS SHIP?
YOU JUST DO.
GATES: THAT'S WHAT WE DO. CASH: THAT'S WHAT YOU DO.
WOW.
GATES: THIS LIST PROVIDED A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ABOUT
ROSARIO, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE CAME FROM A TOWN ON
THE COAST OF NORTHERN SICILY CALLED CEFALÙ...
BUT IT ALSO PROVIDED SOMETHING MORE PERSONAL.
A HINT OF ROMANCE.
SCANNING ITS PAGES, WE NOTICED THAT ONE OF ROSARIO'S FELLOW
PASSENGERS, TRAVELING IN A SEPARATE PARTY,
WAS A YOUNG WOMAN FROM CEFALÙ HER NAME WAS ANGELINA RINAUDO.
THE NAME STOOD OUT BECAUSE LESS THAN FOUR YEARS AFTER
ARRIVING IN AMERICA,
ANGELINA AND ROSARIO WOULD MARRY...
CASH: THEY HAD TO MEET ON THE SHIP.
GATES: THEY HAD TO MEET ON THE SHIP,
IF NOT BACK IN CEFALU.
CASH: YEAH.
GATES: "YOU LOOK ITALIAN. WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
CEFALU... I'M FROM CEFALU."
CASH: RIGHT. RIGHT. LET'S HAVE A DRINK.
GATES: ROSANNE WONDERED WHY HER ANCESTORS LEFT THEIR
HOMETOWN IN THE FIRST PLACE.
WE CAN'T BE CERTAIN, BUT THE ANSWER IS LIKELY ECONOMIC...
AT THE TIME, SICILY WAS AMONG THE POOREST PLACES IN EUROPE,
BESET BY HUNGER AND SOCIAL UNREST.
THIS COMBINATION DROVE A MASSIVE MIGRATION TO THE
UNITED STATES WITH NEW ORLEANS BEING A PRINCIPLE DESTINATION:
BETWEEN 1884 AND 1924, ROUGHLY 300,000 ITALIANS,
MOST FROM SICILY, ARRIVED IN THE CITY LOOKING FOR WORK.
LIKE ROSARIO, MANY HAD BEEN FARMERS BACK HOME.
AND AS NEWSPAPERS FROM THE ERA MAKE CLEAR,
THE WORK THEY FOUND IN THIS COUNTRY
WAS OFTEN BACKBREAKING...
CASH: "LARGE NUMBER OF THESE SICILIANS OR ITALIANS ARE
EMPLOYED ON NEARLY EVERY BIG SUGAR PLANTATION IN THE STATE,
HAVING SUPERSEDED THE NEGRO FOR SEVERAL REASONS,
TWO OF WHICH ARE THAT THEY ARE CHEAPER AND
ARE MORE INDUSTRIOUS."
WOW.
GATES: THINK ABOUT HOW BAD THINGS MUST HAVE BEEN IN ORDER
FOR PEOPLE TO DECIDE THAT WORKING ON A LOUISIANA SUGAR
PLANTATION WAS BETTER THAN STAYING BACK HOME.
CASH: BUT DO YOU THINK HE KNEW THAT'S WHAT HE WOULD DO?
OR DID HE HAVE A DREAM OF SOMETHING BETTER AND THEN THIS
IS WHAT WAS AVAILABLE?
GATES: WELL, WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WERE RECRUITED.
CASH: RIGHT.
GATES: YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT ALL THESE
PEOPLE WOULD COME.
CASH: YEAH.
GATES: THEY WERE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO WORK
THE SUGAR PLANTATION.
WE DON'T KNOW IF HE WAS ONE OF THEM OR NOT BUT IT'S LIKELY.
CASH: RIGHT. THAT'S FASCINATING.
GATES: IF ROSARIO DID WORK ON A SUGAR PLANTATION,
HE DIDN'T WORK THERE FOR LONG.
HE WAS A BUSINESSMAN AT HEART.
WITHIN FIVE YEARS AFTER ARRIVING IN NEW ORLEANS,
HE HAD MOVED HIS FAMILY TO TEXAS WHERE HE FOUNDED A
SERIES OF STORES, CULMINATING IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE
"LIBERTO MARKET AND GROCERY" A SAN ANTONIO INSTITUTION THAT
WAS STILL BEING CELEBRATED IN THE LOCAL PRESS
DECADES AFTER IT OPENED...
CASH: "IT IS DUE TO A WELL-DESERVED POPULARITY AND
PATRONAGE THAT LIBERTO FOUND IT NECESSARY TO INSTALL A
RETAIL DEPARTMENT THROUGH WHICH IS BEING DISPENSED,
PRINCIPALLY, IMPORTED OLIVE OIL, CHEESE, MACARONI,
SAUSAGE, AND NUMEROUS SMALLER ARTICLES."
GATES: DID YOU KNOW THIS?
CASH: IT SOUNDS LIKE "THE GODFATHER PART ONE."
GATES: YEAH. THAT'S TRUE. THAT'S TRUE.
CASH: I KNEW THAT THEY HAD A STORE.
I HAD NO IDEA THAT IT WAS THIS,
THAT THEY IMPORTED ALL THESE THINGS.
GATES: WELL, YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER BECAME A
SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR AND VERY QUICKLY.
REMEMBER, HE ARRIVES IN 1895, RIGHT?
AND THAT PHOTO IS FROM 1911.
THAT IS A PHOTO OF THE STORE.
CASH: WOW. IT'S IMPRESSIVE.
THEY DID A GOOD JOB.
GATES: THEY DID A FABULOUS JOB, MIRACULOUS.
CASH: YEAH. MIRACULOUS.
GATES: WHEN ROSANNE'S GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
ARRIVED IN AMERICA,
I DOUBT THAT EITHER COULD HAVE POSSIBLY IMAGINED
HOW BRILLIANTLY THEY WOULD THRIVE.
BUT THEIR SUCCESS OBSCURES A COSTLY SACRIFICE.
IN LEAVING SICILY BEHIND, THEY CUT TIES WITH THEIR ROOTS.
INDEED, THE VERY NAMES OF THEIR ITALIAN ANCESTORS HAVE
BEEN LOST WITHIN ROSANNE'S FAMILY.
WE SET OUT TO RECOVER THEM AND WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE BACK
TO THE EARLY 18TH CENTURY IN CEFALÙ AND UNCOVER THE
BURIAL RECORD OF A MAN NAMED GIUSEPPE RINALDO...
GIUSEPPE RINALDO, ROSANNE, IS YOUR FIFTH-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GRANDFATHER!
CASH: WOW.
GATES: HE WAS BORN AROUND THE YEAR 1723 LIKELY IN A PLACE
WHERE YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD OWN PROPERTY, CEFALU.
THINK ABOUT IT.
THAT'S 300 YEARS AGO.
CASH: THIS MAKES ME REALIZE THAT THEY WERE IN CEFALU EVEN
BEFORE THAT AND BEFORE THAT AND BEFORE THAT.
IT'S AMAZING.
GATES: YEAH AND LOOK OVER ON THE LEFT,
THAT IS THE HISTORIC CEFALU CATHEDRAL.
CASH: INCREDIBLE.
GATES: AND YOUR FIFTH-GREAT-GRANDFATHER IS
BURIED THERE.
CASH: OH MY GOD.
IT'S ODD HOW IT MAKES ME FEEL A LITTLE
DIFFERENTLY ABOUT MYSELF.
GATES: HOW SO?
CASH: BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEM AND IT MAKES
ME FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO THAT PART OF MY ANCESTRY AND
IT MAKES ME FEEL PROUD.
I MEAN, IT'S A FAMILY, THEY'VE BEEN AROUND A WHILE.
GATES: YOU HAVE DEEP SICILIAN ROOTS.
CASH: YEAH. I DO.
GATES: LIKE ROSANNE, CLINT BLACK'S MATERNAL ROOTS
ALSO LIE IN NORTHERN SICILY...
IN FACT, HIS ANCESTORS AND HER ANCESTORS LIVED JUST
A FEW DOZEN MILES FROM EACH OTHER.
BUT WHILE ROSANNE'S FAMILY WERE FARMERS,
CLINT'S FAMILY FOLLOWED A DIFFERENT PATH.
CLINT'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED VINCENT SCHERMA,
PLAYED THE VIOLIN.
AND THE STORY OF HOW HE CAME TO AMERICA AS PART
OF AN ORCHESTRA HAS BEEN TOLD AND RETOLD WITHIN
CLINT'S FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS.
BUT, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN WE LOOKED AT VINCENT'S ARRIVAL
RECORD, THE DETAILS OF THAT STORY BEGAN TO FALL APART...
BLACK: "SCHERMA, VINCENZO, MUSICIAN, NATIONALITY ITALY,
LAST PERMANENT RESIDENCE PALERMO, ITALY...
FINAL DESTINATION NEW YORK, BROOKLYN,
PASSAGE PAID BY SELF."
GATES: NOW, YOUR MOM HAS A STORY ABOUT HOW VINCENT GOT
TO THE UNITED STATES, RIGHT?
BLACK: YEAH.
JUST THAT HE WAS PLAYING IN AN ORCHESTRA AS A VIOLINIST AND
THE ORCHESTRA CAME OVER TO TOUR THE U.S. AND THAT
WHEN THE ORCHESTRA WENT HOME, HE STAYED.
I'M STARTING TO HAVE MY DOUBTS THAT HE WAS PLAYING
IN AN ORCHESTRA.
GATES: YEAH. IT'S A FANTASTIC STORY...
BLACK: SURE.
GATES: BUT WE CAN'T ASCERTAIN IF IT'S TRUE.
BLACK: CAN'T FIND THE REST OF THE ORCHESTRA!
GATES: YEAH, RIGHT.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT VINCENT TRAVELED TO
AMERICA WITH ANY KIND OF GROUP, MUSICAL OR OTHERWISE.
HE CAME ON HIS OWN, AN IMMIGRANT,
LIKELY LOOKING FOR WORK.
BUT THE FAMILY STORY MAY HAVE HAD A KERNEL OF TRUTH TO IT.
ROUGHLY A YEAR AFTER ARRIVING IN BROOKLYN,
VINCENT APPEARS IN THE CENSUS FOR
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
LISTED IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD AS TWO OTHER ITALIAN
MEN AND THEY ALL HAD A COMMON OCCUPATION...
BLACK: BUNCH OF MUSICIANS HANGING OUT.
GATES: BUNCH OF MUSICIANS.
SO, THIS IS YOUR GREAT GRANDFATHER VINCENT,
OR VINCENZO, ONE YEAR AFTER ARRIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.
HE WAS 31 YEARS OLD, AND HE WAS LIVING IN A BOARDING HOUSE
IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.
REMEMBER, HE HAD COME TO NEW YORK AND A YEAR LATER
HE'S IN FLORIDA WITH THESE OTHER MUSICIANS.
SO, WE THINK THAT'S WHERE THAT STORY CAME FROM.
BLACK: OKAY.
GATES: WE HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW HE ENDED UP MAKING
HIS WAY TO JACKSONVILLE FROM NEW YORK CITY.
BLACK: I TRAVEL ABOUT 500 MILES A DAY TO FIND WORK.
GATES: RIGHT. HAVE GIG WILL TRAVEL.
BLACK: YEAH.
GATES: HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED A GIG IN JACKSONVILLE?
BLACK: I HAVE.
GATES: WELL, YOU SEE, YOU'RE FOLLOWING IN
THE FAMILY TRADITION.
BLACK: I'LL NEVER PLAY IN JACKSONVILLE NOW WITHOUT
THINKING OF THIS.
GATES: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF GIG VINCENT
HAD IN JACKSONVILLE.
BUT IT WOULDN'T BE HIS LAST ONE.
WE PICKED UP HIS TRAIL EIGHT YEARS LATER IN
MOBILE, ALABAMA WHERE VINCENT HAD A JOB AT ONE OF
THE CITY'S SILENT MOVIE THEATERS...
BLACK: THAT'S AMAZING.
GATES: THE "TALKIES", FILMS WITH SYNCHRONIZED SOUND,
HADN'T BEEN INVENTED YET SO MUSICIANS LIKE YOUR ANCESTOR
PLAYED THE SCORE LIVE.
WHILE PEOPLE WERE WATCHING SILENT FILMS HE WAS THERE.
(MIMICKING VIOLIN PLAYING)
DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?
BLACK: NO, I DIDN'T.
GATES: I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING ELSE.
PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.
CLINT, THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR A FILM
CALLED "CLEOPATRA", ONE OF THE FILMS THAT THE EMPIRE THEATRE
WAS SHOWING IN SEPTEMBER 1918,
WHEN YOUR ANCESTOR WAS WORKING THERE.
BLACK: THAT'S AMAZING.
IT LOOKED LIKE THEY HAD TO PLAY A LOT.
ONE, TWO THREE, FOUR, FIVE SIX, SEVEN SHOWS.
THAT'S A LOT OF GIGS.
GATES: YOU GOT IT.
VINCENT WOULD HAVE KNOWN HOW TO CREATE ATMOSPHERE AND
ADD EMOTION TO A FILM.
AND HE WAS LIKELY AN EXCELLENT IMPROVISOR.
BLACK: YOU KNOW, THAT'S FUNNY.
THAT'S WHAT I'VE STRIVEN MOST TO BECOME IS AN IMPROVISOR
BECAUSE I CAN TEACH MYSELF THINGS BUT TO BE ABLE TO PLAY
WITH OTHER MUSICIANS AND HAVE A CONVERSATION YOU NEED
TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVISE AND IT'S NOT EASY.
GATES: NO AND YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE A GOOD EAR AND BE VERY
SENSITIVE AND IN THE MOMENT.
BLACK: AND FEARLESS. GATES: YEAH, AND FEARLESS.
VINCENT WAS, INDEED, FEARLESS.
HE ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES WITH LITTLE MORE
THAN HIS TALENT AND HE MADE A LIFE FOR HIMSELF, MARRYING,
RAISING A FAMILY AND ULTIMATELY, IN 1941,
AT THE AGE OF THE AGE OF SIXTY-TWO,
BECOMING A UNITED STATES CITIZEN.
GATES: DO YOU THINK THAT VINCENT ENJOYED HIS
LIFE IN AMERICA?
BLACK: THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
HOW WOULD I KNOW?
I MEAN THERE ARE NO STORIES OF HIS WOES, OF HIS TRIUMPHS.
HE HAD WORK AS A MUSICIAN.
I KNOW WHEN I MADE MY DECISION TO PURSUE A LIFE OF MUSIC THAT
I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY BEEN HAPPY PLAYING REGARDLESS
OF MY SUCCESS.
GATES: OH YEAH.
BLACK: IT MAKES ME FEEL JUST VERY LUCKY THAT HE
MADE THE TRIP, THAT HE MADE THAT CHOICE.
AND, UH, IT'S JUST SO MUCH BY CHANCE THAT I'M BORN HERE.
MY LIFE COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT.
GATES: WE HAD NOW INTRODUCED EACH OF MY GUESTS TO THEIR
SICILIAN ANCESTORS, ILLUMINATING THE RICHNESS OF
AMERICA'S IMMIGRANT TRADITION.
IT WAS TIME TO EXPLORE A VERY DIFFERENT ASPECT
OF OUR SHARED HISTORY,
OUR COUNTRY'S TORTURED EXPERIENCE WITH RACE.
FOR ROSANNE, THIS MEANT REVISITING ONE OF THE UGLIEST
MOMENTS OF HER CHILDHOOD.
IN 1965, WHEN SHE WAS JUST TEN YEARS OLD,
HER FATHER WAS ARRESTED FOR POSSESSION OF AMPHETAMINES.
AS THE STORY BEGAN TO UNFOLD, A PHOTOGRAPH OF HER PARENTS
APPEARED IN THE NATIONAL PRESS AND MANY SAW ROSANNE'S
MOTHER VIVIAN FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME...
TO SOME, VIVIAN APPEARED TO BE AFRICAN AMERICAN,
AT A TIME WHEN INTER-RACIAL MARRIAGE WAS STILL ILLEGAL
ACROSS THE SOUTH.
THIS SPARKED AN APPALLING OUTCRY...
CASH: "THE BEST-KEPT SECRET SINCE THE ATOMIC BOMB HAS BEEN
THE FACT THAT SINGER JOHNNY CASH HAS A NEGRESS
FOR A WIFE AND THEY HAVE
FOUR MONGRELIZED CHILDREN."
GATES: I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WHEN I SAW THIS.
YOUR PARENTS WERE THE TARGET OF A RACIST HATE CAMPAIGN.
CASH: OH, YEAH.
GATES: YOU WERE NINE YEARS OLD.
WERE YOU AWARE OF THIS WHEN IT HAPPENED?
DID YOUR FAMILY TALK ABOUT IT?
CASH: THEY DIDN'T TALK TO US ABOUT IT IN THAT WAY
THAT YOU DIDN'T TELL CHILDREN WHAT WAS GOING ON BACK THEN,
BUT I KNEW ABOUT IT.
IT WAS IN THE PAPER.
THERE WAS A LOT OF UPSET WITH MY PARENTS.
MY DAD GOT INTO A PUBLIC BATTLE WITH THE KKK...
GATES: MM-HMM.
CASH: AND SO I KNEW ABOUT THAT AND IT WAS SCARY.
GATES: FOR OVER A YEAR, ROSANNE'S FAMILY WAS HARASSED
INCESSANTLY, AS WHITE SUPREMACISTS,
HOPING TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT,
SOUGHT TO PORTRAY HER PARENTS AS EMBLEMS OF
A SOCIETY GONE ASTRAY.
ROSANNE'S FATHER EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO MAKE A PUBLIC
STATEMENT THAT HIS WIFE WAS, IN FACT, WHITE.
BUT OUR RESEARCHERS WOULD FIND THAT THE STORY WAS MORE
COMPLEX THAN THE FAMILY COULD POSSIBLY KNOW.
IN THE 1870 CENSUS,
WE NOTICED SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT ROSANNE'S
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER,
A MAN NAMED LAFAYETTE ROBINSON...
ROSANNE, COULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE CENSUS SAYS
ABOUT LAFAYETTE'S PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION?
CASH: "MALE, M?"
GATES: ANY IDEA WHAT "M" STANDS FOR?
CASH: NO...
GATES: MULATTO.
CASH: SO HE WAS HALF BLACK, HALF WHITE.
GATES: HE WAS MIXED RACE.
CASH: SO IT WAS AT LEAST A SMALL PART TRUE.
GATES: THIS CENSUS STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT ROSANNE DOES
INDEED HAVE AFRICAN ANCESTRY.
AND WE WANTED TO FIND OUT WHERE IT CAME FROM...
OUR SEARCH SOON FOCUSED ON LAFAYETTE'S MOTHER,
A WOMAN NAMED SARAH SHIELDS.
SARAH IS ROSANNE'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER AND
IN THE ARCHIVES OF DALLAS COUNTY, ALABAMA,
WE DISCOVERED THAT SHE WAS BORN INTO SLAVERY AND
THEN WAS FREED,
IN THE YEAR 1848, BY HER OWN FATHER,
A WHITE PLANTER NAMED WILLIAM B. SHIELDS...
CASH: "MY NATURAL DAUGHTER, SARAH,
A FREE GIRL OF COLOR DULY AND REGULARLY EMANCIPATED.
APPROVED MARCH 4, 1848."
SO HE GOT PERMISSION TO FREE HER?
GATES: AND YOU KNOW WHY SHE HAD TO BE FREED?
CASH: WHY?
GATES: BECAUSE THAT MEANS HER MOTHER WAS A SLAVE.
CASH: OH, OF COURSE.
GATES: YOU FOLLOW THE CONDITION OF THE MOTHER.
NORMALLY, IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION YOU FOLLOW THE
CONDITION OF THE FATHER BUT UNDER SLAVERY BECAUSE SO MANY
MASTERS RAPED OR IMPREGNATED OR FORCED, CAJOLED,
WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES MIGHT HAVE BEEN,
A CHILD BORN OF A SLAVE WAS A SLAVE NO MATTER WHO
THE FATHER WAS.
CASH: NO MATTER WHO THE FATHER WAS.
GATES: SO HE WENT TO AN EXTRAORDINARY LENGTH.
BY LAW, THIS IS WHAT HE HAD TO DO.
HE HAD TO GET AN ACT OF LEGISLATURE TO
FREE HIS DAUGHTER.
AND THE REASON WILLIAM HAD TO EMANCIPATE HIS DAUGHTER WAS
BECAUSE HER MOTHER, YOUR FOURTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER,
WAS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN SLAVE.
CASH: WOW.
GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT THAT?
CASH: IT FEELS....
HEARTBREAKING.
I JUST KIND OF WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND FIX THINGS.
GATES: THERE IS NO SOFTENING THE HORROR OF SLAVERY,
BUT ROSANNE'S ANCESTOR, WILLIAM SHIELDS,
WASN'T AN ORDINARY MASTER...
WHEN WILLIAM FREED HIS DAUGHTER SARAH,
HE ALSO FREED EIGHT OTHER AFRICAN AMERICANS AS WELL...
AND GUESS WHAT THEY HAD IN COMMON?
CASH: NO. THEY WERE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS?
GATES: THEY WERE ALL HIS CHILDREN.
CASH: OH, MY GOD.
GATES: HE HAD NINE CHILDREN WHO WERE ENSLAVED AND
HE FREED THEM ALL IN THAT DOCUMENT IN 1848.
CASH: THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE THING.
GATES: ROSANNE WONDERED WHETHER WILLIAM HAD A WIFE AND
HOW SHE AND THEIR COMMUNITY,
MIGHT HAVE FELT ABOUT HIM AND HIS ENSLAVED CHILDREN.
WE FOUND NO EVIDENCE THAT WILLIAM EVER MARRIED...
BUT REGARDING HIS COMMUNITY, COURT RECORDS SUGGEST THAT
THEY DID NOT APPROVE...
CASH: "PLAINTIFF WAS NOT RECOGNIZED IN GOOD SOCIETY
HAVING REARED A FAMILY OF CHILDREN BY A NEGRO WOMAN."
OH, SO HE PAID A PRICE.
GATES: HE PAID A PRICE.
CASH: YEAH. WOW.
GATES: SO NOW, KNOWING THIS,
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SARAH'S FATHER,
YOUR FOURTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER?
CASH: WELL, HE CLEARLY KNEW HIS OWN MIND.
HE WASN'T GOING TO BE SWAYED BY THE FACT THAT HE WAS,
YOU KNOW, EXCLUDED FROM GOOD SOCIETY.
I MEAN YOU HAVE TO THINK THAT HE REALLY DEEPLY CARED
ABOUT THIS WOMAN AND THESE CHILDREN.
GATES: WE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SARAH'S MOTHER,
ROSANNE'S 4TH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER...
DESPITE OUR MOST DILIGENT EFFORTS,
WE COULDN'T FIND HER NAME.
HOWEVER, IN 1880, NEAR THE END OF HER LIFE,
SARAH GAVE A DEPOSITION IN A DISPUTE REGARDING HER FATHER'S
PROPERTY AND PROVIDED SOME TELLING DETAILS
ABOUT HER MOTHER...
CASH: "WILLIAM B. SHIELDS
AND MY MOTHER WERE NOT MARRIED.
SHE WAS A NEGRESS.
SHE WAS NEVER EMANCIPATED BY THE LEGISLATURE.
MY FATHER GAVE OUR MOTHER TO US BY A DEED DIRECT.
SHE IS NOW DEAD.
SHE DIED IN PERRY COUNTY, ALABAMA
IN 1838 OR '39."
WOW.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THERE'S DEEP
ANCESTRAL GUILT ABOUT BEING A SLAVEHOLDER,
ABOUT MY ANCESTORS BEING SLAVEHOLDER'S.
BUT IT'S SLIGHTLY MITIGATED BY THE FACT THAT
I ALSO HAD AN ANCESTOR WHO WAS ENSLAVED.
GATES: YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
CASH: I MEAN THAT'S KIND OF A CHEAP AND UNFAIR WAY
TO PUT IT BUT...
GATES: NO, YOU DESCEND FROM A BLACK WOMAN.
I MEAN YOUR FOURTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WAS
A BLACK WOMAN.
CASH: AN ENSLAVED BLACK WOMAN.
GATES: AN ENSLAVED BLACK WOMAN WHOSE HUSBAND FREED
THEIR NINE CHILDREN AND TOOK CARE OF THEM.
CASH: NINE CHILDREN.
GOD BLESS HER.
GATES: SARAH'S PARENTS ARE TWO OF THE MOST UNUSUAL CHARACTERS
WE'VE EVER UNCOVERED IN THIS SERIES AND THEIR DAUGHTER
FOLLOWED THEIR EXAMPLE, LIVING IN A MANNER THAT WAS
HIGHLY ATYPICAL FOR A PERSON BORN INTO SLAVERY...
MOST NOTABLY, IN 1838, TEN YEARS BEFORE SHE WAS FREED,
SARAH MARRIED A WHITE MAN.
HIS NAME WAS ANDERSON ROBINSON.
AND THIS MARRIAGE OCCURRED WHEN SLAVES WERE GENERALLY
FORBIDDEN TO MARRY!
HOW DID SARAH GET AWAY WITH THAT?
THE ANSWER LIKELY LIES WITH HER FATHER'S SUPPORT,
NOT TO MENTION HIS WEALTH.
AND HIS ABILITY TO SWAY THE COUNTY CLERKS WHO REGISTERED
MARRIAGES IN ALABAMA...
COUNTY CLERKS, IN FACT, COULD EXERCISE A FAIR AMOUNT
OF DISCRETION IN WHAT THEY ALLOWED OR DIDN'T ALLOW.
IN EFFECT, THEY WERE MAKING UP THE LAW AS THEY WENT ALONG.
SINCE COUNTY CLERKS GOT PAID THROUGH FEES FOR SERVICES THEY
TENDED TO BE MORE PERMISSIVE THAN WE MIGHT IMAGINE TODAY.
ANDERSON ROBINSON POSTED A $200 BOND AT THE TIME
OF HIS MARRIAGE.
CASH: THAT WAS A LOT OF MONEY.
WOW.
GATES: AND THAT CLERK SAID, "LOOK WHITE TO ME.
SHE LOOK FREE, TOO."
I CAN IMAGINE RICHARD PRYOR HAVING A FIELD DAY ON THIS.
ANY OTHER WHITE WOMEN YOU WANT TO MARRY?
THERE WAS ONE FINAL BEAT TO THIS STORY.
ROSANNE'S ANCESTORS HAD LIVED OPENLY AS A MIXED RACE FAMILY
DURING THE SLAVE ERA...
BUT WHEN JIM CROW BECAME THE LAW OF THE LAND,
DEFINING THE COLOR LINE IN THE MOST RIGID AND ARBITRARY WAYS,
THEY DECIDED TO CONCEAL THEIR AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTRY...
A DECISION THAT WAS SET DOWN PLAINLY IN THE DEATH RECORDS
OF SARAH'S CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN...
WOULD YOU PLEASE TELL ME THE RACE OF ALL THOSE
INDIVIDUALS AS RECORDED?
CASH: "WHITE, WHITE, WHITE."
GATES: WHITE.
ROSANNE, BY THE 1930'S AND MUCH LIKELY EARLIER,
SARAH'S DESCENDANTS HAD ALL IDENTIFIED AS WHITE AND THAT'S
LIKELY WHY TO THIS DAY MANY OF THEIR DIRECT DESCENDANTS,
INCLUDING THE ONE I AM STARING AT HAVE NO IDEA THAT
THEY HAVE ANY AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTRY.
CASH: WOW.
GATES: WHAT WOULD YOUR MOM THINK OF THIS HAD SHE BEEN
ALIVE TO SEE IT?
CASH: I THINK EARLY IN HER LIFE IT
WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT,
PARTICULARLY GIVEN WHAT HAPPENED IN 1965 AND
THAT WHOLE HORRIBLE SITUATION.
I THINK BY THE END OF HER LIFE SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN
INTERESTED, YOU KNOW, THAT SHE HAD THAT COMPLEX OF A
BACKGROUND AND THE STORIES
THAT ARE IN BACK OF THESE RACIAL IDENTIFIERS.
GATES: WHAT DOES THIS STORY MEAN TO YOU?
TO KNOW THIS.
I MEAN OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE
IMAGINED WERE HIDDEN ON YOUR FAMILY TREE I DON'T
THINK THIS WAS IN THE LIST OF POSSIBILITY.
CASH: NO. NO. I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
IT MEANS THAT IN MYSELF THOSE QUALITIES THAT I IDENTIFY AS
TENACIOUS OR COMPASSIONATE OR LOVING OR DEFIANT,
MY OWN SENSE OF FREEDOM AND THAT THEY HAVE ROOTS,
THAT THERE'S A THREAD GOING BACK TO WHERE
I GOT THOSE THINGS.
GATES: LIKE ROSANNE, CLINT BLACK WAS ABOUT TO
CONFRONT THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY WITHIN HIS OWN FAMILY TREE...
AS A NATIVE OF TEXAS,
WITH DEEP ROOTS ACROSS THE AMERICAN SOUTH,
CLINT HAD LONG SUSPECTED THAT SOME OF HIS
ANCESTORS MAY HAVE OWNED OTHER HUMAN BEINGS...
OUR RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT HE WAS CORRECT.
WE IDENTIFIED AT LEAST SIXTEEN SLAVE OWNING ANCESTORS ON
CLINT'S FAMILY TREE...
GATES: I MEAN YOU MUST HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT DID
YOUR FAMILY OWN SLAVES?
BLACK: YEAH.
AND I'M VERY AWARE OF OUR HISTORY WITH SLAVERY,
WHICH IS JUST VERY SAD AND SHAMEFUL.
AND THE THING THAT I ALWAYS THINK OF WHEN I'M WATCHING
DOCUMENTARIES OR READING ANY STORIES,
YOU JUST HOPE THAT THERE'S HUMANITY AT LEAST.
GATES: SURE.
BLACK: AND THAT, YOU KNOW,
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN USE THE TERM TREAT WITH
DIGNITY AND HUMANITY WHEN IT COMES TO THAT
BUT IT'S THAT WRESTLED WITH THOUGHT IN THE BRAIN.
GATES: YES.
WELL, IN SOME OF THE SLAVE TESTIMONIES THEY SAY MY MASTER
BEAT ME OR WORSE AND OTHERS THEY SAY MY MASTER WAS HUMANE.
BUT SLAVERY, BEING OWNED IS A HORRIBLE
SITUATION NO MATTER...
BLACK: IT GOES AGAINST THAT WORD RIGHT OFF THE BAT.
GATES: YEAH.
NO GOOD MASTER OR BAD MASTER.
AS WE RESEARCHED THIS GRIM SIDE OF CLINT'S ANCESTRY,
ONE STORY STOOD OUT...
IT BEGINS WITH HIS FOURTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER,
A MAN NAMED EDMUND CORLEY.
EDMUND WAS BORN IN VIRGINIA IN 1811 AND ULTIMATELY SETTLED
IN SHELBY COUNTY, TEXAS,
WHERE HE BECAME A PROSPEROUS FARMER AND A SLAVE OWNER.
WHEN THE CIVIL WAR ERUPTED,
HE WAS MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS OLD
AND HE HAD A GREAT DEAL TO LOSE,
INCLUDING HIS WEALTH AND HIS FIVE SONS...
SO DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR ANCESTORS' INVOLVEMENT IN
THE CIVIL WAR?
HAVE YOU HEARD ANY STORIES?
BLACK: I DON'T. NO, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING.
GATES: FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT.
ALL RIGHT. PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.
BLACK: DID HE GO UP TO THE NORTH AND FIGHT FOR FREEDOM?
GATES: CLINT, THESE ARE ALL CIVIL WAR SERVICE RECORDS
THAT ARE STORED IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.
WOULD YOU PLEASE READ ME THE TRANSCRIBED NAMES
YOU SEE THERE?
BLACK: "CORLEY, W.W. CORLEY, GABRIEL.
CORLEY, ALFRED B. CORLEY, A.D."
GATES: ALFRED B. CORLEY IS YOUR THIRD GREAT GRANDFATHER.
THAT'S EDMUND CORLEY'S SON.
THE OTHER THREE ARE ALFRED'S BROTHERS,
WINSLOW OR W.W., GABRIEL AND A.D.
SO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS, FOUR OUT OF FIVE OF EDMUND'S
SONS SERVED IN THE CONFEDERACY.
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LEARN THIS?
BLACK: YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS I WANT TO LOOK AT THE TIMES THEY
WERE LIVING IN AND THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MADE THEIR
STAND OKAY TO THEM,
IT'S NOT SOMETHING I WANT TO RELATE TO.
GATES: CLINT'S AMBIVALENCE WAS UNDERSTANDABLE.
BUT WITHIN HIS FAMILY'S PAPERS WE FOUND A POEM WRITTEN
BY ONE OF THE CORLEY BOYS,
CLINT'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDUNCLE,
WINSLOW CORLEY AND IT BROUGHT HIM TO LIFE IN A WAY THAT WAS
GENUINELY AFFECTING...
BLACK: "TO MY MOTHER.
OH, MOTHER, I LONG TO SEE YOU AGAIN,
I LONG TO BE WITH YOU IN PEACE ONCE MORE.
OH, MOTHER.
TWAS HARD TO LEAVE YOU IN AGE,
WHEN THE WINDS OF WINTER WERE CHILLING YOUR VEINS,
BUT MY COUNTRY, IT CALLED ME,
I HASTEN AWAY.
FROM MY OWN NATIVE STATE AND ITS FAIR VERDANT PLAIN.
BUT OH, IF WE MEET NOT THIS SIDE OF THE TOMB,
GOD GRANT THAT WE MEET ON THAT RADIANT SHORE WHERE THE BELLS
OF THE GREAT CITY JOYOUSLY BOOM A WELCOME FOR SOLDIERS
WHERE WARFARE IS O'ER."
MISSISSIPPI, APRIL 10, 1864."
IT'S A MOVING POEM.
YOU KNOW, TO BE AWAY IS ONE THING.
TO BE AWAY IN DANGER, TO BE AWAY NOT KNOWING IF
YOU'LL RETURN AND EVER SEE THOSE PEOPLE AGAIN,
I CAN IMAGINE THAT'S TOUGH.
GATES: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO READ THAT?
I MEAN THIS IS FROM ONE OF YOUR OWN BLOOD KIN.
BLACK: YEAH. IT'S MIXED.
YOU KNOW, I TRY TO LEAVE OUT THE POLITICS OF IT.
GATES: SURE.
BLACK: I MEAN YOU'RE WRITING TO YOUR MOTHER TO TALK ABOUT
IF WE DON'T MEET IN THIS LIFE.
THOSE ARE HARD PILLS TO SWALLOW.
GATES: WINSLOW'S POEM WAS A PREMONITION OF SORTS.
JUST MONTHS AFTER IT WAS WRITTEN,
HE WAS KILLED IN BATTLE OUTSIDE OF ATLANTA AND HE
WASN'T THE ONLY CORLEY BOY TO DIE IN THE WAR
HIS BROTHER A.D. PERISHED AS WELL.
MEANING THEIR MOTHER CLARKEY LOST TWO OF HER FIVE SONS.
BLACK: YOU CAN'T IMAGINE THERE'S ANY WAY TO CONSOLE
A MOTHER FROM THAT.
THAT WOULD EXPLAIN SHE WOULD KEEP EVERY SCRAP OF
PAPER THAT CAME FROM HER KIDS FROM THE WAR.
GATES: YEAH.
YOU KNOW, SOMETHING I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT UNTIL
I STARTED DOING THIS SHOW, THE BODIES OF SO MANY NEVER
MADE IT HOME.
SO YOU WOULD JUST GET NEWS OF A DEATH AND YOU WERE NEVER
ABLE TO HAVE ANY FINALITY.
YOU NEVER SAW THE BODY AGAIN.
BLACK: HMM.
SO MAYBE THERE'S SOME SMALL PART OF YOU THAT
DOESN'T COMPLETELY BUY IT.
GATES: YOU GOT IT.
COULD IT BE A MISTAKE?
ARE THEY WANDERING AROUND WITH AMNESIA?
BLACK: YEAH. I'M SURE FOR A MOTHER IT'S NEVER
COMPLETELY 100% ACCEPTED.
GATES: WE DON'T KNOW HOW WINSLOW'S MOTHER DEALT WITH
THE LOSS, BUT THE FAMILY HAS PRESERVED AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT
HER HUSBAND EDMOND DID IN THE WAKE OF THE TRAGEDY...
IT SEEMS THAT WHEN THE WAR ENDED,
EDMOND SET OUT TO RECOVER THE BODIES OF HIS LOST CHILDREN.
BLACK: "HE LEFT SHELBY COUNTY ON HORSEBACK TO SEARCH FOR HIS
DECEASED SONS' GRAVES IN GEORGIA AND IN TENNESSEE.
HE FOUND NEITHER.
THE DEVASTATION, DESTRUCTION, STARVING, DISEASED,
WOUNDED AND MAIMED, ALONG WITH THE RUINS AND GENERAL
HAVOC THAT HE WITNESSED ON THAT JOURNEY MUST
HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE."
SO HE WASN'T TAKING IT. HE WASN'T ACCEPTING IT.
GATES: YEAH. BLACK: YEAH.
GATES: HE GOES, "I'M GOING TO FIND THEM."
BLACK: IT REALLY SEEMS LIKE A HOPELESS ERRAND.
GATES: OH, YEAH.
BLACK: HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FIND THEM?
THOSE NEEDLES IN THE HAYSTACKS?
BUT HIS DETERMINATION TO DEAL WITH THE PAIN,
THAT'S COMMENDABLE.
GATES: ALL TOLD, THE CIVIL WAR CLAIMED AT LEAST
750,000 LIVES AND SCHOLARS ESTIMATE THAT MORE THAN
40% OF THE DEAD WERE NEVER IDENTIFIED.
SO, IN ESSENCE, CLINT'S ANCESTOR TRAVELED HUNDREDS OF
MILES ON A QUEST THAT WAS LIKELY DOOMED FROM THE START.
THE EXPERIENCE MUST HAVE BEEN TERRIBLE,
BUT IT DIDN'T BREAK HIM.
ON THE CONTRARY, TWO YEARS LATER,
EDMUND SET OUT TO BECOME A DOCTOR AND APPLIED
TO A MEDICAL COLLEGE...
GATES: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT,
THAT A MAN FIFTY-SIX YEARS OLD AND HE DECIDES HE'S
GOING TO AT LEAST TRY TO CHANGE COURSE.
HOW MANY FIFTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD PEOPLE ARE APPLYING
TO MED SCHOOL, YOU KNOW?
BLACK: I'M A YEAR OLDER SO.
A YEAR AGO, HAD I DONE THAT,
MY FRIENDS MAY INTERVENE.
GATES: AND SAY, "WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?"
BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT A TRAUMA COULD MAKE YOU SAY
I'M GOING TO GIVE THIS UP.
A TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED AND I'M GOING TO SACRIFICE MY LIFE
OR TRY TO FIX IT.
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED WITH HIM.
BLACK: IT JUST, IT'S LIKE A CHARACTER IN SOME PLAY.
YOU TRY TO, YOU WATCH THIS PERSON GO THROUGH
METAMORPHOSIS.
GATES: WE HAD ONE MORE STORY TO SHARE WITH CLINT,
A MUCH HAPPIER STORY.
MOVING UP A DIFFERENT BRANCH OF HIS FATHER'S FAMILY TREE,
WE CAME TO ANOTHER OF HIS FOURTH GREAT-GRANDFATHERS.
A MAN NAMED GEORGE HAYS.
GEORGE WAS BORN AROUND 1760 IN SOUTH CAROLINA,
WHICH WAS THEN A BRITISH COLONY.
HE WAS A TEENAGER WHEN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR ERUPTED AND
HE WAS FORCED TO CHOOSE A SIDE.
BURIED IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES IS A RECORD THAT
TELLS US HOW HE CHOSE...
BLACK: "STATE OF GEORGIA, JACKSON COUNTY.
GEORGE HAYS, WHO WAS A PRIVATE OF CAVALRY IN THE
REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND DIED ON THE 17TH OF SEPTEMBER 1843."
GATES: YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
BLACK: THAT MEANS, YEAH, WE WERE IN THE FIGHT.
GATES: YOU'RE DESCENDED FROM A PATRIOT.
BLACK: WELL, THAT'S THE BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY.
GATES: GEORGE NOT ONLY SERVED IN THE REVOLUTION,
HE FOUND HIMSELF AT THE CENTER OF ONE OF ITS
MOST CELEBRATED BATTLES.
IN THE FALL OF 1780, THE BRITISH WERE FOCUSED ON THE
SOUTHERN COLONIES, HOPING TO QUELL THE REBELLION BY
DIVIDING IT IN HALF.
MOST OF THE KEY SOUTHERN CITIES HAD BEEN SUBDUED,
BUT PATRIOT FORCES LURKED IN THE
SOUTH CAROLINA BACKCOUNTRY.
SO, IN JANUARY OF 1781, THE BRITISH DISPATCHED OVER
1,000 OF THEIR FINEST TROOPS TO
WIPE OUT THOSE PATRIOTS...
CLINT'S ANCESTOR WAS IN THE BACKCOUNTRY AT THE TIME,
PART OF A MILITIA UNDER A GENERAL NAMED DANIEL MORGAN.
A MAN WHO WAS ABOUT TO BECOME A FOLK HERO...
AND MORGAN DECIDED HE HAD TWO CHOICES.
TAKE HIS MEN AND RUN,
WHICH A SENSIBLE MAN WOULD HAVE DONE,
OR MAKE A STAND.
YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID?
BLACK: MADE A STAND.
GATES: HE DID BOTH. HE RAN A LITTLE.
BLACK: WELL, HE LED THEM TO A PLACE OF ADVANTAGE, RIGHT?
GATES: RIGHT.
FOR WEEKS, MORGAN RETREATED BEFORE THE BRITISH LEADING
THEM ON A WINDING CHASE ACROSS THE BACKCOUNTRY.
THEN HE LAID THE TRAP.
BLACK: HE KNEW HE WOULD FIND A SPOT THAT WAS RIGHT.
GATES: YOU GOT IT.
MORGAN POSITIONED HIS SOLDIERS ON A LOW HILL JUST OUTSIDE THE
SMALL TOWN OF COWPENS, SOUTH CAROLINA.
HE INSTRUCTED THE MILITIAMEN ON HIS FRONTLINE'S TO
FIRE AND THEN WITHDRAW.
HOPING THE BRITISH WOULD CHARGE,
THINKING THE PATRIOTS HAD RETREATED,
THUS LEAVING THEM EXPOSED TO A SURPRISE COUNTER-ATTACK.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED...
GATES: THIS BATTLE ULTIMATELY LED TO THE AMERICAN VICTORY
OVER THE BRIT'S, AND YOUR ANCESTOR WAS THERE.
BLACK: THAT'S HIM RIGHT HERE, ISN'T IT?
GATES: YEAH.
HE'S GOT THE BLACK HAT ON.
BLACK: THAT RUNS IN THE FAMILY.
GATES: HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?
BLACK: IT'S SO HARD.
WE CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR WHAT ANYONE IN
OUR ANCESTRY HAS DONE,
BUT YOU STILL WANT TO BE CONNECTED TO PEOPLE
WHO HAVE DONE GOOD.
GATES: OF COURSE.
BLACK: I'VE JOKED WITH FRIENDS ABOUT WHAT KIND OF RASCALS
WE'D FIND IN MY ANCESTRY, UM AND UH...
I'M HAPPY TO FIND SOMEONE THERE WHO WAS IN A GOOD CAUSE.
GATES: THE PAPER TRAIL HAD NOW RUN OUT FOR
EACH OF MY GUESTS,
SO WE TURNED TO DNA TO SEE WHAT WE COULD DISCOVER ABOUT
THEIR DEEPER ROOTS AND IMMEDIATELY
UNCOVERED A SURPRISE!
ROSANNE IS 3.3% SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN,
WHICH IS ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO HAVING A THIRD
GREAT-GRANDPARENT OF UNMIXED AFRICAN ANCESTRY.
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'D FOUND IN OUR RESEARCH!
SARAH, HER THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER,
HAD A WHITE FATHER...
HER MOTHER, ROSANNE'S FOURTH GREAT GRANDMOTHER,
WAS THE ONLY ANCESTOR WE'D IDENTIFIED WHO MIGHT
EVEN POSSIBLY BE OF FULL AFRICAN DESCENT.
SO ROSANNE'S DNA WAS TELLING US THAT SHE HAS MORE RECENT
AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTORS THAN WE CAN IDENTIFY!
AND WHEN WE LOOKED CLOSER, WE MADE ANOTHER STARTLING
DISCOVERY ABOUT WHERE THOSE ANCESTORS CAME FROM...
GATES: YOUR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN DNA COMES FROM THAT
UNNAMED FOURTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER ON YOUR
MOTHER'S SIDE BUT ALSO FROM AN UNKNOWN AFRICAN ANCESTOR
ON YOUR FATHER'S SIDE.
SOMEWHERE ON YOUR FATHER'S SIDE OF THAT FAMILY TREE
SOMEBODY WAS MIXED, SOMEBODY SLEPT WITH A BLACK PERSON AND
THEY HAD A CHILD.
CASH: WOW. THAT'S GREAT.
GATES: ISN'T THAT GREAT?
CASH: YEAH.
THAT'S JUST I LOVE SCIENCE.
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL SYMMETRY.
GATES: TURNING TO CLINT BLACK,
WE ENCOUNTERED A SIMILAR SURPRISE,
CLINT'S ADMIXTURE RESULTS LIKE ROSANNE'S,
SHOWED A DIVERSITY THAT WE HADN'T SEEN IN
THE PAPER TRAIL.
GATES: COULD YOU READ OUT LOUD THESE PERCENTAGES?
BLACK: 97.8 EUROPEAN.
GATES: 97.8 EUROPEAN.
WHAT'S NEXT, CLINT?
BLACK: 1% SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN.
GATES: 1% SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN.
BLACK: IS THAT A LOT, 1%
GATES: 1% IS A LOT.
THE AMOUNT OF DNA THAT YOU HAVE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
IS ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO A FOURTH OR FIFTH GREAT
GRANDPARENT OF FULL BLACK AFRICAN ANCESTRY.
SO MAYBE ONE OF THE BIGGEST SURPRISES OF THE SERIES IS
THAT CLINT BLACK IS A LITTLE BLACK.
BLACK: APTLY NAMED.
GATES: YOU DON'T WEAR THAT BLACK HAT FOR NOTHING.
BUT WHAT'S IT LIKE TO KNOW THAT?
BLACK: THAT'S EXCITING.
I LIKE HAVING THAT CONNECTION.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN A GREAT BIG MELTING POT AND
I DON'T MIND BEING MELTED.
GATES: AND I'M HERE TO WELCOME YOU,
ON BEHALF OF THE RACE, INTO THE FOLD.
BLACK: THANK YOU.
GATES: MY TIME WITH MY GUESTS WAS RUNNING OUT,
BUT THERE WAS ONE FINAL REVELATION TO COME...
WHEN WE COMPARED ROSANNE CASH'S DNA TO THAT
OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN IN OUR SERIES,
WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT MATCH,
EVIDENCE OF A RELATIVE SHE DIDN'T KNOW SHE HAD.
A RELATIVE WHOSE IDENTITY EXPANDED HER OWN...
GATES: WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET YOUR DNA COUSIN?
CASH: YES.
GATES: OKAY. PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.
CASH: WOW!
GATES: THAT IS ANGELA BASSETT.
CASH: WHOA, IT'S GONNA TAKE ME A MINUTE TO TAKE THIS IN.
GATES: YOU AND ANGELA SHARE AN IDENTICAL STRETCH OF DNA ON
THAT CHROMOSOME FOUR THAT WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT.
CASH: REALLY?
GATES: SO THIS MEANS THAT YOU TWO INHERITED THIS SHARED
DNA FROM A DISTANT COMMON BLACK ANCESTOR.
CASH: IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE A BAD ASS.
GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR JOURNEY WITH ROSANNE CASH
AND CLINT BLACK.
JOIN ME NEXT TIME WHEN WE UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE PAST
FOR NEW GUESTS ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF
"FINDING YOUR ROOTS".