Finding Your Roots

Roots of Freedom

These guests’ families have long been engaged in the battle for freedom and civil rights, but didn’t know those principles were passed down through generations. NAACP president Ben Jealous learns the heroic story of his great-grandfather who purchased his own family to keep them safe and Khandi Alexander learns of her grandfather’s possible murder.

Khandi Alexander's Family Tragedy

2m 56s

Khandi Alexander's ambitious Grandfather met a tragic end when he was purposefully burned while working as a distiller at a rosin factory -- what amounted to a workplace lynching.

Previews + Extras

  • The Jealous Family Freedom Papers: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Jealous Family Freedom Papers

    S2 E4 - 2m 20s

    Benjamin Jealous discovers his family's first freed ancestor, a courageous man named Peter Morgan, who -- through hard work and scrupulous saving -- managed to purchase his own freedom in 1859.

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