The Irish Factor on Finding Your Roots

Tonight on Finding Your Roots: explore the shared Irish ancestry of three powerful social commentators of our times. Watch The Irish Factor at 8/7 on PBS

Explore the shared Irish ancestry of Soledad O’Brien, Bill O’Reilly and Bill Maher and how they have been deeply influenced by their Irish roots.

Good News! Finding Your Roots Returns Jan 5/16!

PBS will show the delayed third season of Finding Your Roots on Jan. 5, marking the return of the show since host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was gave in to Ben Affleck’s request to not mention a slave-owning ancestor from the actor’s episode of the genealogy series. See PBS Suspends Finding Your Roots Over Affleck's Improper Influence

An internal review found that Gates “violated PBS standards” by, among other things, not informing executives at PBS or producing station WNET about Affleck’s request to censor the show’s genealogical research into his ancestors.

After an internal review, an additional researcher/fact-checker, another genealogist and an expert in DNA-based genealogical research have been added.

In the new season of Finding Your Roots Gates traces the ancestral trails of 28 new guests including Maya Rudolph, Richard Branson, Soledad O’Brien, Bill Hader, Julianne Moore, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Senator John McCain, Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes, and more.

Major corporate support for the third season of Finding Your Roots is provided by Ancestry.com , Johnson & Johnson, POM and the Ford Motor Company. 

PBS Suspends Finding Your Roots Over Affleck's Improper Influence

 Finding Your Roots is a TV show with host Henry Louis Gates Jr. and has been on air for 2 Seasons. The premise is similar to Who Do You Think You Are? and traces the roots and family histories of celebrity guests.

When an episode featuring Ben Affleck aired last October it was later learned (through hacked emails) that Affleck had told Gates he did not want mention made of his slave owning ancestors. Gates and the show's producer removed all mention. 

When the emails surfaced there was a huge outcry from fans and genealogists alike, most of whom were dismayed at the editorial liberties taken by the show to hush up the past and hide the facts. 

At the time Gates defended the decision to not air Affleck's ancestors' slave owning deeds by saying that the producers found "more interesting" ancestors to talk about.

After an investigation, PBS found that "... producers violated network standards by letting Mr. Affleck have “improper influence” and “by failing to inform PBS or WNET of Mr. Affleck’s efforts to affect program content.”

Before Season 3 airs, PBS plans on making staff changes and has not yet reached a decision as to whether or not there will be a fourth Season. 

Read more in the NY Times at Citing Ben Affleck’s ‘Improper Influence,’ PBS Suspends ‘Finding Your Roots’

FInding Your Roots - Ben Affleck, Khandi Alexander and Benjamin Jealous

Another episode of Finding Your Roots with Henry Gates Jr. is on PBS tonight. In this episode Ben Affleck, Khandi Alexander and Benjamin Jealous learn their families have long been engaged in the battle for freedom and civil rights, principles passed down through generations of ancestors.

Season Two of Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. airs Tuesdays from September 23, 8:00PM EST through November 25, 8:00PM EST.  You will have to check your local listings for times and channel numbers

Warning! Opinion re Ken Burns Remarks on Finding Your Roots

Watching Finding Your Roots last night (I love this series) I was quite taken aback by Ken Burns comment that he was "more ashamed" of finding out he had a Loyalist ancestor  then he was of having a slave owner ancestor. 

Wow. What a terrible thing to say! Both sides - Patriot and Loyalist  (please don't call them Tories!) stood up for what they believed in and fought for those beliefs. It does not matter whether or not we agree with one side or the other, both sides should be respected and honoured for their strength and courage in holding firm to what they believed in. 

My Loyalist ancestors believed it was treason to rise up against the King. They suffered greatly both in their physical ways and financially with the loss of property. They were forced to flee the country they were born in to make a new life in Canada. Loyalists were responsible for opening Ontario and other provinces in Canada for settlement. They are as important to our history of our country as Patriots are to our American friends and cousins. 

Patriots likewise showed great courage in taking  a huge chance that they would win the fight. That took courage. They too suffered during the war. Both sides suffered atrocities at the hands of the opposing side. That's the nature of war. 

My own Loyalist ancestor was imprisoned and his wife and 10 young children taken from their home in northern New York, set the home on fire, and marched the family into the forest where they were left to die. Luckily Indians from Montreal found them and led them to Quebec where they were taken in by the British government as refugees. But do I bear a grudge against Patriots? NO! Why would I? Each side did what they felt was necessary.  There is not, nor should there be, any judgement on my part. Terrible things happened to individuals on both sides of the American Revolution.

I wish Ken Burns had shown a modicum of respect for the difficult choices his Loyalist ancestor made. I do not expect him to make the man his hero, but how about less judgement and less disdain for the Loyalist cause. His remarks left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Finding Your Roots - Two Thumbs Down

I finally managed to watch an episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS last night. It featured Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick. The host, if you haven't seen this series, is Henry Louis Gates Jr.

I thought I'd love this show. Especially this episode. I expected to be glued to the television while it was on. But the truth is it didn't grab me. I was bored. It didn't show any of the research behind the scenes. It didn't walk me, the viewer, through any steps that showed me how they got to Ancestor "A" or "B" or whoever they were focused on.

It also seemed to be a celebrity love fest - with a whole lot of buttering up of Kevin and Kyra. Don't get me wrong I like both of them as actors, very much. They seem like great people. But the show is called "Finding Your Roots" and that's what I want to hear about.

There was also an awful lot about the host himself.  Certainly more than I was interested in. That confused me. I didn't expect to be seeing photos of Professor Gates as a student and hearing his stories about his own life.

I'll watch one more episode to be fair. I'll try to be open-minded. But in comparison to Who Do You Think You Are? on NBC it fell short.  By a lot.  At least for me. I wanted to like it. I tried to find something good about it. But I couldn't.

I expect I'm in the minority and in fact I'll probably get a lot of criticism from my readers but I have to call it like I see it.

Finding Your Roots - Every Sunday

PBS has a new genealogy series called Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. The series runs on Sundays, March 25 – May 20 at 8/7c  

Finding Your Roots examines the histories and family genealogies of a number of well-known personalities.  I wish I could watch it!


I have a personal request to make. If anyone is on Shaw Direct in Ontario, and knows what package is needed to get this PBS series, please let me know.

Finding Your Roots on PBS in March

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr is coming to PBS March 25, 2012 at 8pm ET. According to their Facebook page, this is a 10-part PBS series exploring race, culture and identity through genealogy.

 Presented and written by Professor Gates, the series is the 12th production from the renowned Harvard scholar.

'Finding Your Roots' builds on the success of ‘African American Lives 1 and 2’ and ‘Faces of America,' journeying deep into the ancestry of an all-new group of remarkable individuals. The 10-part series delves into the genealogy and genetics of famous Americans, combining history and science in a fascinating exploration of race, family, and identity in today's America.