The Brick Wall Falls

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps musician Dionne Warwick & actor Danielle Brooks break down barriers imposed by the slave system to learn the names of their ancestors who endured unimaginable ordeals—but emerged to forge families that thrived.

Dionne Warwick explores her family history, focusing on her maternal grandfather, Nitch (Nicholas Drinkard). Through research, she discovers that Nitch's grandparents, John Drinkard Sr. and his wife, owned land in Georgia in the early 1900s, which was uncommon for African-Americans at the time. The Drinkards likely farmed cotton before relocating to Newark, New Jersey, by the late 1920s.

Dionne Warwick discovers her ancestors in the 1870 census in Jackson County, Florida, likely born into slavery. Researchers found a white farmer, Joseph Russ, who owned 31 enslaved people in the 1860s, potentially including Dionne's ancestors. She reflects on the impact of seeing her ancestor listed anonymously in the slave schedule and acknowledges the undeniable connection to slavery.

Danielle Brooks takes a genealogical journey to Lowndes County, Mississippi, tracing her fifth-greatgrandparents, Fraser and Susan Sharp, back to the 1850s. Finding Your Roots uncovered records indicating their status as enslaved individuals on a plantation owned by Elisha Sharp, with Fraser valued at $1350 and Susan and their three youngest children at $2000.