>>> THE AMERICANS ARE DISCOVERING FAMILY SECRETS EVERY DAY, THANKS TO DNA TESTING AND ONLINE GENEALOGY.

BUT NOT EVERYONE LEARNS THEY HAVE A LUMINARY OF BLACK AMERICAN HISTORY AS AN ANCESTOR.

HOWEVER, THAT WAS THE CASE FOR AUTHOR RACHEL JAMISON WEBSTER.

SHE HAD BEEN-AWARE OF HER BLACK ANCESTRY UNTIL SHE DISCOVERED SHE WAS RELATED TO ALMANAC AUTHOR BENJAMIN BANICKER.

SHE USED RESEARCH AND COLLABORATED WITH NEW FOUND COUSINS TO DIVE INTO HER FAMILY'S RACIAL HISTORY AND RECREATE ANCESTOR'S STORY.

IT IS CALLED BENJAMIN BANICKER AND US 11 GENERATION OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY.

JOINING US IS THE AUTHOR RACHEL JAMISON WEBSTER PROFESSOR OF CREATIVE WRITING AT NORTHWESTERN.

THANK FOREIGN JOINING NEWS THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

>> HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP.

>> IT WAS A FAMILY STORY.

MY COUSIN WAS DOING RESEARCH ON ANCESTRY.COM AND DOING HER GENEALOGY, AND SHE DISCOVERED WE HAD GENERATIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AND MULTI-RACIAL ANCESTORS THAT HAD BEEN DENIED IN OUR FAMILY LINE.

SO SHE, OF COURSE, WANTED TO LOOK THROUGH THAT LINE THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAD NOT EXAMINED.

AND WHEN SHE LOOKED THERE, SHE STARTED TO TURN UP THESE INCREDIBLE STORIES.

SO, SOME OF OUR ANCESTORS HAD COME INTO OHIO AND ARGUED FOR THE RIGHT FOR AN EDUCATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

AND THEN GOING BACK FURTHER, WE DESCENDED FROM BENJAMIN BANICKER'S SISTER GENTLEMAN MILIA.

>> WERE YOU SURPRISED?

>> NOT AS SURPRISED AS YOU WOULD THINK TO THINK WE HAD AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCESTRY.

I FELT SORT OF A, OH, I FELT LIKE IT EXPLAINED SOME MY AFFINITIES AND MY -- THE KINDS OF COMMUNITIES I LOVED TO LIVE IN.

SO, I FELT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

AND INTERESTED IN IT.

OF COURSE, TO FIND A CONNECTION TO, AS YOU SAY, A LUMINARY, AND SOMEONE AS BRILLIANT AND AMAZING AS BENJAMIN BANICKER THAT WAS A LOT TO TAKE IN.

>> YOU HAVE TO LIVE UP TO THAT, RIGHT.

>> YES.

>> IN YOUR PROCESS YOU MET AND CAME TO KNOW A LOT OF YOUR COUSINS.

WHAT DID THAT MEAN FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

>> THAT WAS EVERYTHING.

I FOUND THE STORIES, I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT THEM.

AND ANY WRITER WOULD.

BUT I ALSO THOUGHT IT WAS PROBLEMATIC FOR A WHITE WOMAN TO BE CLAIMING A FAMOUS BLACK ANCESTOR.

SO I HAD A PAUSE OF A FEW YEARS WHERE I DID RESEARCH AND THOUGHT ABOUT MY WAY INTO THE STORY.

AND MY COUSIN GOT.

>> TOUCH WITH ME AND SAW AN ESSAY I HAD WRITTEN AND SAID, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT OUR FAMILY.

AS SOON AND WE BEGAN SPEAKING, IT WAS LIKE WE KNEW EACH OTHER, AM I UNDERSTOOD THIS WOULD BE THE FORUM FOR THE BOOK.

IT WOULD HAVE HISTORY, BUT IT WOULD HAVE PREP DAY CONVERSATIONS WITH MY BLACK COUSIN SO SHE INTRODUCED ME TO THE REST OF THE FAMILY AND WE STARTED TALKING AND IT'S BEEN AMAZING.

WE ARE CLOSE AND INVOLVED IN PROJECTS TOGETHER, STILL, AND IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL.

>> YOU MENTIONED YOUR COUSIN.

TELL US ABOUT HOW EASY YOUR COUSINS WERE INCOOPERATED INTO THE STORY TELLING AND HOW THAT HELPED YOU TO TELL THE STORY.

>> BECAUSE I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT BLACK HISTORY, AND I ALSO WANTED TO EXPLORE THE LAWS AND WAY THE LAWS WERE SET UP TO -- BASICALLY CREATE DIVISIONS, AND CREATE THIS FALLACY THAT WE WEREN'T RELATED.

I WANTED TO EXPLORE ALL OF THAT, BUT I ALSO KNEW THAT I COULDN'T WRITE FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A BLACK AMERICAN.

SO, I WAS IN CONVERSATION WITH MY COUSINS, AND THEY VERY GENEROUSLY SHARED THEIR STORIES AND RESEARCH.

SO THE BOOK HAS A LOT OF RESEARCH CHAPTERS ABOUT THE ANCESTORS AND EVERY OTHER CHAPTER IS A PRESENT DAY CONVERSATION WITH ME AND MY COUSIN.

>> THE BOOK TALES LOT OF WOMEN STORIES INCLUDING THAT OF BANICKER'S STORY WHAT DID YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT.

>> SHE WAS AMAZING.

SHOW WAS A HERBALIST.

THEY OWNED LAN AND BENJAMIN BANICKER IS GROWING UP IN THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA AND IS A BRILLIANT SCIENTISTS AND NATURALIST AND HIS MOTHER WAS AS WELL.

SHE WAS KNOWN TO BE A HERBALIST AND HOW TO HEAL PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY.

SHE GREW FOOD AND SOLD IT AT THE MILL IN THE AREA.

SO SHE WAS VERY ENTERPRISING.

AND HIS SISTERS WERE AS WELL.

HIS SISTER WAS THE SEAMSTRESS AND ANOTHER WAS A MIDWIFE IN THE AREA.

AND SO, BECAUSE HE BECAME FAMILIAROUS IN HIS LIFETIME, WE HAVE STORIES ABOUT HIS FAMILY MEMBERS, AND THAT'S WHAT IS ESPECIALLY THAT BECAME SPECIAL TO BE ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT THE WOMEN.

>> IT'S PART HISTORY AND SPECULATIVE HISTORY.

WHY DID YOU WANT TO TAKE THE APPROACH?

>> I WANTED TO HONOR DIFFERENT WAYS OF NOTHING.

SO, WE ARE VERY LUCKY, ESPECIALLY FOR A MULTI-RACIAL FAMILY OR FAMILY OF BLACK ANCESTRY, TO BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THE FAMILY VERY FAR BACK.

WE HAVE ORAL HISTORY AND THE ORAL HISTORY IS SO IMPORTANT IN BLACK TRADITIONS AS YOU KNOW.

BECAUSE THAT WAS A WAY TO PRESERVE THE FAMILY MEMORIES.

SO I WANTED TO HONOR ALL OF THAT, AND I WANTED TO BRING THE ANCESTORS ALIVE.

AND HAVE THEM SORT OF BEING FILLED OUT AND OFTENTIMES IT WOULD HAPPEN THAT EDDIE WOULD TALK THROUGH THE NAME AND DATES AND I WOULD HAVE A FEELING OF A SCENE.

SO, IT WAS A JOY TO IMAGINE THEM.

>> YOU AND THE COUSINS THAT YOU HAVE GOTEN TO KNOW THROUGH THE PROCESS, THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE FAMILY NOW NOW YOU KNOW THEM.

>> DEFINITELY.

>> THEY ARE FAMILY, TECHNICALLY AS WELL.

BUT YOU HAVE HAD TO -- SOME OF THE DIFFICULT BUT HONEST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE.

WHAT HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS BEEN LIKE?

WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN LIKE.

>> I AM GRATEFUL TO THEM, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK MANY OF US GET TO BE IN CONVERSATIONS THAT HONEST.

SO, OF COURSE, THERE WAS A GROUP, MOST OF THE FAMILY WERE HAPPY THAT I WAS WRITING THE BOOK AND TRUSTED THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

AND THEN THERE WERE SOME FAMILY MEMBERS WHO REALLY DIDN'T TRUST ME AS A WHITE WOMAN.

AND THAT'S IN THE BOOK AS WELL.

AND GRAPPLING WITH THAT AND LOOKING AT HISTORY WHY THAT HAPPENS.

THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY PERSONAL.

IT IS BECAUSE OF A LONG HISTORY OF WHITE EXPLOITATION OF BLACK STORIES.

SO WE PUT THAT IN.

WE PUT THE TENSE MOMENTS IN.

THE EMBARRASSING MOMENTS.

BUT ALSO THE LOVING MOMENTS.

AND THE MOMENTS WHEN WE KNEW WE REALLY FELT DEEPLY THAT WE ARE RELATED.

AND WE WERE MEANT TO BE WORKING ON THE BOOK TOGETHER.

BUT WE START OF DECIDED IT ALL HAD TO BE PART OF THE STORY.

YOU CAN'T WRITE AND TALK ABOUT RACE WITHOUT SOME PAIN.

WE CAN'T DO IT PERFECTLY.

BUT WE CAN TRY TO MAKE A SPACE TO DO IT HONESTLY.

>> GOOD, BAD ANDINGLY.

WE HAVE ABOUT 30 SECONDS LEFT.

MOST OF US CAN PROBABLY TRACE OUR LINEAGE AND FIND MIXED ANCESTRY.

WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY'S STORY SAY ABOUT THE COUNTRY.

>> WE ARE SO RELATED, AS YOU SAID, MOST OF US HAVE MIXED ANCESTRY.

I DO THINK THAT THE WHITE AMERICANS NEED TO EMBRACE THAT AND FACE THAT A LITTLE MORE.

I THINK THAT MY COUSIN ON THE BLACK SIDE, THEY ALREADY KNEW THAT ABOUT THE ANCESTRY.

THEY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS TO HAVE MIXED ANCESTRY IN THE COUNTRY.

WHAT THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF HISTORY.

BUT NOW I THINK.

>> REALIZATION.

>> FOR ALL OF YOU.

>> THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING