One show. Ten episodes. Thirty guests.
As fall arrives and your favorite shows return to the small screen, there is only one television show to watch to learn more about the heritage and ancestries of 30 of today’s leading entertainers, athletes, chefs and media personalities, including Hip Hop Superstar Nas and Actor Courtney B. Vance.
The 10-part series, finds Gates continuing on his quest to, as he says, “Get into the DNA of American culture.” By weaving a group of celebrity stories together, each episode takes viewers on a journey through layers of ancestral history, uncovering familial secrets.”
Ford, a company who has deep roots in the community, was thrilled at the opportunity to join forces on the series.
“We are so excited to help play a role in bringing the second season of this program to life,” said Shawn Thompson, Ford manager, multicultural marketing. “The role that Professor Gates is undertaking to show how all Americans are connected is something that we as a company can stand by and are pleased to support.”
Each hour-long episode will highlight three celebrity guests bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link. With the help of a team of genealogists, Gates travels thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of today’s game changers.
In addition, each episode will also feature a thirty-second spot that looks back at the history of Henry Ford and his visionary, family-owned company. For Gates, one of Ford’s lasting contributions was his willingness to pay a fair wage to black workers in his factories, which led Southern sharecroppers to Detroit as part of the early 20th century’s Great Migration.
The series kicks off on Tuesday, September 24, 2014 at 8 p.m. as Gates discovers the secrets of Stephen King, Nasir “Nas” Jones, Gloria Reuben and Courtney B. Vance.
To find out when your favorite celebrity will be a guest on the show, visit http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/. You are invited to share your favorite celebrity stories, along with your own roots on Twitter using the hashtags #MyFordRoots and #FindingYourRoots.