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Artistic Roots

Season 12 Episode 8 | 52m 09s

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the roots of filmmaker Spike Lee and Broadway superstar Kristin Chenoweth, uncovering ancestors who made bold decisions to lay the groundwork for their success. Moving from the Texas frontier to World War One battlefields to plantations in the old South, Gates introduces his guests to the women and men who used their creativity to build a future for their families.

Aired: 02/23/26 | Expires: 03/26/26
Corporate support for Season 11 of FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. is provided by Gilead Sciences, Inc., Ancestry® and Johnson & Johnson. Major support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Support is also provided by Ford Foundation; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Candace King Weir; by the Inkwell Society together with many of its members; and by public television viewers.
Extra
Celebrate the life and career of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver.
Preview: 250 Years of Americana
Filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura honors his father, Robert A. Nakamura, and their shared legacy.
Nicole Scherzinger performs "Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret."
Explore the life and legacy of notable Black scholar and civil rights pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois.
Born in 1868, W.E.B. Du Bois rose from hardship to academic excellence.
How Du Bois used "The Crisis" and NAACP efforts to expose racism and celebrate Black achievement.
At the 1900 Paris Expo, Du Bois used data to present a visually captivating case against racism.
Reconstruction saw Black progress, then backlash erased gains after brief equality.
Du Bois’ death at the 1963 March on Washington marked a passing of the torch in civil rights.
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