I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

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

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL EXPLORE THE FAMILY TREE OF COMEDIAN WANDA SYKES AND GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN JOHN LEGEND.

BOTH JOHN AND WANDA ARE DESCENDED FROM ANCESTORS WHO DEFY OUR MOST BASIC ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE SLAVE ERA.

Gates: AND NOBODY CAN TRACE THEIR FAMILY TREE BACK, BLACK, FURTHER THAN YOURS.

Sykes: AND THEY'RE SAYING THAT YOU MADE EVERYTHING UP.

Gates: REMARKABLY, WE WERE ABLE TO TRACE JOHN AND WANDA'S FAMILIES BACK HUNDREDS OF YEARS... SWEET JESUS!

AND REDISCOVER THE MOST UNEXPECTED STORIES.

WAIT A MINUTE.

HUH?

Gates: THIS IS THE DOCUMENT THAT FREED YOUR ANCESTORS.

THAT'S AMAZING.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.

AND WE'LL ALSO TALK TO A VERY SPECIAL GUEST -- MY DEAR FRIEND, THE VENERABLE MARGARETT COOPER, WHO, AT THE AGE OF 98, HAS SPENT HALF A CENTURY INVESTIGATING A REMARKABLE TALE ON HER OWN FAMILY TREE.

Cooper: WHEN YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING FOR A LONG, LONG TIME AND YOU'RE VERY OLD, YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T LIVE MUCH LONGER, YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY, "I'D LIKE TO FIND THAT OUT BEFORE I DIE."

Gates: TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT MARGARETT, JOHN AND WANDA'S ANCESTORS, WE'VE CONSULTED WITH LEADING HISTORIANS OF SLAVERY AND ASKED SOME OF THE NATION'S BEST GENEALOGISTS TO SCOUR SOUTHERN ARCHIVES THAT DATE BACK TO THE COLONIAL PERIOD.

AT THE END OF THE PAPER TRAIL, WE TURN TO GENETICISTS WHO USE CUTTING-EDGE DNA ANALYSIS TO TAKE US EVEN FURTHER BACK INTO EACH GUEST'S ANCESTRAL PAST.

THIS IS YOUR VERY OWN BOOK OF LIFE.

WOW.

WE COMPILED ALL OF OUR FINDINGS INTO A "BOOK OF LIFE," A RECORD OF THE DISCOVERIES WE'VE MADE FOR EACH OF OUR GUESTS.

I'M EXCITED.

I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH THESE PAGES BACK IN TIME.

Sykes: "FORNICATION AND BASTARDY WITH A NEGRO SLAVE."

Gates: PEYTON POLLY, YOUR ANCESTOR, DIDN'T TAKE THIS LYING DOWN.

IT MAKES ME PROUD THAT I HAD ANCESTORS THAT DIDN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.

I'M HONORED TO BE ABLE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO YOUR ANCESTORS.

OKAY.

WAIT, DO ANY OF THEM NEED MONEY?

Gates: THE STORIES OF JOHN AND WANDA'S ANCESTORS BRING TO LIGHT A LITTLE-KNOWN BUT CRUCIAL CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM, A STRUGGLE AS OLD AS THE NATION ITSELF.

THIS IS WILLIAMSPORT, WEST VIRGINIA.

AND THIS IS THE FARM WHERE JOE AND SARAH BRUCE, MY 4th PATERNAL GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, WERE HELD IN BONDAGE AS SLAVES.

THAT'S THE STORY MOST OF US EXPECT TO FIND WHEN WE SEARCH FOR AN AFRICAN- AMERICAN'S DEEPEST FAMILY ROOTS.

BUT WHAT'S UNUSUAL IN THIS CASE IS THAT WE FOUND THE WILL OF THEIR MASTER AND HE SET JOE AND SARAH FREE IN 1823 -- THAT'S 42 YEARS BEFORE THE 13th AMENDMENT FINALLY ENDED SLAVERY ONCE AND FOR ALL.

WHAT'S EVEN MORE REMARKABLE IS THAT THEY WERE NOT ALONE.

THE STORY OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE HAS OFTEN BEEN REDUCED TO ONE-DIMENSIONAL STEREOTYPES AND CLICHES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO SLAVERY.

BUT THE LIVES OF MY FREE ANCESTORS -- AS WELL AS THOSE OF MARGARETT, JOHN, AND WANDA -- REVEAL THAT THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LIVES OF BLACK PEOPLE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA WAS ANYTHING BUT SIMPLE.

PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR MS. WANDA SYKES.

Gates: WANDA SYKES IS ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR -- AND FEARLESS -- COMEDIANS... FINDING HUMOR EVEN IN THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS.

IT'S HARD OUT THERE, PEOPLE ARE JUST BITCHIN' AND COMPLAININ'.

"WE BROKE, WE BROKE, WE BROKE."

I GOTTA TELL YOU, IT REALLY IS A DOWNER FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO HAVE MONEY.

Gates: SHE BRINGS HER NO-HOLDS-BARRED STYLE WITH HER, NO MATTER WHERE SHE GOES.

I KNOW YOU'RE BIRACIAL, BUT THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT.

I'M PROUD TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT.

WELL, THAT'S UNLESS YOU SCREW UP.

AND THEN IT'S GONNA BE, "WHAT'S UP WITH THE HALF-WHITE GUY, HUH?"

Gates: IN 2009, SHE BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN FEMALE -- AND THE FIRST OPENLY GAY COMEDIAN -- TO M.C.

THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER.

Sykes: WHEN I GOT THE CALL, I WAS LIKE, WAIT A MINUTE, RUN THAT BY ME AGAIN.

THEY WANT ME TO DO WHAT?

YOU WERE PRETTY EDGY.

YEAH.

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I COULD DO IT.

YOU KNOW, AND EVEN THE MEDIA, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN VERY FAVORABLE TOWARDS THE PRESIDENT.

IT'S FUNNY TO ME THAT THEY'VE NEVER CAUGHT YOU SMOKING BUT THEY SOMEHOW ALWAYS CATCH YOU WITH YOUR SHIRT OFF.

[ LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE ] I KNOW YOU'RE INTO THIS TRANSPARENCY THING, BUT, UH, I DON'T NEED TO SEE YOUR NIPPLES.

TOO MUCH?

Gates: AND NO TOPIC IS OFF-LIMITS FOR WANDA, WHO QUITE OPENLY DISCUSSES HER PERSONAL LIFE, INCLUDING HER BI-RACIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HER WIFE, ALEX.

IN 2008, WANDA TOOK A PUBLIC STAND ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AT A RALLY IN LAS VEGAS.

INSTEAD OF HAVING GAY MARRIAGE IN CALIFORNIA, NO, WE'RE GONNA GET IT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Gates: WANDA STARTED TURNING PROVOCATION INTO AN ART AS THE YOUNGER OF TWO CHILDREN IN A CONSERVATIVE MILITARY FAMILY IN THE 1960s IN VIRGINIA.

Sykes: I WAS AN OUTSPOKEN KID.

YOU KNOW, I GOT IN TROUBLE A LOT JUST FOR BEING OUTSPOKEN.

IF A FRIEND WOULD VISIT MY MOTHER AND I WOULD LOOK AT HER AND I WOULD GO, "YOU KNOW, YOUR PART IS CROOKED."

LADY HAD A WIG ON CROOKED BUT I WOULD SAY SOMETHING AND BACK THEN, YOU KNOW, KIDS WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SAY THINGS LIKE THAT.

Gates: AFTER COLLEGE, WANDA FOUND THE PERFECT OUTLET FOR HER OUTSPOKENNESS -- COMEDY.

BY DAY, WANDA WORKED A DESK JOB AT THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, BUT AFTER HOURS, SHE BEGAN TO HONE A STAND-UP ROUTINE AT LOCAL TALENT SHOWS.

SUCCESS IN HER NEW FIELD, HOWEVER, DID NOT COME EASILY.

Gates: WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS SAY?

Sykes: THEY THOUGHT I WAS NUTS.

THEY, OH, MAN, AND I MESSED UP AND I INVITED THEM TO A SHOW.

WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

TOO EARLY ON IN MY CAREER -- IT WAS AWFUL.

I WAS MISERABLE.

I THINK I DIDN'T SLEEP FOR LIKE A WEEK AFTER THAT.

AND MY MOTHER JUST KEPT SAYING, "IT'S OKAY.

YOU HAVE A GOOD GOVERNMENT JOB.

YOU DON'T NEED THESE PEOPLE."

DID THE PEOPLE BOO YOU OR SOMETHING?

OH, THEY BOOED, THEY TOOK THEIR CHAIRS AND TURNED THEM ALL THE WAY AROUND.

I MEAN I THINK A CARD GAME BROKE OUT.

IT WAS JUST, IT WAS JUST AWFUL.

NO.

THAT'S TERRIBLE.

SO HOW DID YOU PICK YOUR BEHIND UP A WEEK LATER AND GO BACK ON THE STAGE?

I LOVED DOING STANDUP.

YOU GOT TO GET ON STAGE TILL YOU HAVE THAT GOOD SHOW.

Gates: WANDA TOLD ME THAT TENACITY SEEMS TO BE AN INHERITED SYKES FAMILY TRAIT, BUT SHE'S NEVER BEEN ABLE TO LEARN VERY MUCH ABOUT THE ANCESTORS WHO PASSED IT ON TO HER.

Sykes: I DO HAVE A STRENGTH AND SOME MECHANISM THAT ALLOWS ME TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THINGS ARE BAD, THAT I, I CAN SEE SOME GOOD AND, AND FIND A PURPOSE FOR IT.

AND THAT HAS TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE.

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THESE GENES.

THESE ARE DUNGAREE GENES I GOT, THEY'RE TOUGH.

[ PLAYING "HOW I GOT OVER" ] ♪ AS SOON AS I SEE JESUS ♪ ♪ THE MAN WHO MADE ME FREE ♪ ♪ ONE MAN BLED AND SUFFERED ♪ ♪ HE DIED FOR YOU AND ME ♪ Gates: LIKE WANDA, SINGER/SONGWRITER JOHN LEGEND HAS BEEN CUT OFF FROM ANY MEANINGFUL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HIS FAMILY'S PAST.

Legend: I HAVEN'T DONE ANY RESEARCH INTO MY ROOTS.

I HEAR LITTLE BITS AND PIECES FROM YOUR FAMILY FOLKLORE, BUT YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS AND UNDERSTAND.

Gates: TODAY, JOHN IS A PLATINUM-SELLING MUSICIAN WHO'S WON NINE GRAMMY AWARDS AND COLLABORATED WITH ARTISTS LIKE JAY Z, KANYE WEST, AND ALICIA KEYS.

BUT JOHN'S BEGINNINGS WERE QUITE MODEST.

HE WAS BORN IN 1978 IN SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

HIS FATHER WORKED IN A FACTORY, AND HIS MOTHER WAS A SEAMSTRESS.

JOHN'S EARLIEST EXPOSURE TO MUSIC CAME WHEN HE SANG TRADITIONAL BLACK GOSPEL IN HIS CHURCH CHOIR.

HE SAT FOR HIS FIRST PIANO LESSON WHEN HE WAS JUST FIVE YEARS OLD.

Legend: THIS OLDER LADY AND SHE TAUGHT CLASSICAL MUSIC AND HYMNS.

I GREW UP IN THE CHURCH AND PLAYED GOSPEL MUSIC, WHICH WAS MORE KIND OF RAMBUNCTIOUS AND EXCITING AND ENERGETIC.

SHE SAID, "WE GONNA REIN THAT BLACK STUFF IN."

WELL, IT WAS JUST MORE LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS MORE STAID AND MORE TRADITIONAL.

THEN MY GRANDMOTHER PROVIDED THE OTHER SIDE, WHICH WAS MORE KIND OF BLUESY, GOSPEL, MORE SOULFUL.

HOLY GHOST.

YES.

EXACTLY.

WE WENT TO A PENTECOSTAL CHURCH.

♪ YOU OUGHTA PRAISE THE LORD ♪ ♪ YOU OUGHTA PRAISE THE LORD ♪ ♪ COME ON AND PRAISE HIM ♪ ♪ PRAISE ♪ ♪ PRAISE HIS NAME ♪ THERE HE IS SINGING.

SINGING AND PLAYING.

I THINK HE THOUGHT HE WAS STEVIE WONDER OR RAY CHARLES OR SOMEBODY.

Gates: LEGEND'S DAD, RON STEVENS, SHOWED US AN OLD FAMILY VIDEO, RARE FOOTAGE OF JOHN LEADING THE CHURCH CHOIR, SINGING ONE OF HIS EARLIEST COMPOSITIONS.

♪ NO MORE PAIN ♪ ♪ NO MORE SIGHING AND NO MORE RAIN ♪ Legend: WHEN I GOT UP AND SANG AT CHURCH AND SAW PEOPLE GET UP AND CLAP AND GET EXCITED, I WAS LIKE, THIS IS THE LIFE, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO.

Gates: TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, JOHN'S FAMILY SEEMED TO HAVE IT ALL -- THEY WERE PILLARS OF THE CHURCH, AND THEY EVEN HOMESCHOOLED THEIR FOUR CHILDREN.

BUT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, JOHN'S PARENTS' MARRIAGE BEGAN INEXPLICABLY TO FALL APART.

IN 1987, THEY FINALLY DIVORCED.

Ron: I NEVER THOUGHT, BASED UPON THE HISTORY THAT WE HAD AS A COUPLE AND AS PARENTS, THAT ANYTHING LIKE THAT WOULD EVER HAPPEN.

Gates: JOHN'S FATHER WON CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN, AND HIS MOTHER MOVED OUT OF THE HOUSE.

Legend: AND SO, HE WAS KIND OF THE RARE INSTANCE OF A SINGLE, BLACK FATHER RAISING FOUR KIDS.

AND MY MOTHER WAS OUT ON THE STREETS, BASICALLY.

SHE GOT INVOLVED IN DRUGS AND REALLY A VERY TOUGH LIFE AND, UH, GOT IN TROUBLE.

SHE GOT ARRESTED A FEW TIMES, YOU KNOW.

THINGS JUST WENT VERY, VERY BADLY FOR QUITE A WHILE.

Gates: JOHN, ONLY NINE, ATTEMPTED TO COPE WITH THIS LOSS BY THROWING HIMSELF INTO HIS MUSIC.

AND OVER TIME, HIS TREMENDOUS SUCCESS HAS GIVEN HIM AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP HIS MOTHER GET BACK ON HER FEET.

SHE'S IN A BETTER PLACE THAN SHE WAS BACK THEN.

THANK GOD.

THANK GOD, AND, I THINK I'M IN A GOOD POSITION NOW, OBVIOUSLY, TO HELP HER AND MAKE SURE SHE'S IN A BETTER PLACE.

♪ HOW I GOT OVER ♪ ♪ OVER ♪ ♪ MY SOUL LOOKS BACK AND WONDERS ♪ ♪ HOW I GOT OVER ♪ Gates: JOHN AND WANDA HAVE RISEN TO THE PINNACLES OF THEIR PROFESSIONS USING PRODIGIOUS TALENT AND LOTS OF HARD WORK, BUT THEY ALSO STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GENERATIONS OF FAMILY MEMBERS ABOUT WHOM THEY KNOW ALMOST NOTHING.

WHAT COULD WE LEARN ABOUT THESE ANCESTORS?

WHAT WERE THEIR NAMES?

WHAT WERE THEIR LIVES LIKE?

WE STARTED OUR SEARCH WITH WANDA.

WE TRACED HER FATHER'S SIDE TO SURRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA, WHERE HER ANCESTORS WERE LIVING IN THE 1870s.

BUT WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD TRACE THEM BACK BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

OF THE ROUGHLY HALF A MILLION AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN VIRGINIA IN 1860, THE VAST MAJORITY WERE SLAVES, AND THEY WERE RARELY LISTED IN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS BY NAME.

WE SEARCHED THE PROPERTY RECORDS OF LOCAL SLAVE OWNERS FOR ANY CLUES ABOUT WANDA'S ANCESTORS.

THEN OUR GENEALOGIST, JOHNI CERNY, DISCOVERED SOMETHING QUITE SURPRISING -- A MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE DATED 1853, BEARING THE NAMES OF JOHN FRANCIS AND ELIZABETH BANKS.

THEY ARE WANDA'S GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

JOHNI EXPLAINED THAT THE FACT THAT WANDA'S ANCESTORS COULD LEGALLY MARRY REVEALED AN IRREFUTABLE DETAIL ABOUT THEIR LIVES.

Cerny: SLAVES DID NOT HAVE MARRIAGES.

THEY WERE THE PROPERTY OF SOMEONE ELSE.

THEY HAD NO RIGHTS.

MARRIAGE WAS A RIGHT.

IT WAS A CONDITION OF LIFE THAT WAS ONLY ENTERED INTO BY FREE PEOPLE.

Gates: SO THIS MARRIAGE RECORD PROVES THAT JOHN AND ELIZABETH MUST HAVE BEEN FREE, A FACT THAT TOOK US, AND WANDA, COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE.

WANDA, THIS IS EIGHT YEARS BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR BEGAN.

YOUR ANCESTORS WERE FREE, BEFORE EMANCIPATION IN VIRGINIA.

I HAD NO IDEA THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, I CAME FROM FREE PEOPLE.

I MEAN SLAVES COULDN'T EVEN LEGALLY GET MARRIED, NOTHING THAT THE LAW WOULD RECOGNIZE.

THIS WAS A LEGAL WEDDING BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHO WERE FREE.

WOW.

Gates: BUT IN THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH, FREE NEGROES WERE ALWAYS IN PERIL.

DURING THE 1850s, LAWS IN VARIOUS STATES PROHIBITED THEM FROM VOTING, TESTIFYING AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE IN COURT, AND MARRYING ACROSS THE COLOR LINE.

IN VIRGINIA, FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR HAD TO CARRY PAPERS TO PROVE THEIR FREE STATUS.

OTHERWISE THEY COULD BE THROWN IN JAIL OR WORSE, SOLD BACK INTO SLAVERY.

SO ELIZABETH'S FREEDOM WAS ALWAYS AT RISK, AND SHE ALWAYS HAD TO HAVE PAPERS WITH HER TO PROVE THAT SHE WAS FREE.

I MEAN SOME FREE NEGROES WERE SNATCHED.

SNATCHED UP AND RIPPED THE LITTLE PAPERS UP.

LIKE A BAD CREDIT CARD.

ABSOLUTELY.

I MEAN, THEY MUST HAVE BEEN SOME INCREDIBLY STRONG AND INCREDIBLY, UM, PROUD PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, AND DID THEY SOCIALIZE?

COULD THEY SOCIALIZE WITH OTHER BLACKS WHO WEREN'T FREE?

I MEAN, WHAT IS THAT LIFE?

LET'S GO DOWN TO THE PLANTATION AND HANG OUT WITH THE SLAVES.

YEAH.

I THINK LEROY'S FINISHED WITH THE CROPS.

HE'S USUALLY OFF ABOUT THIS TIME.

NO.

AND FEEL MY SHIRT.

THAT'S COTTON.

THAT'S COTTON.

THAT'S NICE, HUH?

MAN, I'M TELLING YA, Y'ALL DO A GOOD JOB.

WHAT?

Gates: 50 YEARS BEFORE WANDA'S ANCESTORS GOT MARRIED, JOHN LEGEND'S PATERNAL FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS LIVING IN THE HILLS OF PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY.

HE WAS A SLAVE, WORKING THE FARM OF HIS MASTER.

WE WANTED TO SEE WHAT ELSE WE COULD LEARN ABOUT HIS LIFE.

AT THE PIKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, OUR RESEARCHER DAVID DESKINS SEARCHED FOR ANY CLUES ABOUT JOHN'S ANCESTOR, WHOSE NAME WAS PEYTON POLLY.

Deskins: THESE ARE THE LAST WILLS AND TESTAMENTS.

ANYTHING THAT WAS DONE WITH PROPERTY AT THAT TIME WHEN SLAVES WERE PROPERTY WILL BE FOUND HERE.

HERE'S DAVID POLLY AND HERE'S HIS WILL AND TESTAMENT.

THIS IS, I THINK, WHERE WE NEED TO START.

Gates: EMBEDDED IN THE WILL OF HIS MASTER -- DAVID POLLY -- WE MADE A MARVELOUS DISCOVERY.

Legend: "AFTER MY DEATH, I WILL AND DIRECT THAT MY SLAVES -- TO WIT: DUG, PEYTON, JOHN AND SPENCER -- BE FREE AND LIBERATED FROM ALL SERVITUDE."

THAT'S AMAZING.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.

THIS IS THE DOCUMENT THAT FREED YOUR ANCESTORS.

WOW.

Gates: ACCORDING TO THIS WILL, JOHN'S ANCESTOR, PEYTON POLLY, WOULD BECOME FREE UPON THE DEATH OF HIS MASTER.

PEYTON REMAINED ENSLAVED FOR EIGHT MORE YEARS, UNTIL 1847, WHEN HIS OWNER DIED.

AND THEN PEYTON -- ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER AND SON -- WAS FREED.

LOOKING CLOSER AT THE WILL, WE LEARNED THAT DAVID POLLY, HIS MASTER, HAD ACTUALLY LEFT PEYTON LAND AND MONEY TO START HIS LIFE AS A FREE MAN.

Gates: SO NOT ONLY DOES THIS DAVID POLLY PROMISE TO FREE HIS SLAVES, INCLUDING JOHN AND PEYTON...

HE BASICALLY TREATS THEM LIKE HIS KIDS.

WHY DO YOU THINK HE WOULD TREAT YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS THAT WAY?

WELL, YOU KNOW, EVEN, EVEN IN THE, UH, DEPTHS OF THIS AWFUL INSTITUTION, THESE ARE STILL HUMAN BEINGS, YOU KNOW?

AND THE OWNERS ARE STILL HUMAN BEINGS AND I THINK SPENDING ENOUGH TIME AROUND SLAVES, YOU REALIZE THAT THEY'RE HUMAN BEINGS, TOO, EVEN THOUGH LEGALLY THEY'RE NOT TREATED AS SUCH.

SO, I THINK HE GREW TO LOVE THEM, PROBABLY.

SO, HE LOOKED AT THEM AS HIS FAMILY.

Gates: UNBEKNOWNST TO PEYTON, HOWEVER, HIS ODYSSEY WAS ONLY JUST BEGINNING.

PEYTON HAD SEVEN OTHER SONS AND DAUGHTERS STILL BEING HELD IN SLAVERY ELSEWHERE IN KENTUCKY.

WE FOUND NO TRACE OF THEIR MOTHER.

PEYTON REFUSED TO LEAVE THE STATE WITHOUT THEM.

AND THEN WE CAME UPON SOMETHING QUITE SURPRISING.

A BILL OF SALE DATED 1849 -- SELLING THE SEVEN POLLY CHILDREN TO PEYTON'S BROTHER, DOUGLAS.

TO UNDERSTAND WHY A FORMER SLAVE WOULD BUY HIS OWN RELATIVES, WE HEADED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS, WHERE HISTORIAN SUSAN O'DONOVAN STUDIES ANTEBELLUM AMERICAN HISTORY.

O'Donovan: FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR WOULD SOMETIMES FIND IT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST TO OWN THEIR FAMILIES.

I MEAN FOR STARTERS, THEY'RE LIVING IN A SYSTEM THAT'S STRUCTURED AROUND THE PROTECTION OF SLAVE PROPERTY.

SO, YOU KIND OF HAVE THE LAW ON YOUR SIDE.

IN BUYING ONE'S FAMILY, YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT FAMILY.

THEN YOU CAN FREE THEM.

Gates: BECAUSE FREED SLAVES WERE ALWAYS VULNERABLE TO KIDNAPPING IN THE SOUTH, THE MOST SENSIBLE WAY FOR PEYTON TO PROTECT HIS CHILDREN WAS TO MOVE TO A STATE WHERE SLAVERY WAS PROHIBITED.

SO, THE POLLY FAMILY EMBARKED ON A DANGEROUS JOURNEY -- TRAVELING A HUNDRED MILES NORTH THROUGH SLAVE-HOLDING KENTUCKY, ACROSS THE RIVER -- TO THE FREE STATE OF OHIO.

THERE PEYTON'S CHILDREN WERE LIBERATED, THEIR RIGHTS RECOGNIZED AND PROTECTED BY THE LAW.

Legend: IT MUST HAVE BEEN AMAZING.

Gates: I MEAN WHAT A RUSH.

ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER.

YES.

FREE AT LAST.

Gates: PEYTON AND HIS CHILDREN SETTLED IN IRONTON, ONE OF THE SOUTHERNMOST TOWNS IN OHIO.

WE TRACKED DOWN A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF THE POLLYS WHO STILL LIVES IN THE AREA.

HIS NAME IS JAMES HALE.

PEYTON POLLY WAS JAMES' GREAT- GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER -- WHICH MAKES HIM JOHN LEGEND'S FOURTH COUSIN, ALTHOUGH THE TWO HAVE NEVER MET.

I CAN REMEMBER WHEN THESE WERE ALL DIRT ROADS OUT HERE.

THIS WAS REALLY OUT IN THE COUNTRY.

THIS IS THE BACKBONE OF THE COMMUNITY THAT CAME HERE IN THE 1800s.

[ RINGING BELLS ] THEY WOULD RING THE BELL, NOT JUST FOR RELIGION, BUT FOR SOCIAL GATHERINGS.

EVERYTHING WAS DONE RIGHT HERE.

Gates: JAMES IS A MEMBER OF THE SAME CHURCH IN IRONTON THAT PEYTON POLLY ATTENDED 160 YEARS AGO.

Hale: THEY HAD HIT THE LOTTO.

THEY WERE FREE.

THEY WERE FARMERS.

THEY WERE WORKING THEIR LAND, THEY WERE EARNING A LIVING, THEY WERE KEEPING THEIR FAMILY, AND WOW, WHAT HAPPENS?

Gates: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS HARD TO BELIEVE.

ONE NIGHT, IN JUNE OF 1850, A BAND OF ARMED WHITE MEN FROM KENTUCKY CROSSED THE OHIO RIVER, MADE THEIR WAY TO PEYTON POLLY'S HOME, AND BROKE IN THE DOOR WITH AN AXE.

ONE OF THE INTRUDERS FIRED A SHOT AT PEYTON'S HEAD, GRAZING HIM AND KNOCKING HIM TO THE GROUND.

THE OTHER WHITE MEN KIDNAPPED ALL 8 CHILDREN, DRAGGING THEM ACROSS THE OHIO RIVER, BACK INTO THE DEPTHS OF SLAVERY.

Legend: SOME KIDNAPPER CAME, SHOT THE DAD, AND TOOK THE KIDS.

WOW!

IMAGINE.

YOU GET TO OHIO AND YOU'RE FREE.

YOU THINK YOU'RE SAFE FOREVER, YOU GO TO BED ONE NIGHT, ALL OF A SUDDEN THESE PEOPLE SHOW UP.

JESUS.

THEY SHOOT YOUR ANCESTOR AND THEY STEAL THE KIDS.

WOW.

THE PLOT THICKENS.

Gates: ALTHOUGH JOHN HAD NEVER HEARD OF HIS FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, PAUL FINKELMAN, A LEADING EXPERT ON SLAVE ERA LAW, HAD BEEN OBSESSED WITH PEYTON POLLY'S CASE FOR YEARS.

OVER THE LAST QUARTER CENTURY, PAUL HAS COLLECTED A VERITABLE LIBRARY OF DOCUMENTATION ABOUT THE POLLY CASE, RECORDING THE UNBELIEVABLE CHAPTERS OF THIS FAMILY'S PAINFUL SAGA.

Finkelman: THERE'S TONS OF THIS STUFF.

AND THERE'S PAGE AFTER PAGE, LETTER AFTER LETTER, DEPOSITION, ALL ABOUT THIS CASE.

Gates: PAUL HAD BEEN RESEARCHING THE LEGAL FATE OF RUNAWAY -- OR FUGITIVE -- SLAVES, WHEN HE STUMBLED UPON THESE RECORDS DETAILING THE POLLY STORY.

Finkelman: THEY WEREN'T FUGITIVE SLAVES.

THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF FUGITIVE SLAVES.

THIS IS THE KIDNAPPING OF FREE PEOPLE AND DRAGGING THEM BACK TO SLAVERY.

Gates: PAUL HAD NEVER SEEN A CASE LIKE THIS, WHERE KIDNAPPERS HAD CROSSED STATE LINES TO ABDUCT A WHOLE FAMILY IN A FREE STATE.

Finkelman: I THINK THE KIDNAPPERS HAVE NO LEGAL CLAIMS, OR EVEN PRETEND TO HAVE ANY LEGAL CLAIMS.

THE REALITY IS THEY SEE THESE FREE BLACK PEOPLE, THEY THINK, "WE CAN KIDNAP THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE CHILDREN," AND IT IS A MATTER OF FORCE AND GREED.

Gates: BY FEBRUARY OF 1851, EIGHT MONTHS AFTER THE KIDNAPPING, THE POLLY CHILDREN UNFORTUNATELY REMAINED IN SLAVERY.

JESUS.

NOT ONLY THAT, JOHN, THEY HAD BEEN SEPARATED.

WOW.

Gates: THE KIDNAPPERS SOLD THE POLLY CHILDREN -- AGES 4 TO 17 -- TO VARIOUS MASTERS THROUGHOUT KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA.

RECENTLY FREED HIMSELF, WHAT POSSIBLE OPTIONS DID PEYTON POLLY HAVE TO GET HIS FAMILY BACK?

Finkelman: PEYTON POLLY, OF COURSE, IS BESIDE HIMSELF.

HE CERTAINLY CAN'T GO AFTER THE KIDNAPPERS ALONE.

THEY OUTGUN HIM, OUTNUMBER HIM.

THEY'RE STRONGER THAN HE IS.

THE ONLY THING HE CAN DO IS GO TO THE AUTHORITIES.

Gates: JUST A DECADE BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR, IT MAY HAVE SEEMED FOOLHARDY FOR A FORMER SLAVE TO PUT HIS FAITH IN THE RULE OF LAW, YET THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT PEYTON DID.

Finkelman: HE GOES TO THE LOCAL PROSECUTOR.

THE LOCAL PROSECUTOR WRITES THE GOVERNOR, REUBEN WOOD.

OF COURSE, BLACKS CAN'T VOTE IN OHIO, SO HE'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE BLACK VOTE.

BUT THE GOVERNOR IS WORRIED ABOUT WHAT OHIO WOULD CLAIM TO BE ITS STATE'S RIGHTS.

OHIO DOES NOT WANT RUFFIANS FROM KENTUCKY COMING INTO OHIO AND KIDNAPPING PEOPLE AND TAKING THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE.

AND SO, THE GOVERNOR INTERVENES AND IMMEDIATELY SENDS SOMEBODY TO KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA TO INVESTIGATE THIS.

AND THIS BEGINS A LONG SAGA OF HOW DO YOU GET THE POLLYS BACK?

Gates: THE PROBLEM WAS, EVEN THOUGH THE OHIO GOVERNOR BELIEVED THAT THE POLLY CHILDREN DESERVED TO BE FREE, THEIR STATUS HAD TO BE PROVEN IN THE STATES WHERE THEY WERE NOW LIVING -- SLAVE-HOLDING KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA.

Gates: SO, JOHN, THE HOUSE, THE SENATE, AND GOVERNOR OF OHIO TOOK ON YOUR ANCESTOR'S CASE.

MY, MY.

AND THEY TOOK IT ON WITH A VENGEANCE.

THIS IS CRAZY.

SENDING INVESTIGATORS INTO THE HILLS TO TRACK DOWN THE KIDNAPPERS.

THEY SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON LAWYERS.

THIS IS INSANE.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED.

THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO TRY TO RESCUE THOSE CHILDREN, YOUR ANCESTORS.

WOW, IT'S AMAZING THAT SO MANY GOVERNORS AND ALL THESE IMPORTANT PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN TRYING TO RESCUE MY FAMILY.

IT'S INCREDIBLE.

I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE, EVEN KNOWING IT'S TRUE.

I'M VERY SURPRISED.

IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS WOULD LIKE HELP IGNITE THE CIVIL WAR.

LIKE, "HOW DARE YOU!"

Gates: PEYTON FOUND HIMSELF CAUGHT BETWEEN THE PRO- AND ANTI-SLAVERY FORCES THAT WERE BEGINNING TO PULL THE NATION APART.

O'Donovan: OH, I MEAN CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY TENSIONS BETWEEN FREE STATES AND SLAVEHOLDING STATES ARE ON THE RISE IN THE 1850s.

AND PART OF THAT IS A RESULT OF PEOPLE LIKE THE POLLYS, BECAUSE THEY'RE PUTTING THESE PROBLEMS ON THE FRONT BURNER.

WHO PROTECTS THEM?

ARE THEY REALLY FREE?

AND THE OHIO GOVERNOR STEPS IN AND HE SAYS, "YES, THEY ARE REALLY FREE."

WELL, IN SAYING THEY'RE REALLY FREE, HE'S ANNOYING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN KENTUCKY.

THE SECTIONAL CRISIS IS DEEPENING.

Gates: IN KENTUCKY, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MADE AN UNEXPECTED DECISION -- HE ORDERED THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF THE FOUR POLLY CHILDREN ILLEGALLY ENSLAVED THERE.

PEYTON WAS REUNITED WITH HALF OF HIS FAMILY.

BUT VIRGINIA, THE LARGEST SLAVE STATE IN THE UNION, DUG IN ITS HEELS.

Finkelman: THE VIRGINIA COURTS STONEWALL.

THEY DO NOT WANT THESE FREE PEOPLE TO BE RETURNED TO FREEDOM, AND VIRGINIA IS SAYING, "WE DON'T CARE IF THEY ARE FREE.

WE SEE THEM AS BLACK PEOPLE.

WE THINK BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD BE SLAVES.

WE WILL TREAT THEM ACCORDINGLY."

Gates: WHILE THE GOVERNMENTS OF OHIO AND VIRGINIA DEBATED THE CASE, FOUR OF THE POLLY CHILDREN -- ANNA; NELSON; LUISA; AND HARRISON, JAMES HALE'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER -- REMAINED ENSLAVED FOR OVER A DECADE, UNTIL NATIONAL EVENTS WOULD FINALLY SET THEM FREE.

Hale: THESE FOUR PEOPLE WERE HELD IN BONDAGE UNTIL THE CIVIL WAR AND THEN THEY WERE RELEASED.

EVIDENTLY, HARRISON MADE IT BACK TO OHIO, BECAUSE I'M HERE.

[ CHUCKLES ] Gates: THAT MEANS THAT, DESPITE ALL THE LEGAL BATTLES, IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 13th AMENDMENT OFFICIALLY ENDED SLAVERY IN 1865 THAT ALL THE POLLYS WERE FINALLY FREED, FOR GOOD THIS TIME.

IT HAD BEEN A DECADE SINCE THE KIDNAPPING.

THE CHILDREN WERE NOW GROWN.

BUT FINALLY, THE WHOLE FAMILY WAS REUNITED AGAIN.

Hale: AND WHEN THE CIVIL WAR CAME, THEY GOT RELEASED.

AND ONE OF THOSE THAT GOT RELEASED IN THE CIVIL WAR WAS OUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER HARRISON POLLY.

IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE BEING A VERY FORTUNATE PERSON THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO LIVE IN THAT TIME, THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO LIVE THROUGH ALL OF THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH JUST TO ACHIEVE THEIR FREEDOM.

IN JESUS' NAME WE PRAY, AMEN.

DIG IN!

[Chuckles] ISN'T IT ASTONISHING THAT, THIS IS A HISTORY-MAKING COURT CASE, AND THAT KNOWLEDGE OF THIS COULD BE LOST TO THE POLLYS, TO THEIR DESCENDANTS, TO YOU.

YEAH.

THE FACT THAT MY GRANDPARENTS DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS OR MY DAD AND MOM DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT, IT'S PRETTY AMAZING.

BUT NOW THE STORY'S BACK.

YEAH.

IT'S BACK.

IT'S BACK.

Gates: THE POLLYS' LEGAL BATTLE WAS EXCEPTIONAL, BUT FREE BLACK PEOPLE LIVED AND BUILT COMMUNITIES IN EVERY STATE IN THE REPUBLIC.

AND THEY HAD TO NAVIGATE THE CONTRADICTIONS OF LIVING IN A COUNTRY FOUNDED UPON THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY FOR ALL, BUT BUILT UPON AN ECONOMIC FOUNDATION OF RACE-BASED SLAVERY.

FOR WANDA SYKES, ON HER FATHER'S LINE, THIS APPARENT PARADOX -- BEING BLACK AND FREE IN AMERICA -- DEFINED ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF HER ANCESTORS' LIVES.

WE TRACED WANDA'S FREE ANCESTORS BACK TO HER GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GRANDMOTHER ELIZABETH BANKS WHO WAS MARRIED IN THE 1850s, BUT WE WONDERED IF ELIZABETH'S PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS COULD HAVE BEEN FREE AS WELL?

WE SEARCHED "THE REGISTERS OF FREE NEGROES" WHICH FREE BLACK PEOPLE WERE REQUIRED TO FILE IN VIRGINIA.

THESE RECORDS LED US BACK TO ELIZABETH'S GRANDFATHER, BENJAMIN BANKS, WHO LIVED IN THE LATE 1700s, AND, MIRACULOUSLY, HE, TOO, WAS FREE.

SO, NOT JUST HER PARENTS, HER PARENTS' PARENTS?

YOUR FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, HIS NAME WAS BENJAMIN BANKS.

"BENJAMIN BANKS, OF A PRETTY BRIGHT COMPLEXION, AGED ABOUT 30 YEARS, A PLANTER, AND IS REGISTERED UNDER THE FOREGOING DESCRIPTION ON THIS 5th DAY OF SEPTEMBER 1798."

AND BENJAMIN BANKS WAS BORN AROUND THE YEAR 1765, ALMOST A DECADE BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

WE HAVE NEVER FOUND A BLACK FAMILY TREE OF FREE NEGROES AS LONG AS YOURS.

WOW.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE WERE FREE COLORED PEOPLE IN VIRGINIA THAT FAR BACK IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY?

NO.

AND THAT YOU COULD BE DESCENDED FROM THEM?

THIS IS CRAZY.

YOU COME FROM A LONG LINE OF FREE NEGROES.

Gates: THE NATION'S FIRST FEDERAL CENSUS, TAKEN IN 1790, LISTED ALMOST 60,000 FREE NEGROES LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES.

ALTHOUGH SLAVERY HAD BEEN WELL ESTABLISHED IN THE COLONIES, THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA WAS FULL OF PROMISE FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

OUR FLEDGLING NATION WAS FORCED TO GRAPPLE WITH THE QUESTION WHETHER ITS OWN FIGHT FOR FREEDOM COULD IGNORE THE RIGHTS OF AN ENTIRE GROUP OF PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN.

AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS WERE BY NO MEANS MERE BYSTANDERS IN THIS BATTLE FOR LIBERTY.

[ PLAYING "YANKEE DOODLE" ] Gates: I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I WAS FIRST SHOWN PENSION RECORDS THAT PROVED ONE OF MY OWN ANCESTORS, JOHN REDMAN, ENLISTED IN THE VIRGINIA LIGHT DRAGOONS IN 1778.

THAT OFTEN OVERLOOKED CHAPTER OF THE BIRTH OF OUR NATION BROUGHT ME HERE... [ RECITING "PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE" ] THE 2006 NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

AND I COULD THINK OF ONLY ONE WAY TO PAY MY RESPECTS.

Man: COMPATRIOT DR. GATES, DO YOU, AS A DESCENDANT OF ONE OF THE PATRIOTS AND HEROES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, REAFFIRM YOUR ANCESTOR'S FAITH IN THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY AND CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC?

I DO.

Gates: ABOVE ALL ELSE, JOHN WAS A PATRIOT, A BLACK PATRIOT, AN AMERICAN PATRIOT.

AND THAT IS WHY MY FAMILY AND I ARE HERE TODAY, TO COMMEMORATE HIS LIFE AND SACRIFICE BY JOINING THE SAR.

ALL I CAN SAY IS, "GOD BLESS AMERICA."

THANK YOU.

Gates: THE EXPERIENCE MADE ME CURIOUS -- WHY WERE BLACK MEN, LIKE JOHN REDMAN, WILLING TO FIGHT FOR A NEW NATION THAT SEEMED TO CARE SO VERY LITTLE ABOUT THEIR RIGHT TO BE FREE?

I WENT TO MEET ONE OF THE LEADING HISTORIANS OF FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR, EVA SHEPPARD WOLF.

WERE THERE MANY FREE BLACK MEN WHO SERVED IN THE CONTINENTAL ARMY OR IN THE STATE MILITIAS?

TOTAL THROUGHOUT THE WAR, THERE WERE ABOUT 5,000 IN THE WHOLE UNITED STATES, BLACK PEOPLE WHO WERE SOLDIERS WHO HELPED FIGHT FOR THE FREEDOM OF THIS COUNTRY.

COULD SLAVES SERVE IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR?

IN SOME PLACES, YOU COULD WITH YOUR MASTER'S PERMISSION.

IN SOME OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES.

AND THEN YOU WOULD GET FREEDOM AS A RESULT.

OH, YOU WOULD?

YES.

IN VIRGINIA YOU COULD NOT, LEGALLY.

BUT A NUMBER OF OWNERS SAID, "OH, I DON'T WANT TO SERVE.

HERE'S THIS FREE NEGRO WHO'S GOING IN MY PLACE."

AND THEN AT THE END OF THE WAR THEY WOULD TRY TO RE-ENSLAVE THESE PEOPLE WHOM THEY'D SAID WERE FREE.

AND THE LEGISLATURE SAID, "NO.

YOU CAN'T DO THAT."

THEY PASSED A LAW IN 1783 SAYING PEOPLE WHO SERVED AS SOLDIERS IN THIS STATE AND FOUGHT FOR LIBERTY DESERVE FREEDOM.

AND THE MASTERS WHO WENT BACK ON THEIR OWN SOLEMN PROMISE DON'T GET ANYTHING AND THEY GET NO COMPENSATION.

SO THE CAUSE OF PATRIOTISM...

THE CAUSE OF PATRIOTISM... TRUMPED THE ECONOMIC INTERESTS OF SLAVERY.

IT DID.

Gates: THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR OFFERED A PATH TO FREEDOM FOR SOME FORMER SLAVES, BUT FROM THE BEGINNING, AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE WAGED SMALLER, QUIETER BATTLES FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY.

HELLO, HELLO, HELLO!

Gates: MY FRIEND MARGARETT COOPER HAS SPENT MANY OF HER 98 YEARS ATTEMPTING TO UNRAVEL HER ANCESTORS' BOLD AND INGENIOUS PLAN FOR HER OWN EMANCIPATION IN THE WANING YEARS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

MARGARETT'S GREAT-GREAT-GREAT- GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED SUSANNAH SPEED, WAS A SLAVE IN VIRGINIA.

IN 1782, SHE SUED HER MASTER FOR HER OWN FREEDOM.

Gates: NOW, MARGARET, THESE ARE THE CRUCIAL DOCUMENTS THAT GAVE US THE MOST VALUABLE REVELATIONS ABOUT SUSANNAH'S STORY.

WOULD YOU PLEASE WALK US THROUGH THEM?

CAN YOU READ THAT?

"ON THE COMPLAINT OF SUSANNAH SPEED, SETTING FORTH THAT THE SAID WILLIAM DOTH DETAIN AND HOLD HER AND DEPRIVETH HER OF HER FREEDOM, WHICH SHE HATH THE RIGHT TO.

THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED THAT THE SHERIFF DO SUMMON THE SAID WILLIAM ROULETT TO APPEAR AT THE NEXT COURT TO ANSWER THE SAID COMPLAINT."

Gates: A MONTH LATER, FOR REASONS NOT SPECIFIED IN THESE DOCUMENTS, THE COURT GRANTED SUSANNAH HER FREEDOM.

Cooper: "IT IS ORDERED THAT THE SAID SUSANNAH BE HENCEFORTH RELEASED FROM ALL BONDAGE AND SERVITUDE TO THE SAID WILLIAM, AND THAT SHE, TOGETHER WITH HER SAID CHILDREN, BE FOREVER HENCEFORTH FREE."

SHE WON.

ONE MONTH.

NOW, MARGARETT, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU DISCOVERED THESE DOCUMENTS?

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

I FLIPPED.

[ LAUGHTER ] I FLIPPED.

I'VE THOUGHT FIRST SHE WAS THE BRAVEST WOMAN I KNOW, TO GO TO HALIFAX COUNTY, IN THE COURTHOUSE.

I CAN JUST SEE ALL THOSE TOBACCO-HUGGIN' KIDS SITTING AROUND THE COURTHOUSE.

TO HAVE THE NERVE TO GO IN AND PROTEST AND THEN TO WIN.

BUT IT WAS ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDING.

Gates: HOW IN THE WORLD COULD A FEMALE SLAVE BRING SUCH A CASE AGAINST HER MASTER TO COURT?

Wolf: IT WAS ALWAYS LEGAL FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE HELD IN BONDAGE TO SUE FOR FREEDOM.

REALLY?

YES.

BECAUSE YOU CAN'T THINK YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF DECENT LEGAL SYSTEM IF YOU DON'T GIVE PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO PROVE THAT THEY'RE FREE.

Gates: SUSANNAH HAD WON A REMARKABLE LEGAL BATTLE, BUT AS WE DUG DEEPER, WE FOUND THAT HER VICTORY PRESENTED HER WITH DIFFICULT NEW CHOICES.

COURT RECORDS FROM 1782 TELL US THAT SUSANNAH, UPON GAINING HER FREEDOM, MADE A SURPRISING DECISION -- TO CONSIGN HER CHILDREN INTO INDENTURED SERVITUDE.

"THE SAID SUSANNAH SPEED HAS PUT OUT AND BOUND TO THE SAID WILLIAM SCOTT HER SON, SAMUEL SPEED, UNTIL HE SHALL ATTAIN THE AGE OF 21 YEARS."

Gates: INDENTURED SERVITUDE WAS ANOTHER TYPE OF BOUND LABOR.

IT ONLY LASTED FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME, BUT IT WAS JUST A STEP REMOVED FROM SLAVERY.

GIVEN THE EVER-PRESENT DANGER OF RE-ENSLAVEMENT, HOWEVER, IT MADE SENSE THAT SUSANNAH AND OTHER FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR WOULD WILLINGLY CURTAIL THEIR OWN CHILDREN'S FREEDOM IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEM.

IF THEY HAD GONE TO COURT, THIS DOCUMENT EXISTED, WHICH WOULD HAVE PROVED THAT THEY WERE FREE, BECAUSE ONLY FREE PEOPLE COULD BE INDENTURED.

OH, THIS WAS DONE THEN?

IT WAS COMMON.

I OFTEN WONDERED ABOUT THAT.

Gates: SOME FREE NEGROES -- LIKE JOHN LEGEND'S ANCESTORS -- WENT FURTHER AND PURCHASED THEIR RELATIVES OUTRIGHT AS SLAVES, AS PART OF A PLAN TO KEEP THEM SAFE.

EXAMINING WANDA'S FAMILY TREE, WE FOUND EVIDENCE THAT HER ANCESTORS MAY HAVE PURSUED JUST SUCH A STRATEGY.

THESE ARE THE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX LISTS FROM SURRY COUNTY IN 1788 AND 1789.

NOW, EACH ENTRY LISTS THE FULL NAME OF THE FREE WHITE OR BLACK TAXPAYER, FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST NAMES OF ANY SLAVES THEY OWNED.

WAIT A MINUTE.

HUH?

EACH ENTRY LISTS THE FULL NAME OF THE FREE WHITE OR BLACK TAXPAYER... YEAH.

FOLLOWED BY THE NAMES OF ANY SLAVES THAT THEY OWNED.

NO, NO, NO!

THIS IS WHERE IT GOES HORRIBLY WRONG.

OH, GOD.

DON'T TELL -- OH, SKIP, PLEASE.

[ SIGHS ] COULD YOU SEE WHAT'S WRITTEN UNDER HIS NAME?

JOHN BANKS -- TAB.

MM-HMM.

AND UNDER HERE.

JOHN BANKS -- FANNY.

FANNY AND TAB -- ARE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE THAT YOUR FREE BLACK ANCESTOR OWNED SLAVES?

WHAT THE HELL?

THEY WERE JUST TRYING TO FIT IN.

THAT'S ALL.

THEY WERE LIKE, "COME ON, HONEY, EVERYBODY ELSE HAS THEM, THIS IS HOW WE FIT IN."

OH, THIS IS AWFUL.

OH, POOR TAB, POOR FANNY.

OH, GOSH.

OH, I JUST HOPE, YOU KNOW, FANNY AND TAB'S FAMILY DON'T TRACE THEIR ROOTS AND COME AND WHOOP MY ASS.

REPARATIONS.

YEAH.

RIGHT.

YOU OWE US BACK WAGES, COMPOUND INTEREST.

OH, THIS IS CRAZY.

Gates: HAD WANDA'S FREE BLACK ANCESTORS BECOME SO INVESTED IN THE SLAVE SOCIETY IN WHICH THEY LIVED THAT THEY, TOO, EXPLOITED OTHER BLACK PEOPLE FOR PROFIT?

OR COULD THEY HAVE BEEN USING SLAVERY TO PROTECT THEIR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS FROM THE POSSIBLE BRUTALITY OF WHITE SLAVE OWNERS?

THE SURVIVING EVIDENCE DOESN'T TELL US FOR SURE WHY WANDA'S ANCESTORS OWNED SLAVES.

THERE WAS ANOTHER MYSTERY, HOWEVER, THAT WE NEEDED TO SOLVE.

GIVEN HOW LONG WANDA'S ANCESTORS HAD BEEN FREE, WE WONDERED HOW THEY HAD ESCAPED SLAVERY IN THE FIRST PLACE.

WE WORKED OUR WAY UP WANDA'S FAMILY TREE, STARTING WITH HER FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, BENJAMIN BANKS.

WE FOUND FREE PAPERS AND CENSUS RECORDS THAT, TO OUR ASTONISHMENT, ADDED GENERATION AFTER GENERATION OF FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR, ALL THE WAY BACK TO WANDA'S 8th GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED MARY BANKS.

MARY WAS BORN IN VIRGINIA IN 1683, A CENTURY BEFORE THE END OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

HOW DO YOU THINK THEY GOT THEIR FREEDOM IN VIRGINIA, WHICH WAS THE BIGGEST SLAVE STATE AT THAT TIME?

THEY MUST HAVE HAD SOME DIRT ON SOMEBODY.

[ CHUCKLES ] Gates: I MET UP WITH GENEALOGIST JOHNI CERNY TO SEE IF SHE COULD DISCOVER ANY CLUES THAT WOULD TELL US ABOUT THE LEGAL BASIS FOR MARY'S FREEDOM.

JOHNI, AS YOU'VE RESEARCHED FREE NEGROES, WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND ARE THE MOST COMMON WAYS FOR THEM TO GAIN THEIR FREEDOM?

FREE PERSONS OF COLOR ARE FREED MOST OFTEN BY THEIR PREVIOUS OWNERS.

PEOPLE LEAVE A WILL STATING THAT, "ON MY DEATH, I WANT THESE CERTAIN SLAVES FREED."

Gates: BUT JOHNI COULDN'T FIND ANY EVIDENCE THAT MARY HAD BEEN FREED IN AN OWNER'S WILL.

SHE EXPLAINED, HOWEVER, THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY FOR AN AFRICAN TO BECOME FREE.

Cerny: IF THE MOTHER WAS FREE, THE CHILD WAS FREE.

IF THE MOTHER WAS A SLAVE, THE CHILD WAS A SLAVE AND IT STAYED THAT WAY.

SO IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE FEW BLACK PEOPLE WHO HAD A WHITE MOTHER IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD, THEN YOU WERE AUTOMATICALLY FREE.

TRUE.

Gates: BASED ON THIS HUNCH, JOHNI WENT BACK TO THE RECORDS.

AND THEN SHE MADE A DISCOVERY THAT FINALLY CRACKED THE CASE.

SHE UNCOVERED COURT RECORDS FROM 1683 DOCUMENTING THE CONVICTION OF A WHITE INDENTURED WOMAN FOR FORTIFICATION WITH A BLACK MALE SLAVE.

AND THAT INDENTURED WOMAN'S NAME WAS ELIZABETH BANKS.

SHE IS WANDA'S NINTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

Sykes: "ELIZABETH BANKS, SERVANT TO MAJOR JAMES GOODWIN, BEING PRESENTED FOR FORNICATION AND BASTARDY -- BASTARDY -- WITH A NEGRO SLAVE.

ORDERED THAT THE SHERIFF TAKE HER INTO HIS CUSTODY AND GIVE HER 39 LASHES ON THE BARE BACK WELL LAID ON, AND THAT SHE SERVES HER SAID MASTER ACCORDING TO ACT."

ELIZABETH BANKS IS YOUR NINTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

SHE WAS A WHITE SERVANT, PROBABLY AN INDENTURED SERVANT, WHO HAD AN OUT-OF-WEDLOCK CHILD WITH A NEGRO SLAVE.

WE KNOW SHE'S WHITE AND WE KNOW HER NAME -- ELIZABETH BANKS.

OH, MY GOODNESS!

Gates: IN THE EARLY COLONIAL ERA, THE LINE BETWEEN INDENTURED WHITE SERVANTS AND BLACK SLAVES COULD BE QUITE POROUS.

AT A TIME WHEN SLAVERY WAS JUST GETTING UNDER WAY, NOT ALL SLAVES HAD YET BEEN ISOLATED ON LARGE PLANTATIONS.

THE PROXIMITY OF BLACK SLAVES AND WHITE INDENTURED SERVANTS MEANT THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR BLACK MALES AND WHITE FEMALES TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS.

Wolf: WHITE SERVANTS OUTNUMBERED BLACK SLAVES AT THIS PERIOD IN VIRGINIA -- IT WAS JUST SHIFTING IN THE 1680s -- IT WAS A PERIOD OF MORE RACIAL FLEXIBILITY.

IT WAS A PERIOD WHEN THE DIFFERENCES WERE MORE BETWEEN THE HAVES AND THE HAVE-NOTS THAN BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK.

Gates: THIS WAS THE WORLD IN WHICH WANDA'S ANONYMOUS AFRICAN ANCESTOR DEVELOPED A RELATIONSHIP WITH ELIZABETH, AN INDENTURED WHITE SERVANT.

Sykes: AND SHE HAD A BABY, SO IT WAS PROBABLY WHEN THE BABY WAS BORN, THEY WAS LIKE, "HEY, THIS IS A BLACK BABY."

AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MIXED RACE CHILD, YOUR EIGHTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, MARY BANKS, THAT ELIZABETH BORE FROM THIS NEGRO SLAVE?

THE CHILD FOLLOWS THE CONDITION OF THE MOTHER, NOT OF THE FATHER.

AND BECAUSE OF THIS QUIRK IN THE LAW, YOUR EIGHTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WAS FREE.

WOW.

AND STAYED FREE ALL THE WAY BETWEEN ELIZABETH BANKS AND WANDA SYKES, BORN IN 1964.

THANKS TO HER, LOOK AT THIS.

LOOK AT THIS LEGACY.

I'M -- I'M SPEECHLESS.

YOUR NINTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, ELIZABETH BANKS, IN EFFECT, BY HER CHOICE OF PARTNER, GUARANTEED YOUR FAMILY'S FREEDOM.

I'M NOT SURE THAT WAS ON HER MIND THE NIGHT THAT SHE SLEPT WITH THIS BROTHER.

YEAH, ELIZABETH, WHITE WOMAN, SHE'S JUST SCORNED, SHE'S JUST... TRAILER TRASH.

SHE PROBABLY WAS THE FIRST WHITE TRASH, SHE PROBABLY WAS.

AND WHAT WOULD YOU ASK ELIZABETH, YOUR WHITE NINTH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER?

IF I SAT DOWN AND TALKED TO HER AS ME, WANDA SYKES, TODAY, I WOULD ASK HER, YOU KNOW, HOW'D WE DO?

"AND I'D LIKE YOU TO MEET MY WHITE WIFE."

[ LAUGHTER ] Gates: FOR WANDA, JOHN, AND MARGARETT, THE DISCOVERY OF THESE FREE ANCESTORS WAS QUITE A REVELATION.

BUT THESE SURPRISING STORIES ONLY ACCOUNTED FOR A FRACTION OF THE BRANCHES ON THEIR FAMILY TREES.

MOST OF THEIR OTHER ANCESTRAL LINES CONSIST OF RELATIVES WHO WERE SLAVES UNTIL THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR, JUST LIKE THE OTHER 90% OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE.

NAMELESS AND PROPERTYLESS, DEFINED AS PROPERTY THEMSELVES, IT'S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO LEARN MUCH ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THESE ENSLAVED ANCESTORS.

BUT TODAY THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO BEGIN TO PIECE TOGETHER OUR ROOTS, ALL THE WAY BACK TO AFRICA, AND IT'S ENCODED IN OUR DNA.

GENETICISTS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT HUMAN BEINGS INHERIT IDENTICAL COPIES OF TWO DNA SEGMENTS -- FATHERS PASS ON EXACT COPIES OF THEIR Y-DNA TO EACH OF THEIR SONS AND MOTHERS PASS ON REPLICAS OF THEIR MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA TO ALL OF THEIR CHILDREN.

SO IF AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHARES EITHER OF THESE DNA SEGMENTS WITH A MEMBER OF A PRESENT-DAY ETHNIC GROUP IN AFRICA, THEN IT'S LIKELY THAT THEY SHARE A COMMON ANCESTOR.

THE DNA TESTING COMPANY, AFRICANANCESTRY.COM, HAS COLLECTED DNA SAMPLES FROM THE ETHNIC GROUPS THROUGHOUT WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA THAT WERE MOST HEAVILY RAIDED DURING THE SLAVE TRADE.

SO WE RAN SAMPLES FROM OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN GUESTS THROUGH THEIR DATABASE.

THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT JOHN LEGEND'S MOTHER'S LINE LEADS TO THE MENDE PEOPLE IN SIERRA LEONE, AND HIS FATHER'S LINE LEADS TO THE FULA PEOPLE IN GUINEA-BISSAU, WHILE WANDA'S MOTHER'S LINE LEADS BACK TO SEVERAL GROUPS, INCLUDING THE TIKAR AND FULANI PEOPLE OF CAMEROON.

FOR MARGARETT COOPER, WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE HER HER FIRST GLIMPSE INTO WHERE HER MATERNAL ANCESTORS ORIGINATED IN AFRICA.

Cooper: SIERRA LEONE.

I WAS LOOKING FOR MY ROOTS AND HERE I HAVE THEM.

Sykes: YOU KNOW, YOU FEEL YOUR HISTORY.

YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE FROM AND YOU CAN THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY PROBABLY WENT THROUGH.

YOU GET THE YEARS AND YOU KNOW WHERE THEY WERE AND WHAT YOUR FAMILY WAS DOING.

Gates: FOR JOHN LEGEND, THIS JOURNEY HAS HELPED HIM DISCOVER THE LONG-FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF HIS FAMILY'S COURAGEOUS FIGHT FOR FREEDOM.

Legend: IT MAKES ME PROUD THAT I HAD ANCESTORS THAT HAD A SENSE OF DIGNITY.

WHEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE FREE, THEY NOT ONLY BECAME FREE, BUT ALSO FOUGHT FOR THAT FREEDOM AND DIDN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.

IT SHOWS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF TENACITY AND A CERTAIN RESOLVE AND POWER THAT MAKES ME PROUD TO KNOW THAT I HAD ANCESTORS THAT HAD THAT.

Man: START THE SHOW, START THE SHOW.

START THE SHOW.

[ BAND PLAYS ] Gates: WE'VE COME TO THE END OF THE FAMILY SAGAS OF JOHN LEGEND AND WANDA SYKES.

JOIN ME NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER JOURNEY INTO THE LOST PAST.