LeVar Burton shocked to discover he's descended from a Confederate soldier
Actor LeVar Burton was in disbelief after learning he descended from a White Confederate soldier on Tuesday's episode of "Finding Your Roots."
The PBS documentary show uses written ancestries and DNA research to discover the long-lost family histories of prominent guests.
Show host and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. revealed to Burton that his family had harbored a deep secret for generations. The man he thought was his great-great-grandfather was not actually genetically matched to him. His great-grandmother, Mary Sills, was actually descended from a White man named James Henry Dixon.
"Were you expecting that? Did you have any idea you had a White, direct ancestor?" host Gates asked Burton.
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Actor LeVar Burton was stunned to discover his White ancestry on the PBS show "Finding Your Roots." (PBS/Screenshot)
Burton was in disbelief at this discovery. "No! No, I had no idea. So Granny was half-White! Wow," he reacted.
Further research into Burton's lineage revealed even more surprising discoveries. His ancestor was born in North Carolina in 1847 and served in the reserve troops in the Confederate army as a teenager. Later on, he fathered a child with an African-American woman born into slavery.
"Are you kidding me? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I did not see this coming," Burton admitted.
Burton, who famously portrayed a slave in the 1977 TV miniseries, "Roots," was floored to find out his great-great grandfather fought to protect the institution of slavery during America's Civil War.
He pondered aloud about his great-great-grandparents' relationship.
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Actor LeVar Burton learned his great-great grandfather was a Confederate soldier who had fathered a child with an African-American woman born into slavery. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
"I often wonder about White men of the period and how they justify to themselves their relations with Black women, especially those in an unbalanced power dynamic. There has to be a powerful disconnect created emotionally and mentally," Burton considered.
"So it’s possible in my mind that he could’ve contemplated it and was conflicted at worst, maybe repentant at best. And then there’s the possibility that he didn’t think about it at all," he added.
After seeing a photo of his great-great grandfather, Burton joked he would've "fought" Gates if he had told him he had White ancestry before being presented with the evidence.
Referring to his "Roots" character's name, he joked, "What? Kunta got White ancestry? What? Come on now, Skip," he said, referring to Gates by his nickname.
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Based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel, "Roots" followed 100 tumultuous years and several generations of the author's African ancestors, from the arrival of Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton, right), the West African youth kidnapped into slavery and shipped to America, through emancipation after the Civil War. (Getty Images)
While reflecting on these discoveries, Burton confessed, "There’s some conflict roiling inside of me right now, but also oddly enough, I feel a pathway opening up."
He said he wanted to have a "conversation" with Americans about how our history with slavery has led to the current moment but felt he couldn't because of political and racial polarization.
"So I've been looking for an entry point to talk to White America," he said. "Here it is."
After the initial shock, Burton said he was surprised but is "embracing" all of his family history.
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Other celebrities have been shocked to learn about their heritage on the hit PBS show.
Last year, former Black Panther Angela Davis was surprised to discover her ancestors came over on the Mayflower.
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