Forgotten Journeys

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helps John Leguizamo and Lena Waithe retrace the paths of their ancestors, uncovering crucial pieces of their own identities that were lost on the journey to America.

“It’s painful because your name is such a huge part of your identity. So for someone to put their identity onto your family, it just feels unjust,” Lena Waithe reacts to hearing that her surname derives from her ancestors’ slave-owning family in Christ Church, Barbados.

“I think there’s a level of ‘not being able to understand’ that I don’t think will ever come. It’s not meant to be understood.” Lena Waithe learns that the life expectancy of slaves on a sugar plantation was seven to nine years.

“I’m filled with gratitude for all of these amazing human beings who lived and worked and raised their children and fought, and survived.”
Lena Waithe after reading the birth record of her great-great grandfather, the first person on her family tree to be born free after the abolishment of slavery.

“My family is going to freak out and bug out.” We were able to trace back John Leguizamo’s lineage over ten generations, learning that his 15th great-grandfather was the governor of the Pompeian district in Spain.

“I can’t believe I got a ninth great-grandfather. What, are you gonna go to the beginning of time?” John Leguizamo is stunned by how far back his lineage has been traced.