The finale features Michelle Rodriguez, Adrian Grenier and Linda Chavez, whose Spanish-colonial roots are intertwined with the histories of European, Native American and African peoples. Included: stories of conquistadors, Native American rebels, and Spanish Jews who converted to Catholicism in order to survive the Inquisition while secretly continuing to practice Judaism.
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Singer John Legend and musician Wanda Sykes discover free black ancestors; Henry Louis Gates Jr. and his 98-year-old friend Margarett Cooper explore the free people of color in their own family trees.
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Margaret Cho, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Martha Stewart learn their family histories share a similarity despite distinct differences: each is a child of first- or second-generation immigrants to America.
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The family histories of Samuel L. Jackson, Condoleezza Rice and Brown University president Ruth Simmons are investigated. DNA is used to determine which parts of Africa their ancestors came from.
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The family histories of Robert Downey Jr. and Maggie Gyllenhaal, which feature European-immigrant stories common to many Americans, are shared.
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Pastor Rick Warren, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Sheikh Yasir Qadhi learn that their family histories include stories about America's spiritual foundations; the struggle to achieve religious freedom and tolerance; and the challenge of retaining one's faith while still feeling like an American.
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Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick discover that they each have ancestors who opposed slavery. Bacon's Quaker forebears rejected slavery in 1780; and a Sedgwick ancestor argued and won the 1781 Mumbet case, which helped end slavery in Massachusetts.
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The family histories of Barbara Walters and Geoffrey Canada (Harlem Children's Zone) are unearthed. The search is hindered by a name change that occurred in Walters' family's past and Canada not knowing the name of his grandfather.
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The family histories of Newark, N.J., mayor Cory Booker and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) are investigated. Booker discovers he has a white great-grandfather, and Lewis learns of the aspirations of some of his enslaved ancestors.
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The family histories of well-known Americans are unearthed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. The opener profiles two children of New Orleans, Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis. The two, whose friendship dates back to their childhoods, discover their European immigrant ancestors captured British ships during the Revolutionary War and crossed racial barriers in slave-era Louisiana.
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