Kristi Yamaguchi – Faces of America

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Kristi Yamaguchi

What it means to be Japanese-American

Kristi Yamaguchi reflects on what she's learned about her ancestry, and how that affects her feelings about being Japanese-American.

Jan 20th, 2010

First visit to Japan

Kristi Yamaguchi talks about what she felt when she first visited Japan and met relatives in her ancestral homeland.

Jan 20th, 2010

Loyalty, sacrifice, and persecution

Kristi Yamaguchi and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discuss how Japanese American soldiers and civilians were treated during World War II.

Jan 20th, 2010

Japanese heritage and Olympic gold

Kristi Yamaguchi talks about how her Japanese heritage affected the public's perception during her quest for the Olympic gold medal.

Jan 20th, 2010

Stories of the Past

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. asks Kristi Yamaguchi about stories she heard about her family as a child, and what she hopes to learn about her ancestors.

Jan 20th, 2010

About the Program

What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of the new PBS series Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The Harvard scholar turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans — professor and poet Elizabeth Alexander, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, journalist Malcolm Gladwell, actress Eva Longoria, musician Yo-Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols, Her Majesty Queen Noor, television host/heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, actress Meryl Streep, and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

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Corporate funding is provided by The Coca-Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson.

Additional funding is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS.