Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/retracing-roots-with-the-african-american-national-biography Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Renowned African-American writers Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham discuss their latest joint project, 'The African-American National Biography'. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JIM LEHRER: Finally tonight, documenting the lives of African-Americans. And to Jeffrey Brown. JEFFREY BROWN: "The African American National Biography," says one of its editors, is a rescue-and-recovery project. Eight volumes, some 4,000 entries with more coming online, all documenting life stories, some familiar names, but many more that are little or unknown, pulled from the past and given a place in history, like Cathay Williams, who disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1866, the only documented African-American woman to serve in the U.S. regulars in the 19th century. HENRY LOUIS GATES, Author: A direct ancestor served in the Civil War.CHRIS ROCK, Comedian and Actor: I'm going to cry. I can't believe it. JEFFREY BROWN: The project comes on the heels of "African American Lives 2," the sequel to the popular PBS series that used science and other research to trace the genealogies of prominent African-Americans.And it comes as a new online magazine, The Root, is launched. The site offers news and opinions with an African-American focus and a tool to allow users to explore their own ancestry.