I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS," A JOURNEY INTO THE ANCESTRAL PAST OF SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST FASCINATING FIGURES.

IN THIS PROGRAM, WE'LL EXPLORE THE FAMILY HISTORIES OF TWO INSPIRING POLITICAL LEADERS -- GEORGIA CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS AND NEWARK MAYOR CORY BOOKER.

LIKE MANY AFRICAN-AMERICANS, JOHN AND CORY KNEW LITTLE ABOUT THEIR FAMILY HISTORY.

AND THEY HAD PLENTY OF QUESTIONS.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FAMILY TREE?

ANY MYSTERIES UNRESOLVED?

ONE IS MY DAD'S LINEAGE.

WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THE NAME "BOOKER" CAME FROM.

I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT MY FAMILY HISTORY.

BUT I ALWAYS HEARD RUMORS ABOUT MY MOTHER'S SIDE.

Gates: USING PUBLIC RECORDS, PERSONAL FAMILY HISTORIES, AND DNA ANALYSIS, WE PIECED TOGETHER LONGSTANDING MYSTERIES ON BOTH JOHN AND CORY'S FAMILY TREES.

IN THE END, THIS IS A TALE OF TWO MEMOIRS, A STORY OF FAMILY LOST AND FOUND.

COULD HE BE YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FATHER?

MY GREAT GRANDFATHER.

IT'S UNREAL, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

AND WE'VE COMPILED EVERYTHING WE'VE FOUND INTO A BOOK OF LIFE, A RECORD OF OUR DISCOVERIES.

NOW, CORY, THIS IS YOUR BOOK OF LIFE.

AND YOU CAN'T OPEN IT.

THIS IS WHAT WE'VE PREPARED FOR YOU, CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS'S BOOK OF LIFE.

MY WHOLE FAMILY IS EXCITED.

AS POLITICIANS, JOHN LEWIS AND CORY BOOKER HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE.

BUT THEY BOTH WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO DELVE INTO THE PAST AND PAY HOMAGE TO THE PEOPLE WHOSE STRUGGLES MADE THEIR LIVES POSSIBLE.

THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF SURPRISES WERE IN STORE FOR THEM.

Lewis: I MET ROSA PARKS IN 1957 WHEN I WAS 17.

WHEN YOU WERE 17 YEARS OLD.

MM-HMM.

YEAH.

Booker: IT'S AMAZING TO ME THAT YOU KNOW MOST OF THESE FOLKS.

CORY BOOKER AND JOHN LEWIS HAVE TAKEN VERY DIFFERENT PATHS TO ARRIVE WHERE THEY HAVE TODAY.

I WENT TO OXFORD WITH HER SON.

REALLY?

YES, WITH JONAH.

BUT AS AFRICAN-AMERICANS, THERE'S QUITE A LOT OF HISTORY THAT CONNECTS THEM.

THEY MET RECENTLY AT THE KING CENTER IN ATLANTA, WHERE JOHN IS HONORED WITH A FOOTPRINT ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS WALK OF FAME.

Booker: AND HERE YOU ARE.

SO THESE ARE LITERALLY YOUR SHOES.

Lewis: THEY'RE MY SHOES, RIGHT.

STEP ON THEM.

Booker: I DON'T KNOW IF I WANT TO STEP IN THE SHOES, BUT I'LL TELL YOU THIS -- I KNOW I'M STANDING ON YOUR SHOULDERS.

JOHN LEWIS IS A LIVING LEGEND AND ONE OF MY OWN HEROES.

HE HAS SPENT MUCH OF HIS LIFE SPEAKING OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE AND INEQUALITY.

Lewis: WELL, HAVE HER TO CALL THE OFFICE.

IN WASHINGTON.

WELL, THANK YOU, SIR.

BYE-BYE.

BYE.

THIS WAS TAKEN IN MISSISSIPPI IN 1964 AT THE HALL WHERE... HIS JOURNEY FROM SHARECROPPER'S SON TO U.S.

CONGRESSMAN ALL STARTED WITH A LETTER HE WROTE TO MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

WHEN HE WAS JUST 18 YEARS OLD.

DR. KING WROTE ME BACK, SENT ME A ROUND-TRIP GREYHOUND BUS TICKET, AND INVITED ME TO COME TO MONTGOMERY TO MEET WITH HIM.

NO.

SO IN MARCH 1958 -- BY THIS TIME I'M 18 YEARS OLD.

ON A SATURDAY MORNING, I BOARDED A BUS.

I TRAVELED THE 50 MILES FROM TROY TO MONTGOMERY.

I'M SO EXCITED TO BE GOING TO MONTGOMERY TO MEET MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

THINK ABOUT THAT KIND OF MENTORSHIP AND HE'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CAMPAIGN.

HE'S STARTING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND HE HAS TIME TO BRING A COUNTRY BOY, WHO HE DIDN'T KNOW FROM ADAM.

YEAH.

Lewis: AND I FOLLOWED HIM.

I HEARD HIM ON THE RADIO.

IT WAS SO INSPIRING.

WHEN I SAW DR. KING STANDING BEHIND A DESK, I WAS SO SCARED, AND DR. KING SAID, "ARE YOU THE BOY FROM TROY?

ARE YOU JOHN LEWIS?"

AND I SAID, "DR. KING, I AM JOHN ROBERT LEWIS."

AND THAT WAS THE BEGINNING.

TODAY, JOHN IS THE LAST LIVING MEMBER OF THE BIG SIX, THE YOUNGEST OF THE LEADERS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT THAT TRANSFORMED AMERICAN RACE RELATIONS IN THE 1960s.

HE WAS A KEY PLAYER IN THE EVENTS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION.

FROM THE NASHVILLE SIT-INS TO THE FREEDOM RIDES TO THE GREAT MARCH ON WASHINGTON.

Lewis: WE KNOW WHEN WE'RE DENIED THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

AND ALL OF US HERE TONIGHT HAVE SOMEWHAT OF AN OBLIGATION TO DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO MAKE THIS STATE A PLACE FOP JUSTICE FOR ALL OF THE PEOPLE AND NOT JUST FOR SOME OF THE PEOPLE.

Gates: PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAS BEEN JOHN'S LIFELONG MISSION.

DURING THE '60s AND '70s, HE CANVASSED THE SOUTH DOOR TO DOOR, ENCOURAGING BLACK PEOPLE TO REGISTER AND VOTE.

IN 1986, HE ENTERED THE POLITICAL FRAY HIMSELF, WHEN HE WAS ELECTED TO REPRESENT GEORGIA IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON, '63.

THEN YOU END UP FROM THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS -- THAT IS SO COOL.

"ONLY IN AMERICA," DON KING SAYS.

YEAH, ONLY IN AMERICA.

NEWARK MAYOR CORY BOOKER IS 42 YEARS OLD, AND ALTHOUGH HE DIDN'T EXPERIENCE THE TENSION AND CONFLICT OF THE 1960s, THE LEGACY OF THAT ERA INSPIRED HIM HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

I GREW UP AROUND A KITCHEN TABLE WITH STORIES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT REALLY PRESENT, AND IT WAS A GENERATION MY BROTHER AND I CAME TO SEE AS LEGENDS.

I THINK THAT THAT STARTED TO SHAPE MY IDEAS ABOUT HOW YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AND MY PARENTS WOULD REINFORCE THAT BECAUSE I GREW UP IN A PRIVILEGED NEIGHBORHOOD.

AS IBM EXECUTIVES, CORY'S PARENTS WERE ABLE TO SETTLE DOWN IN THE AFFLUENT SUBURB OF HARRINGTON PARK, NEW JERSEY.

THE BOOKERS FIT EASILY INTO THE SMALL, TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY.

BUT HARRINGTON PARK WAS NOT EXACTLY KNOWN FOR ITS ETHNIC DIVERSITY.

MY FATHER USED TO AFFECTIONATELY CALL US THE FOUR RAISINS IN A TUB OF VANILLA ICE CREAM.

EVERYBODY KNEW WHO WE WERE, THERE WAS NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

SO IN MANY WAYS, MY BROTHER AND I WERE THESE INTERESTING PIONEERS.

WE WERE THE FIRST TO INTEGRATE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.

BUT THERE WERE NO NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TAKING US THERE.

THERE WAS THE NEIGHBORHOOD CARPOOL TAKING US THERE.

AND IT'S AN EXPERIENCE THAT WAS ALL THE RESULT OF THESE INCREDIBLE STRUGGLES THAT MY PARENTS MADE US FULLY AWARE OF BECAUSE THEY WERE THEIR STRUGGLES.

AND MY PARENTS WOULD REINFORCE TO ME THAT YOU DRINK DEEPLY FROM WELLS OF FREEDOM AND LIBERTY THAT YOU DID NOT DIG, AND, BOY, DON'T GROW DUMB, FAT AND HAPPY ON ALL THIS THAT YOU HAVE.

YOU NEED TO METABOLIZE YOUR BLESSINGS AND USE THEM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS COUNTRY THAT'S GIVEN YOU SO MUCH.

A STANFORD FOOTBALL STAR, RHODES SCHOLAR, AND YALE LAW SCHOOL GRADUATE, CORY HAD HIS CHOICE OF LUCRATIVE CAREER PATHS.

BUT HE LISTENED TO HIS PARENTS AND DIRECTED HIS TALENTS WHERE THEY WERE NEEDED MOST, TO THE TOUGH STREETS OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

THE FUTURE OF THE CITY OF NEWARK FOR OUR CHILDREN IS INCREDIBLE.

THIS IDEA THAT WE'RE "BRICK CITY," THAT WE'RE TOUGH, JUST LIKE BRICKS, STRONG, RESILIENT, HARD.

AND WHEN WE COME TOGETHER, FRANKLY, THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN'T BUILD IN THIS CITY.

HE SHOOK UP NEWARK POLITICS BY RUNNING FOR MAYOR IN 2002.

AS A YOUNG UPSTART FROM THE SUBURBS, CORY TOOK HEAT FROM HIS OPPONENT FOR HIS ELITE BACKGROUND.

WE DON'T NEED NO CARPETBAGGERS COMING IN HERE, TELLING US HOW BAD WE ARE.

STAY OUT!

HE LOST THAT RACE, BUT HE DIDN'T GIVE UP.

HE WAS ELECTED MAYOR BY A LANDSLIDE IN 2006.

AS A RISING STAR IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, CORY HAS MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF AS AN UNCONVENTIONAL SORT OF POLITICIAN.

CORY ASTOUNDED CRITICS AND SUPPORTERS ALIKE WHEN HE TOOK UP RESIDENCE IN NEWARK'S BRICK TOWERS HOUSING PROJECTS.

HE LIVED THERE FOR EIGHT YEARS, EVEN AFTER HE WAS ELECTED MAYOR.

LONG BEFORE I MET YOU, CORY, I READ IN THE NEW YORK TIMES THAT YOU WERE THE MAYOR AND THAT YOU WERE LIVING IN THE INNER -- I SAID, IS THIS BOY CRAZY?

Booker: THIS MAY SOUND STRANGE, BUT WHEN I CAME HOME THERE, I FELT HOME, AND I FELT LOVED.

I FELT LIKE I WAS PART OF A COMMUNITY THAT CARED ABOUT ME.

WHEN I CAME HOME TO BRICK TOWERS, I HAD A WHOLE BUNCH OF EYES ON ME, AND TO BE BLUNT WITH YOU, IF I HAD SOMEBODY SPEND THE NIGHT, THE FIRST THING I WALKED OUT, I HAD TO ANSWER TO THE WOMEN ON THE WALL, YOU KNOW.

I WOULD NOT TRADE THE EIGHT YEARS I LIVED IN THESE HIGH-RISES FOR ANYTHING.

BECAUSE IF YOU WANT TO FIND AMERICAN HEROES, FIND THEM IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE STILL FIGHTING FOR THEIR AMERICAN DREAM.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM FOR CENTURIES.

FROM SLAVERY TO SHARECROPPING, TO JIM CROW SEGREGATION, THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND EQUALITY HAS BEEN LONG AND ARDUOUS.

JOHN LEWIS KNOWS THIS STRUGGLE ALL TOO WELL.

HE WAS BORN IN 1940 IN PIKE COUNTY, ALABAMA.

AND HE AND HIS NINE SIBLINGS GREW UP ON LAND THAT THEIR FAMILY HAD FARMED FOR GENERATIONS.

SOMEHOW, JOHN KNEW THAT HE WAS DESTINED FOR A LIFE BEYOND PIKE COUNTY.

WERE YOU DIFFERENT?

I THINK I WAS DIFFERENT.

WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, I WANTED TO LEAVE ALABAMA, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS SO BAD, SO TOUGH.

I HATED GOING OUT IN THE FIELD, WORKING IN THE HOT SUN.

AS A LITTLE CHILD, I WANTED TO BE A MINISTER.

WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD, I WANTED TO PREACH.

BUT ON THE FARM, IT WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO CARE FOR THE CHICKENS.

WE WOULD GATHER ALL OF OUR CHICKENS TOGETHER IN THE CHICKEN YARD.

THEY HELPED MAKE UP THE CONGREGATION, THE AUDIENCE.

AND I WOULD START SPEAKING, PREACHING, AND SOME OF THESE CHICKENS WOULD BOW THEIR HEAD, SOME OF THESE CHICKENS WOULD SHAKE THEIR HEAD.

THEY NEVER QUITE SAID "AMEN."

AND WHEN THE LITTLE CHICKS WOULD GROW UP, MY MOTHER AND FATHER WANTED TO KILL THE CHICKEN FOR LUNCH OR DINNER.

AND THAT BECAME MY FIRST NONVIOLENT PROTEST.

I PROTESTED AGAINST THEM.

Gates: WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALIZE THAT YOU WERE BLACK?

AND THAT BEING BLACK WAS NOT A GREAT THING TO BE AROUND WHITE PEOPLE?

IN 1956, WHEN I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, WITH SOME OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND FIRST COUSINS, WE WENT DOWN TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE LITTLE TOWN CALLED TROY.

TRYING TO GET A LIBRARY CARD, TRYING TO CHECK OUT SOME BOOKS.

AND WE WERE TOLD BY THE LIBRARIAN THAT THE LIBRARY WAS FOR WHITES ONLY AND NOT FOR COLOREDS.

AND I ASKED MY MOTHER, ASKED MY FATHER, AND MY GRANDPARENTS, WHY?

THEY WOULD SAY, "THAT'S THE WAY IT IS.

DON'T GET IN THE WAY, DON'T GET IN TROUBLE."

BUT JOHN DIDN'T HEED THIS WARNING.

HE FELT COMPELLED TO CONFRONT RACIAL INJUSTICE.

JUST ONE YEAR LATER, HE WOULD LEAVE HOME FOR NASHVILLE, JOINING OTHER YOUNG ACTIVISTS IN THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS.

HE WOULD GET YANKED FROM LUNCH COUNTERS, DRAGGED TO JAIL, AND BRUTALLY BEATEN, BUT HE NEVER GAVE UP HOPE.

Lewis: I COULD NO LONGER BE SATISFIED OR GO ALONG WITH AN EVIL SYSTEM.

AND IN SPITE OF ALL OF THIS, I HAD TO KEEP LOVING THE PEOPLE WHO DENIED ME SERVICE.

Gates: THE STRENGTH OF JOHN LEWIS'S COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL CHANGE HAS INSPIRED ME EVER SINCE THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON IN 1963.

IT'S EASY TO SEE ECHOES OF JOHN'S COMPASSION AND COURAGE IN CORY BOOKER.

I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER WHAT MADE THEM THAT WAY.

COULD THE EXPERIENCES OF ANCESTORS ON THEIR FAMILY TREES YIELD CLUES?

TO FIND THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS, I NEEDED TO DETERMINE WHERE, AND FROM WHOM, THEY DESCENDED.

CORY BEGAN THIS JOURNEY BY VISITING HIS PARENTS, IN AN EFFORT TO FIND OUT WHAT HE COULD ABOUT HIS FAMILY HISTORY.

HE WAS ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN HIS FATHER'S BACKGROUND AND THE ORIGINS OF THE BOOKER NAME.

HIS FATHER CARY STRUGGLES WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE.

BUT IT HASN'T SLOWED HIS QUICK HUMOR.

WHERE DOES OUR NAME COME FROM, THOUGH?

WHERE IS THE BOOKER NAME?

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?

YOU GOING TO MAKE UP A STORY?

'CAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW.

I'VE ASKED YOU THIS QUESTION A HUNDRED TIMES.

I'D LIKE TO GET THE SECRET OUT, BUT YOUR MOTHER'S NAME WAS... JESSIE LUCILLE BOOKER.

Gates: TRACING THE BOOKER NAME WAS NO EASY TASK.

CORY'S FATHER WAS BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA IN 1936 TO A SINGLE WOMAN NAMED JESSIE LUCILLE BOOKER.

BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T RAISE CARY, HE NEVER LEARNED MUCH ABOUT HER ROOTS.

Booker: MY FATHER WAS BORN TO A SINGLE MOTHER, AND REALLY GOT ADOPTED BY THE WHOLE COMMUNITY BECAUSE SHE HAD A DIFFICULT TIME TAKING CARE OF HIM.

SO I'M VERY CURIOUS ABOUT MY FATHER'S BACKGROUND.

WE REALLY HAVE HAD A HARD STOP, PRETTY MUCH, NOT KNOWING, REALLY, FROM WHENCE HE CAME.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

SURE.

CORY, DO YOU KNOW WHO THESE WOMEN ARE?

NO.

NO.

Gates: YOU ARE LOOKING AT THREE GENERATIONS OF YOUR FAMILY.

THIS IS YOUR FATHER'S MOTHER.

WHICH ONE?

THE YOUNGEST ONE.

WHICH IS AMAZING, 'CAUSE I CAN SEE IT.

I ABSOLUTELY SEE IT.

HER NAME IS JESSIE LUCILLE BOOKER.

AND SHE'S THERE WITH HER MOTHER, MARY, AND HER GRANDMOTHER, WHOSE NAME WAS NANNY.

WOW!

THAT IS REALLY, REALLY INCREDIBLE.

AND THIS PICTURE MUST BE VERY, VERY OLD.

THE MOST STRIKING THING ABOUT THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS THAT THERE ARE NO MEN IN THIS PICTURE.

WHO WAS JESSIE LUCILLE BOOKER'S FATHER?

DID HE GIVE HER THE BOOKER NAME?

RESEARCHER PHILLIP SMITH IN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE, HELPED US TRACK HIM DOWN.

HE WAS ABLE TO LOCATE A 12-YEAR-OLD JESSIE LUCILLE BOOKER, LIVING WITH HER PARENTS IN KNOXVILLE IN 1920.

Smith: WE'VE GOT THE 1920 CENSUS FOR THE 8th WARD OF THE CITY OF KNOXVILLE.

THERE WE SEE, FOR THE FIRST AND PERHAPS ONLY TIME, A NUCLEAR FAMILY CONSISTING OF A HUSBAND, FRANK BOOKER; THE WIFE, MARY BOOKER; AND THE CHILD, LUCILLE BOOKER.

FRANK BOOKER.

THIS IS CORY'S GREAT GRANDFATHER, WHOSE NAME HAD BEEN LOST UNTIL NOW.

WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD FIND OUT ANYTHING MORE ABOUT FRANK'S LIFE, SO PHILLIP CHECKED KNOXVILLE CITY DIRECTORIES THROUGHOUT THE 1920s.

Smith: WE FIND A FRANK BOOKER.

A KEY PART OF THE INFORMATION IS THE OCCUPATION OF MR. BOOKER.

IT SHOWS HIM AS A FIREMAN FOR THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY.

FIREMEN WERE THE PEOPLE WHO TENDED TO THE STEAM ENGINES ON THE TRAINS.

[ STEAM WHISTLE BLOWS ] WHEN MANY AFRICAN-AMERICANS WERE STILL WORKING IN THE FIELDS AS SHARECROPPERS, A JOB AS A FIREMAN ON THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY WAS A PROMISING OPPORTUNITY.

IT GAVE CORY'S GREAT GRANDFATHER HIS FIRST CHANCE AT UPWARD MOBILITY.

BUT IT HAD ITS COST.

THE RAILROAD KEPT FRANK CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE AND AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY.

THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, FRANK BOOKER COULD BE FOUND IN PUBLIC RECORDS LIVING IN ASHEVILLE, KNOXVILLE, CHATTANOOGA, AND CINCINNATI.

ALL STOPS ON THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY.

RESEARCHER PHILLIP SMITH THOUGHT THAT FRANK BOOKER'S JOB ON THE RAILROAD MIGHT SOMEHOW EXPLAIN HIS ABSENCE FROM CORY'S FAMILY HISTORY.

SO HE KEPT SEARCHING.

Smith: SO WE KNOW FRANK IS GOING FROM TOWN TO TOWN IN HIS OCCUPATION.

AND THEN SUDDENLY WE RUN ACROSS A DIVORCE PROCEEDING.

THE DIVORCE PAPERS TELL US THAT A MARY BOOKER IS FILING FOR DIVORCE FROM A FRANK BOOKER.

THEY TELL US THAT HE HASN'T CONTRIBUTED ANYTHING TO HER SUPPORT FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS OR MORE.

FRANK HAS BEEN ALL BUT UNSEEN SINCE JUST AFTER 1920.

SHE'S SEEN HIM ONCE IN CINCINNATI IN THAT ENTIRE 10-YEAR PERIOD.

UH...

SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT FAMILIES WOULD DRIFT APART.

SO THESE THREE WOMEN WERE THE WOMEN, OBVIOUSLY, YOUR DIRECT LINE, DIRECT DESCENDANTS.

AFTER OUR INTERVIEW, CORY SHARED WHAT HE LEARNED ABOUT FRANK BOOKER WITH HIS FATHER.

WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE BOOKER FAMILY NAME ORIGINATES FROM A FIREMAN ON THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD, NAMED FRANK BOOKER.

SO HE WAS TRAVELING ALL AROUND THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD.

WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT HE DIED IN CINCINNATI.

WE HAVE HIM IN CHATTANOOGA.

WE HAVE HIM LIVING HERE IN KNOXVILLE.

AND WHAT THE DIVORCE PAPERS SHOW... YOU HAVE THE DIVORCE PAPERS?

THESE ARE THE ACTUAL DIVORCE PAPERS OF YOUR GRANDMOTHER.

AND LET ME SHOW YOU WHY DID SHE DIVORCE THIS MAN.

BECAUSE THE "DEFENDANT WILLFULLY AND MALICIOUSLY DESERTED AND ABANDONED" YOUR GRANDMOTHER.

AND SO YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS RAISING YOUR MOTHER ALONE.

FROM HIS GRANDPARENTS' DIVORCE, TO HIS OWN FATHERLESS CHILDHOOD, CORY'S FATHER'S PAST IS A SAD PATTERN OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS.

IT'S AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR HIM TO SEE THIS THEME REFLECTED IN HIS FAMILY TREE.

AND THESE ARE THE WOMEN THAT I KNOW YOU KNOW BECAUSE I'VE HEARD YOU TELLING STORIES ABOUT THEM.

IT'S REALLY AMAZING.

MYSTERY SOLVED.

NOPE.

WE GOT OUR NAMES FROM A FIREMAN ON THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD.

FOR SOME AFRICAN-AMERICANS, ECONOMIC MOBILITY IN THE 1920s CAME AT THE COST OF FAMILY STABILITY.

TWO GENERATIONS EARLIER, IT WAS SLAVERY THAT COULD TRAGICALLY SPLIT UP LOVING COUPLES AND WITHOUT WARNING, SEPARATE FAMILIES FOREVER.

BUT ON JOHN LEWIS'S FAMILY TREE, WE UNCOVERED A STORY ABOUT THE BONDS OF LOVE.

BONDS SO STRONG, NOT EVEN SLAVERY COULD SEVER THEM.

Gates: WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN DURING SLAVERY, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF, WHAT COMES TO MIND?

THAT DURING THE DAYS OF SLAVERY, MEN AND WOMEN, FAMILIES, WERE SEPARATED, BROKEN UP.

MOST OF US THINK OF FORCED SEPARATION, RAPE.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, JOHN, SOMETIMES HISTORY IS SURPRISING.

A RESEARCH INTO JOHN'S MOTHER'S FAMILY, THE CARTERS, LED US BACK FOUR GENERATIONS, TO HIS GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH CARTER.

THEY LIVED MOST OF THEIR LIVES AS SLAVES, NOT FAR FROM WHERE JOHN HIMSELF WAS BORN, IN PIKE COUNTY, ALABAMA.

WELL, WE FOUND SOME EVIDENCE THAT GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH CARTER, HAD.

IT'S AN AMAZING THING TO FIND, WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU.

COULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

JOHN, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE MARRIAGE LICENSE OF YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, TOBIAS AND BETTY CARTER.

AND IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE DATE, DECEMBER 16, 1865.

DECEMBER 16, 1865, IS JUST 10 DAYS AFTER ALL THE SLAVES WERE FREED BY THE 13th AMENDMENT.

YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS, AS SOON AS THEY COULD, JOHN, RUSHED DOWN TO THE COURTHOUSE AND GOT MARRIED.

IT'S AMAZING.

YOU HAVE NOT ONLY DEEP ROOTS IN ALABAMA, BUT VERY STABLE FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, GOING BACK AS SOON AS THE SLAVES WERE FREED.

IT'S INCREDIBLE.

THIS IS UNREAL.

GIVING ME A SENSE OF WHERE I CAME FROM AND MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, MY MOTHER.

DURING SLAVERY, MANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN COUPLES HELD WEDDING CEREMONIES CALLED "JUMPING THE BROOM," RITUALS OF MARRIAGE THAT WERE NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE LAW.

BUT WHEN THEY WERE FREED, JOHN'S GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS MADE THEIR UNION LEGAL IN JUST A MATTER OF DAYS.

I WONDERED IF THIS WAS COMMON, SO I TURNED TO MY HARVARD COLLEAGUE, HISTORIAN ANNETTE GORDON-REED, FOR INSIGHT.

THIS IS THE MARRIAGE LICENSE FOR TOBIAS AND BETTY CARTER.

AND TOBIAS AND BETTY CARTER ARE THE GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS.

AS YOU'LL SEE, IT IS DATED DECEMBER 16, 1865, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE 10 DAYS AFTER THE RATIFICATION OF THE 13th AMENDMENT.

TOBIAS AND BETTY ARE ABOUT 45 YEARS OLD.

THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS GET MARRIED?

WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?

ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY, THE DENIAL OF FAMILY RIGHTS, BASIC FAMILY RIGHTS, WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MADE SLAVERY SO HORRIBLE, AND SLAVE PEOPLE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO FORM FAMILIES.

SO THIS WAS A WAY OF AFFIRMING THEIR HUMANITY AND AFFIRMING THEIR RIGHT TO ONE ANOTHER.

WAS THERE A RUSH?

OH, THERE WAS A RUSH.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ALLOWED THIS, AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY LOOKED FORWARD TO, AND THEY WERE GOING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, SO IT'S NOT A SURPRISE TO ME.

IT'S VERY MOVING TO SEE THIS.

THIS DOCUMENT TESTIFIES TO A LOVE SO STRONG, IT WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE THE BONDS OF ENSLAVEMENT.

IN TROY, ALABAMA, JOHN LEWIS'S HOMETOWN, RESEARCHERS HELPED US UNCOVER MORE ABOUT TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH CARTER.

COURTHOUSE RECORDS SHOWED TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ANOTHER RIGHT THEY HAD BEEN DENIED UNDER SLAVERY -- THE RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY.

Woman: WE'RE LOOKING IN A DEED BOOK.

AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR DEEDS FOR MR. TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH CARTER.

AND WE FIND A DEED HERE FOR THE SUM OF $400.

MR. TOBE CARTER PURCHASED THIS PROPERTY THE 16th DAY OF DECEMBER, 1869.

THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FIRST RECORDS OF SOME SLAVES OWNING LAND AFTER THEY WERE EMANCIPATED.

THAT IS AWESOME.

HERE WE HAVE ANOTHER RECORD ON PAGE 482.

THIS DEED, THEY'RE ACTUALLY SELLING PROPERTY IN THE AMOUNT OF $800, WOW.

AND AT THAT TIME, I'M SURE $800 WAS A LOT OF MONEY.

IN ALL, WE UNCOVERED FIVE DEEDS THAT SHOWED TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH BUYING AND SELLING LAND IN THE 20 YEARS FOLLOWING THEIR EMANCIPATION.

AT ONE POINT, THEY OWNED OVER 200 ACRES.

ALL OF THESE WERE YOUR FAMILY'S PROPERTY.

CAN YOU READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

"DECEMBER 1869.

TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH PURCHASED 76 ACRES FROM G.J.

DON FOR $400."

DECEMBER 1869.

NOW, THAT'S JUST FOUR YEARS AFTER SLAVERY ENDED.

NOW, STARTING WITH NOTHING, TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH HAD SOMEHOW MANAGED TO SAVE UP $400 IN JUST FOUR YEARS.

THAT'S AMAZING.

IT'S AMAZING!

HOW DID THEY SAVE IT BACK THEN IN 1869?

IT'S REMARKABLE TO FIND EVIDENCE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS THRIVING SO SOON AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, WHEN FREEDOM OFTEN MEANT STARTING FROM SCRATCH.

A SIMILAR MYSTERY SITS AT THE CENTER OF MY OWN FAMILY TREE.

MY GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER, JANE GATES, PURCHASED A HOUSE IN CUMBERLAND, MARYLAND, IN 1871, AFTER LIVING HER LIFE AS A SLAVE.

WE'VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW A FORMER SLAVE AND A SINGLE WOMAN WAS ABLE TO PAY FOR HER OWN HOME IN A WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD.

WE SUSPECT IT WAS GIVEN TO HER BY HER SLAVE OWNER, BUT WE'VE NEVER FOUND PROOF.

HOW COULD SLAVES AMASS THIS MUCH MONEY SO QUICKLY?

TO FIND OUT, WE SEARCH FOR THE IDENTITY OF THEIR OWNERS AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE MASTER-SLAVE RELATIONSHIP.

AFTER EMANCIPATION, JOHN LEWIS'S GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS LIVED NEAR A WHITE MAN NAMED JOEL CARTER.

BECAUSE MANY SLAVES TOOK THEIR MASTER'S SURNAMES, WE SUSPECTED THAT JOEL MIGHT HAVE BEEN THEIR OWNER.

WE WERE STUNNED TO DISCOVER THAT JOEL CARTER'S GRANDDAUGHTER LEFT A MEMOIR THAT ACTUALLY MENTIONS TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH BY NAME.

I WAS SO EXCITED THAT I TRAVELED TO ATLANTA TO VISIT TOM BUCHANAN, JOEL CARTER'S THIRD GREAT GRANDSON, TO SEE THIS INCREDIBLE DOCUMENT FOR MYSELF.

WHEN WE CONTACTED YOU BY E-MAIL TO ASK IF YOU HAD EVER HEARD OF TWO SLAVES NAMED TOBIAS AND ELIZABETH CARTER, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION?

AS SOON AS I SAW THAT E-MAIL, STARTED READING IT, AND I SAW THOSE TWO NAMES, I KNEW IMMEDIATELY ABOUT WHERE THIS WAS GOING.

I HADN'T GOTTEN TO THE JOHN LEWIS PART YET, WHICH BLEW ME AWAY.

BUT I KNEW THAT THIS WAS GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH MY THIRD GREAT GRANDFATHER.

THIS IS THE MEMOIR THAT I FOUND IN MY PARENTS' CLOSET.

Gates: AND HOW OLD WERE YOU?

I WAS ABOUT 23 AT THE TIME.

20 YEARS AGO, TOM DISCOVERED A MEMOIR WRITTEN BY HIS GREAT GREAT AUNT, SARAH ABERNATHY, THAT IGNITED HIS INTEREST IN HIS OWN FAMILY HISTORY.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF SARAH SELLERS ABERNATHY, THE AUTHOR OF THE FAMILY NOTES.

Gates: HOW IS SHE RELATED TO JOEL CARTER?

Buchanan: SHE IS HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, AND IN ABOUT 1940, SHE BEGAN TO PUT PEN TO PAPER, WHERE SHE'S RELATING FAMILY STORIES THAT HAD BEEN PASSED ON TO HER.

IT'S SO RARE FOR ANYONE TO HAVE A RECORD OF THEIR ANCESTORS' SLAVES BY NAME, BUT YOU HAVE A MEMOIR.

COULD YOU READ ME THE SECTION THAT MOST FASCINATED YOU?

Buchanan: SURE.

ABSOLUTELY.

[Clears throat] "HIS NEGROES" -- THAT IS, JOEL CARTER'S NEGROES -- WERE LOYAL TO OLD MASTER.

BETS, THE COOK ARMED WITH AN AXE, STOOD AT THE DOOR AND DEFIED THE YANKS TO PESTER OLD MASTER OR TO ENTER THE HOME.

FOR HER LOYALTY, SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE GIVEN A PIECE OF LAND, A CABIN AND SUPPLIES.

MY GRANDFATHER SAID, 'MY CHILDREN ARE YOUNG.

THEY WILL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE FOR THEMSELVES WHAT TOBY AND BETS ARE TOO OLD AND FEEBLE TO EARN.'"

Gates: WOW, THAT'S GREAT.

TOBE AND BETS, AND THOSE ARE JOHN LEWIS'S GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS.

IT'S INCREDIBLE.

WOW!

WHAT A DISCOVERY.

Lewis: "MY CHILDREN ARE YOUNG AND ABLE TO GET FOR THEMSELVES WHAT BETS AND TOBE ARE TOO OLD AND FEEBLE TO EARN FOR THEMSELVES."

ELIZABETH, BESSIE, AND TOBIAS.

SHE IS WRITING ABOUT YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS.

AND NOW WE KNOW HOW THEY GOT THAT LAND IN 1869.

AND THERE IS A RECORD IN A BOOK.

THE WRITTEN WORD, IT'S POWERFUL.

THEY ARE YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS BEING WRITTEN ABOUT BY THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF THE CONFEDERATE MAN WHO OWNED THEM!

THAT IS REALLY... THAT IS WILD.

SEE, WE THINK WE UNDERSTAND SLAVERY.

BUT IT WAS MORE COMPLICATED THAN ANY OF US CAN POSSIBLY HAVE IMAGINED.

DOES IT BOTHER YOU AT ALL TO READ THAT YOUR ANCESTORS WERE LOYAL TO THEIR MASTER DURING THE CIVIL WAR?

NO, IT DOESN'T DISTURB ME.

THIS IS RELATIONSHIPS.

YOU BE AROUND PEOPLE, YOU... YOU, UM... YOU BECOME FAMILY.

WHEN YOU START TO EXPLORE YOUR ROOTS, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON TO FIND FAMILY IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACES.

CORY BOOKER'S FAMILY TREE IS FULL OF UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.

ONE IN PARTICULAR HAS LINGERED ON HIS MOTHER'S LINE FOR ALMOST A CENTURY.

JUST BY LOOKING AT CORY'S BLUE EYES AND HIS MOTHER CAROLYN'S LIGHT COMPLEXION, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THEY HAVE WHITE ANCESTRY.

RUMORS ABOUT HIS PATERNITY SWIRLED AROUND CAROLYN'S FATHER, CORY'S GRANDFATHER, LIMUARY JORDAN.

LIMUARY GREW UP IN LOUISIANA, A CHILD OF BLACK PARENTS.

BUT HE LOOKED SO UNLIKE HIS BROTHER THAT HIS ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL FATHER'S IDENTITY WAS ALWAYS IN QUESTION.

LIMUARY RECORDED HIS LIFE STORY IN A 58-PAGE HANDWRITTEN MEMOIR.

HE WROTE THAT HE HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT HIS FATHER WAS A WHITE MAN, BUT IF HE KNEW IT, HE DIDN'T REVEAL THE MAN'S NAME.

Gates: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR GRANDFATHER LIMUARY'S PATERNITY OR ANYTHING ABOUT HIM BEING LIGHTER?

Booker: I'VE HEARD A LOT OF STORIES.

IN FACT, THERE'S A POWERFUL MOMENT THAT I REMEMBER IN HIM TELLING ME, CHOKING UP, THAT HE WAS, HE USED THE WORD "ILLEGITIMATE."

AND HE SAID THAT MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER, WHO I GOT TO KNOW, "BIG MAMA," TOOK HIM ONE DAY TO A WHITE DOCTOR, AND THEN WHEN THEY LEFT, SHE SAID TO HIM, AS THEY WERE LEAVING, "BY THE WAY, THAT WAS YOUR FATHER."

WOW!

IT MUST HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT FOR HIM.

IT WAS PAINFUL FOR HIM.

I GET EMOTIONAL -- HE WAS A LARGER-THAN-LIFE FIGURE WHO PLAYED SUCH A SEMINAL ROLE IN RAISING ME.

ALZINIA JORDAN WAS JUST A TEENAGER WHEN SHE GAVE BIRTH TO LIMUARY IN 1916.

SHE WAS A STRONG WOMAN, KNOWN BY THE FAMILY AS "BIG MAMA."

Carolyn: THAT'S BIG MAMA.

THAT'S YOUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER.

Booker: WHO I KNOW AS "BIG MAMA."

SHE NEVER MARRIED GRANDDAD'S FATHER, WHO WAS MOST LIKELY WHITE.

WELL, WE DON'T KNOW HOW SHE CAME TO FATHER OUR DAD.

BUT GRANDDAD ONCE TOLD ME THAT HE MET HIS FATHER, WHO WAS A DOCTOR...

WHEN HE WAS 13 YEARS OLD.

WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND...

BUT THE CIRCUMSTANCES BEHIND THAT, WE DON'T KNOW, OKAY?

REMEMBER, THESE WERE SEGREGATED TIMES AND SHE LIVED IN THE DEEP SOUTH.

AND CERTAINLY...

IT COULD BE ANYTHING.

IT COULD BE ANYTHING.

WE JUST DON'T KNOW.

LIMUARY WAS BORN IN COLUMBIA, LOUISIANA, AT THE HEIGHT OF JIM CROW.

LIKE MOST SMALL TOWNS IN THE SOUTH, COLUMBIA HAD A SHARPLY DRAWN COLOR LINE.

IN 1908, LOUISIANA PASSED A LAW THAT MADE INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS A FELONY.

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALZINIA AND THE WHITE TOWN DOCTOR.

WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DANGEROUS THING TO MAKE PUBLIC.

LIMUARY DIED, NEVER KNOWING THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS BIOLOGICAL FATHER'S IDENTITY.

AND THIS SHAMEFUL SECRET TROUBLED HIM HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

SO, WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD TRACK DOWN THIS DOCTOR, A HUNDRED YEARS AFTER LIMUARY WAS BORN.

WE FOUND THREE DOCTORS WHO COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN HIS FATHER.

ONE WAS A VETERINARIAN, WHICH DIDN'T SEEM RIGHT.

THE OTHER MAN WHO WAS A DOCTOR DIED TOO EARLY FOR YOUR GRANDFATHER TO HAVE MET HIM.

SO THAT MEANS THAT ONLY ONE WAS LEFT.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

WOULD YOU MIND READING THE TRANSCRIBED SECTION OF THE 1920 CENSUS?

SURE.

THE NAME IS STEPHEN H. BROWN.

HIS COLOR OR RACE WAS WHITE.

HIS AGE WAS 46.

AND HIS OCCUPATION WAS PHYSICIAN.

STEPHEN H. BROWN, LIVING IN COLUMBIA, LOUISIANA, PHYSICIAN.

COULD HE BE THE ONE?

COULD HE BE YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FATHER?

MY GREAT GRANDFATHER.

WE HAD A CANDIDATE.

ALL SIGNS POINTED TO DR. STEPHEN H. BROWN.

IN THE PAST, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO PROVE.

BUT TODAY, WE HAVE A POWERFUL NEW TOOL -- DNA TESTING -- TO HELP US UNCOVER THE TRUTH.

INCREDIBLY, WE FOUND A LIVING DESCENDANT OF DR. STEPHEN H. BROWN.

A 50-YEAR-OLD LAWYER IN LOUISIANA NAMED MICHAEL HISLOP.

Hislop: STEPHEN H. BROWN WAS MY MOTHER'S GRANDFATHER.

SO HE WOULD BE MY GREAT GRANDFATHER.

MICHAEL AGREED TO TAKE A FAMILY TREE DNA TEST THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS CORY'S COUSIN.

WERE WE ABOUT TO UNCOVER A SECRET THAT HAD BEEN KEPT IN CORY'S FAMILY FOR ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS?

I ASKED SCIENTIST JOANNA MOUNTAIN FROM THE COMPANY 23andME TO EXPLAIN HOW DNA TESTING WORKS IN THIS CASE.

IF YOU SUSPECT THAT TWO PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME GREAT GRANDPARENT, HOW CAN DNA PROVE OR DISPROVE THAT?

THAT WOULD MAKE THEM SECOND COUSINS, AND VIRTUALLY ALL PAIRS OF SECOND COUSINS SHARE LONG SEGMENTS OF DNA THAT ARE MATCHING.

USUALLY SEVERAL OF THOSE SEGMENTS.

WE'VE DONE SIMULATIONS TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHAT TO EXPECT THERE AND IF THEY ARE SECOND COUSINS, WE SHOULD SEE THAT IN THE DNA.

SO, IF THEY SHARE SIGNIFICANT SEGMENTS OF IDENTICAL DNA, MICHAEL HISLOP AND CORY BOOKER ARE SECOND COUSINS.

THAT'S RIGHT.

WHEN SCIENTISTS ANALYZED THE DNA, THE RESULTS WERE CONCLUSIVE.

WE HAD OUR ANSWER.

WOULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

CORY, YOU AND MICHAEL HISLOP HAVE SHARED SEGMENTS OF DNA ON YOUR FIRST, YOUR FOURTH, AND YOUR TENTH CHROMOSOMES.

YOU AND MICHAEL DESCEND FROM THE SAME MAN.

WOW!

[ TAPS TABLE ] THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

THE SAME GREAT GRANDPARENT, DR. STEPHEN H. BROWN.

IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE A LOT, BUT THOSE THREE SEGMENTS OF ORANGE ARE, IN FACT, QUITE SIGNIFICANT.

FURTHER PROOF WAS FOUND IN CORY'S ADMIXTURE RESULTS, WHICH REVEALED THAT HE IS 45% EUROPEAN.

WOW!

AND STEPHEN BROWN, DO WE...

I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT HIM.

WOULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

YEAH.

THAT'S HIM.

THAT'S HIM.

THAT MUST BE HIM.

YOU KNOW WHY -- HE LOOKS A LOT LIKE MY GRANDFATHER.

HE LOOKS A LOT LIKE MY GRANDFATHER.

UNBELIEVABLE.

I'M BLOWN AWAY.

BLOWN AWAY.

AND YOU FOUND ANOTHER GREAT GRANDSON TO TEST HIS DNA?

YEAH.

YOU WANT TO SEE HIM?

MY COUSIN.

TURN THE PAGE.

THAT'S YOUR COUSIN.

UNBELIEVABLE.

THIS IS MICHAEL HISLOP.

HE'S YOUR SECOND COUSIN.

I'VE GOT CHILLS.

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

IT'S YOUR FAMILY.

I WISH MY GRANDFATHER KNEW THIS.

I WISH MY GRANDFATHER KNEW IT FOR SURE.

DO YOU WANT TO MEET MICHAEL HISLOP?

I WOULD LOVE TO MEET MICHAEL HISLOP.

WITH THE HELP OF DNA, WE ADDED MANY MORE BRANCHES TO CORY BOOKER'S FAMILY TREE.

STARTING WITH HIS NEWFOUND GREAT GRANDFATHER, DR. STEPHEN H. BROWN.

I BROUGHT MICHAEL HISLOP AND HIS UNCLE, DONALD BROWN, TO NEW JERSEY TO MEET THE BOOKERS.

A FAMILY REUNION WAS IN ORDER.

Carolyn: HELLO THERE.

Gates: CORY, THIS IS DONALD.

CORY BOOKER.

SUCH A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.

AND I COULD ADDRESS YOU AS MR. MAYOR, YOUR HONOR, BUT I BELIEVE I'LL JUST CALL YOU COUSIN.

DONALD IS DR. STEPHEN BROWN'S GRANDSON, AND HE IS THE FIRST COUSIN CAROLYN BOOKER NEVER KNEW SHE HAD.

SO NICE TO MEET YOU!

I'M CARY.

I STARTED A FANTASY THAT ONE DAY WE WOULD FIND THE FAMILY.

REALLY?

YEAH.

I'VE RUN IT OVER IN MY MIND.

THIS IS NOT HOW IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

I WOULD HAVE GONE DOWN SOUTH TO FIND THE DOCTOR.

I PLAYED THAT FANTASY MANY, MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE.

SO THIS TO ME IS THE FULFILLMENT OF A DREAM THAT WAS SPAWNED BY MY GRANDFATHER'S DESIRE TO BRING CLOSURE TO HIS LIFE.

Gates: THE KEY THING WAS YOUR WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE IN THE EXPERIMENT.

YOUR OPENNESS.

I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED.

WHEN I GOT THE CALL JUST OUT OF THE BLUE ASKING, "WOULD YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE BEEN RELATED TO DR. STEPHEN H.

BROWN?"

AND I SAID, "THAT WAS MY GREAT GRANDFATHER."

THEN I GOT THE CALL ABOUT WHETHER I WOULD AGREE TO DO THE DNA TEST.

Cory: I WONDER HOW YOU FELT WHEN SOMEBODY COMES UP TO YOU AND ASKS YOU FOR YOUR DNA.

WELL, THAT WASN'T THE FIRST CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD.

Gates: HAD YOU HEARD OF HIM?

I HAD.

I DIDN'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT YOU, BUT I HAD HEARD OF YOU.

SO, I HAD NO RESERVATIONS ABOUT DOING IT, SO...

I HAVE TO CONFESS, I HAD NEVER HEARD OF YOU.

Gates: WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING, HONESTLY, THE FIRST THING THAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU WERE TOLD THAT YOU HAD AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FIRST COUSIN?

WELL, I'VE ALWAYS HEARD WISE MEN SAY THAT WE'RE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS UNDER THE SKIN AND I THINK THIS PROVES IT.

IT CERTAINLY DOES.

THIS IS WHAT OUR WORK IS ALL ABOUT.

FUNDING THE THREADS THAT TIE US TO THE PEOPLE WHOSE ANCESTRY WE SHARE.

WHATEVER THEIR COLOR, WHENEVER THEY LIVED.

SOMETIMES WE OBSERVE THESE CONNECTIONS IN A PHYSICAL TRAIT, PROVE THEM WITH GENETICS, OR DISCOVER CLUES BURIED DEEP IN A FAMILY MEMOIR.

SOMETIMES IT TURNS OUT THAT THE SPIRIT OF OUR ANCESTORS HAS GUIDED US IN WAYS THAT WE COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED.

JOHN LEWIS'S CAMPAIGN FOR VOTING RIGHTS HAS BEEN A DEEPLY PERSONAL MISSION, EVER SINCE HE MARCHED IN PROTEST FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY IN 1965.

HE HAD NO IDEA THAT RESEARCH INTO HIS FAMILY'S PAST WOULD MAKE THIS MISSION EVEN MORE MEANINGFUL.

THERE'S ONE MORE THING THAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW, JOHN, ABOUT YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER TOBIAS CARTER.

AND IT'S SOMETHING OF A MIRACLE.

CAN YOU TURN THE PAGE, PLEASE?

YES.

JOHN, THIS IS A PAGE FROM THE VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS FOR ALABAMA IN THE YEAR 1867.

COULD YOU READ THE TRANSCRIBED NAME?

"CARTER, TOBIAS."

YOUR GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER TOBIAS CARTER REGISTERED TO VOTE AS A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN 1867.

TWO YEARS AFTER HE WAS FREED FROM SLAVERY, THE SECOND HE COULD REGISTER TO VOTE.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

IT IS INCREDIBLE.

I DON'T THINK MY PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS EVER VOTED BEFORE 1965.

THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO REGISTER TO VOTE AS FAR AS I KNOW.

HOW IS IT THAT JOHN'S PARENTS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE WHEN THEIR SLAVE ANCESTOR WAS GIVEN THAT RIGHT A HUNDRED YEARS EARLIER?

I PAID A VISIT TO MY FRIEND KEN MACK, A PROFESSOR AT THE HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, TO ASK HIM TO EXPLAIN THIS COMPLICATED HISTORY.

Mack: IN 1867, CONGRESS PASSED A STATUTE SAYING THAT YOU COULDN'T DEPRIVE ANYONE OF THE VOTE BECAUSE OF RACE.

THAT ALLOWED BLACK PEOPLE IN ALABAMA TO VOTE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

TOBIAS CARTER DIED ABOUT 1890, WE THINK.

WHAT HAPPENED IN AMERICA TO THE RIGHTS OF THE NEGRO BETWEEN 1867 AND 1890?

IN 1874, THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER THE ALABAMA GOVERNMENT.

THE DEMOCRATS DID NOT WANT AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO VOTE.

THERE WAS RAMPANT VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT ALABAMA THROUGHOUT THE 1860s AND '70s.

VOTERS WERE INTIMIDATED AT THE POLLS.

SO JOHN LEWIS'S ANCESTOR EXPERIENCED AN UNPRECEDENTED DEGREE OF FREEDOM FOR MAYBE 10 YEARS, AND THEN IT ALL DISAPPEARED.

YES, IT ALL DISAPPEARS.

ONLY TO BE BROUGHT BACK BY JOHN LEWIS.

YES, TO BE BROUGHT BACK BY JOHN LEWIS AND PEOPLE LIKE HIM WHO GOT BEATEN AND SOME OF THEM GOT KILLED, IN ORDER THAT WE CAN VOTE TODAY AS EQUAL CITIZENS.

[ SIREN WAILS ] [ SCREAMING, SHOUTING ] [ GUNFIRE ] Gates: MARCH 7, 1965.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TAKE ME THROUGH THAT TERRIBLE DAY IN SELMA?

Lewis: THAT SUNDAY AFTERNOON, WE LINED UP IN TWOS, TO WALK IN A PEACEFUL, NONVIOLENT FASHION FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY.

Lewis: WE'RE MARCHING TODAY TO DRAMATIZE TO THE NATION AND DRAMATIZE TO THE WORLD THE HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF NEGRO CITIZENS OF ALABAMA, BUT PARTICULARLY HERE IN THE BLACK BELT AREA, DENIED THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

WE INTEND TO MARCH TO MONTGOMERY TO PRESENT SAID GRIEVANCE TO GOVERNOR GEORGE C. WALLACE.

Lewis: I WAS WEARING A BACKPACK.

IN THIS BACKPACK, I HAD TWO BOOKS.

I HAD AN APPLE AND I HAD AN ORANGE AND TOOTHPASTE AND TOOTHBRUSH.

I THOUGHT THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE ARRESTED AND THAT WE WERE GOING TO GO TO JAIL.

WE CAME TO THE HIGHEST POINT ON THE BRIDGE.

DOWN BELOW WE SAW A SEA OF BLUE.

ALABAMA STATE TROOPERS.

THE SHERIFF WAS NAMED JIM CLARK.

HE WAS A VERY BIG MAN AND HAD A LAPEL BUTTON THAT SAID "NEVER."

HE SAID, "THIS IS AN UNLAWFUL MARCH.

IT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE.

I GIVE YOU THREE MINUTES TO DISPERSE AND RETURN TO YOUR CHURCH."

AND HOSEA WILLIAMS FROM DR. KING'S ORGANIZATION SPOKE UP AND SAID, "GIVE US A MOMENT TO KNEEL AND PRAY."

AND THE MAJOR SAID, "TROOPERS, ADVANCE."

Major: ADVANCE TOWARD THE GATE.

SEE THAT THEY DISPERSE.

[ SCREAMING ] Gates: THE IMAGES CAPTURED THAT DAY IN SELMA ARE SEARED ONTO OUR NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS.

[ WHISTLE BLOWS ] AND AS WE LOOK AT THEM TODAY, IT SEEMS UNBELIEVABLE THAT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN RIGHT TO VOTE COULD HAVE POSED SUCH A PROFOUND THREAT AS TO INCITE THIS KIND OF VIOLENCE.

Lewis: THE VOTE IS THE MOST POWERFUL INSTRUMENT.

MOST POWERFUL NONVIOLENT TOOL IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY.

AND KNOWING THAT A MEMBER OF MY FAMILY REGISTERED AND VOTED IN ALABAMA, A HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE I DID, BEFORE MY MOTHER, MY FATHER, MY GRANDPARENTS.

IT'S AMAZING.

SO MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IT...

IT'S PART OF MY DNA, MY BLOODLINE OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.

WHO WOULD HAVE BELIEVED THAT YOUR ANCESTOR WAS ONE OF THE PIONEERING PEOPLE WHO VOTED IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA AMONG THE FORMER SLAVES?

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

THIS IS TOO MUCH.

YOU ARE IN THIS.

YEAH, I'M RIGHT... YOU SEE, ALL THE WAY OVER, IN THE LIGHT TRENCH COAT, THAT'S ME.

THAT'S YOU, LITERALLY, IN THE FRONT.

THAT IS INCREDIBLE.

Booker: WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLE LIKE HIM, YOU KNOW THAT HE NOT ONLY CLEARED A PATH FOR ME, HE PAVED IT, HE PUT WHITE LINES ON IT, HE PUT SOME LIGHTS SO I COULD SEE MY WAY.

Gates: YOU'VE SEEN SO MUCH HISTORY MADE AND ARE A HISTORY MAKER.

JUST AS CORY RECOGNIZES THE DEBT HE OWES TO MEN LIKE JOHN LEWIS, JOHN HIMSELF KNOWS THAT HE WALKS A PATH LAID BY HIS ANCESTORS.

Lewis: WE ALL COME FROM SOMEPLACE.

WE HAVE SOME CONNECTION, SOME EXISTENCE.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW IT.

SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ON THIS LITTLE PIECE OF REAL ESTATE, ON THIS LITTLE PLANET, ALONE.

BUT YOU'RE NOT.

THERE'S A CONNECTION.

THIS IS SO MEANINGFUL.

THIS IS SO UNREAL, UNBELIEVABLE.

I WISH IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR EVERY PERSON TO KNOW THIS OF HIM OR HERSELF.

COME FROM PEOPLE, MY BROTHER.

AMEN.

AND PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T LOOK LIKE EACH OTHER.

NO.

NO.

A LOT OF AMAZING COMING TOGETHER OF DIFFERENT STORIES.

ALL DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THIS COUNTRY, WHICH IS AMAZING TO ME.

IT MAKES ME FEEL THE COMPLICATED, PAINFUL, AMAZING, WONDROUS STORIES OF AMERICA, HOW THEY ALL MIX UP TO PRODUCE US.

AND YOU WEAR THAT MIXING, THAT DIVERSITY, ON YOUR FACE, IN YOUR EYES.

JUST LOOK AT YOU.

YEAH.

A HISTORY OF PAIN, A HISTORY OF WONDER, A HISTORY OF ENDURANCE, RESILIENCY, OF LOVE.

THE HISTORY THAT WE SHARE MAKES US WHO WE ARE AND CONNECTS US AS AMERICANS.

FROM THE BIG EVENTS THAT SHAPED OUR NATION TO THE SMALLEST DETAILS OF OUR ANCESTORS' LIVES.

AS CONGRESSMAN LEWIS REMINDED ME, WHILE OUR ANCESTORS CAME TO THIS LAND IN DIFFERENT SHIPS, WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT NOW.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME ON "FINDING YOUR ROOTS," AS I TRAVEL THROUGH THE FAMILY HISTORIES OF TWO MORE EXTRAORDINARY AMERICANS.