Man 1: My name is Roi Maufas.

I moved to Salt Lake after surviving Hurricane Katrina.

I have an anger issue inside of me that does not serve me, does not serve my community, and it does not serve my mission.

♪♪ Most of these issues are based around experiences with racism.

It's not that I, like, hate all white people.

I guess just the ones that wear rebel flags.

I mean those who are, like, skinheads.

♪♪ I think that what will happen in my life if I don't change this is that I’m doomed and destined to pass this on to my son.

I believe that my ancestors went through much worse.

I know that they did.

I think if I get to know them, maybe I can find some answers and find some peace.

My name is Roi Maufas, and this is my Generations Project.

♪♪ ♪♪ John F. Kennedy: [recorded] Let the word go forth, from this time and place, that the torch has been passed to a new generation.

Woman 1: I really never thought that finding out about your ancestry could change you the way it's changed me.

♪♪ Roi: My name is Roi Maufas.

When I was born, my father was in Vietnam.

He came home, and he was a very, very different person.

He was really abusive, and he killed his best friend.

So my mom and grandma would be talking about him late at night.

They would talk about that Roi, that son of a Roi.

I felt like they were talking about me sometimes.

I mean, they were just-- I just felt bad that I came from him.

Been really angry about that for a long time.

I remember three white men, rebel flag, bandanas, and heavy metal music blaring out of their truck, taking turns beating me in Louisiana.

♪♪ And I remember them beating me until they were exhausted.

And they dropped me to the ground and I got up, and I came at them, and I said, “My turn.” And I feel that.

One day I was looking at the TV, and I saw-- Uh, this was right after the Joplin disaster, and there was a man, a white man, who'd lost everything.

After surviving Hurricane Katrina, I know what that's like.

But he was wearing this rebel flag.

[disbelieving laugh] On his, on his ball cap.

And I just... the back of my head, I just said, serves him right.

And I can't stand the hypocrisy of... kind of being swallowed by, um... hatred.

I believe that my ancestors went through much worse.

I know that they did.

I think maybe if I get to know them, maybe I can find some answers and find some peace.

Boy: You know, it feels really good being in this family.

Roi: [laughing] - 'Cause I like it.

Roi: [laughing] I'll see you later, Daddy-o.

What I’d like to do first, just I would really like to find somebody to talk about this with, to find a place to start.

So I’m on my way to see my mom to find out what she knows about our ancestry and whose stories I can research.

I have a lot of, uh, a lot of questions to ask her.

♪♪ How are ya?

[laughter] [inaudible] It's really good to see you, mom.

- Oh, well I was shocked when I opened the door and found you standing there.

Roi: So mom, what brings me here is I’m trying to deal with some of my anger issues.

And I’m trying to research my ancestry to find out how they dealt with racism.

And I’m wondering, where would be a good place to start?

Barbara: That-- That's kind of interesting because I know of some stories.

- I’m building this-- [paper crinkling] family tree.

Okay, hold-- Oh, I knew this was gonna happen.

- Okay so let's see, where do we put this then?

- Your father.

- Okay.

- Do, do you want to write?

- Sure.

Hayden Byrd.

- Okay.

- Hayden A. Byrd.

- Oh yeah.

And Hattie Byrd.

- Hattie Claude.

- What's Hayden's...?

- Okay, his father was Major King.

- Major King.

- Uh huh.

And his mother was Amanda Blizzard.

Roi: This is a lot.

You told me once that, uh, g-- like, grandpa was... Barbara: His grandfather was a free black man in Surry County Virginia.

And this is as far as I know of anything.

- Wow.

So what do we know about grandma's family?

Barbara: She grew up very poor.

- Mm.

Barbara: She, she was, like, just the opposite of how your grandfather grew up.

Sh-- um, she had a lot of anger in her.

I remembered her calling Caucasians by names that I didn't feel were suitable, that you should learn.

And I had to call her on that.

And I told her, I said, “I do not want you teaching my kids this.” Roi: I remember my grandmother and how angry she was.

And how that created this huge division in our family.

Um, and I’m taking this journey to address that anger before it happens to me.

Do you remember in Oklahoma, when those boys invited me to their house, and put me in the box?

And I remember them beating on the box and then you came afterwards, right?

Barbara: No, I didn't know about that.

- You came.

Barbara: I did?

Roi: You came and the, the kids' mom didn't think it was a big deal, and uh... Barbara: Did I, did I take you home?

- Yes.

Barbara: Okay, all right.

No, I’m glad I did.

I don't always remember all of the incidences that you found yourself in.

- Thanks.

Appreciate it.

- You know, sometimes, sometimes I wonder if, you know, what we take for prejudice may have just been rejection.

- Hmm.

- And... - That's sweet.

- I hope so.

Just a different perspective.

- I’m pretty sure when they hold you down and beat you.

- It's not rejection.

- Yeah.

- Okay, all right.

- Uh-uh.

I don't think my mom understands, um... ♪♪ and I d-- I...

I don't think that, um... she wants to either.

I had a story about free black people in my family, and I wondered how that happened.

When they were freed, how they were freed.

I’m here at the Surry County Historical Society and Museum to help find out some more information about my mother's side of the family.

Robert: Well I don't know, I mean I’m thinking that-- Russell: If you have a generation in which the person are what is known as freemen, or sometimes a free negro issue, then they can go all the way back to the late 1600s of having been freed.

Robert: Margaret was born in 1682?

Roi: Margaret would be-- okay so my-- okay, Margaret would be Elizabeth Byrd's mom.

Robert: Mom, that's correct according to this.

Roi: Um, I would be doing this.

- And she was a white person.

Russell: She was a white female indentured servant.

Roi: So she-- they may have been free since-- Robert: Well, she was free.

Russell: She was free.

Robert: She was an indentured servant.

And the person with whom she had a child.

Russell: Is out of an African male.

As far as we know, he is not named, and in most instances, they are not named.

♪♪ Robert: For the Cordelia Jones Blizzard Jenkins, we traced her mother's family who was Martha Jones, who the father of Cordelia was Richard Spratley, a white man from Surry County.

Roi: Richard Spratley.

Here, right?

Robert: Right.

Roi: So he was not really around?

Robert: Yeah, he was here in Surry.

Russell: I mean, he cohabitated.

Roi: Oh, but they couldn't take names right?

Russell: No, you c-- Virginia had a very strong anti-miscegenation law, a law which prohibited the marriage between blacks and whites.

Robert: But going back to Cordelia and Martha Jones.

Roi: Okay.

Robert: Through DNA, we've traced Martha Jones’ family all the way back to Sierra Leone, West Africa.

♪♪ - Wow.

- They might have been without a slave owner, but they were still people of color who had restrictions placed upon them.

Russell: The term is agency.

- Agency?

Russell: Agency.

That means you take the circumstances in which you were born to, and you use those creative forces in your life to make your life the best that you can make it.

Agency flows from one generation to the next.

The great problem is when that concept of agency breaks down and the dots are not connected between one generation to the other.

There-- There has always been suffering and there will continue to be suffering, and you must give to that child that understanding that you must persevere.

Robert: That's not to say you shouldn't be angry.

- Hallelujah.

Can I get some of that!

Robert: That's not to say you should forget and forgive.

I mean, you gotta keep moving forward.

But what's the saying, if you don't know your history you're bound to repeat it.

Russell: And someone else will write it for you.

Robert: Yeah.

♪♪ Roi: It's staggering to look out over 400 years, to see not so much the separation but the connections.

♪♪ This was absolutely amazing to see that history laid out and how long that we've been free.

And for that matter, how white I am.

[laughing] I am white.

[laughter] - So what you're seeing is that your father came from an extremely stable environment.

And more than likely, his experiences in Vietnam destabilized him.

- He was a totally different guy before that war.

I would really-- I probably need to talk to that guy.

Man 2: Yes, you do.

Roi: My name is Roi Maufas.

I have an anger issue inside of me that does not serve me.

When I was born, my father was in Vietnam.

He came home and he was a very, very different person and was really abusive, and he killed his best friend.

I just felt bad that I came from him.

♪♪ I am here to find out about my father and to try to deal with some of, uh, some of the race issues and part of that, I really need to find out about my father and, uh, and what his life was like.

I’d like to find out all of these things to put my father's life in context.

And the society and the times that he was living in.

To sort of understand, to create some empathy.

Woman 2: Tell us a little bit about your father.

S-- the, the things that you know currently about your father.

- I know that he was in the military.

I know that he went to Vietnam.

I know that he was, um... pretty violent.

He killed his best friend, or one of his good friends, when he got home.

[blades whirring] ♪♪ Cassandra: To me, it sounds like the war had a tremendous psychological impact, which is not uncommon because the majority of people who were homeless who are male are Vietnam veterans.

And so you're talking about a devastating war and not a whole lot of assistance, uh, psychological assistance on the people.

It's not just a racial thing.

It's a war thing.

Um, and so it's not uncommon that a person would suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and it not be ever addressed.

Doing research on your family history creates a lens for you to not only see your family but to see your whole history.

Man 2: So that's Joseph Bowman.

[faintly] Joseph Bowman... Cassandra: I wanted to show you something.

We just found this newspaper obituary of your grandfather.

- Wow.

- Who was born here in Norfolk, and he died in the year 2000.

- "He was a member and past master of Blooming Light Lodge."

What-- "A 32nd degree mason."

Who is this guy?

"Survivors include his wife, "five daughters, "four sons, "a sister, "And a host of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins."

Cassandra: So, what you're seeing is that your father came from an extremely stable environment.

And more than likely, his experiences in Vietnam destabilized him.

- He was a totally different guy before that war.

He's probably been sitting there...

I would really-- I probably need to talk to that guy.

Tommy: Yes, you do.

♪♪ Roi: I’m walking around hating a guy who's in a prison.

Really miserable.

[scoffs] How is that serving me at all?

I do see that I want to-- I wanna talk to my father.

I should talk to my father while he's still alive.

There's been enough not talking.

Um, and that I’m realizing my anger towards him is-- what a sad waste.

♪♪ [phone ringing] Woman 3: [on phone] Unit six [indistinct] - I’m calling to speak to Roy Bowman.

Woman 3: Yes, can you hold for just a moment?

- Thank you.

[ring] - Man 3: [on phone] Hello?

- Hello, Roy?

Man 3: Yes.

- Hey it's me, Roi.

Roy: [laughing] I know!

How have-- you sound old.

- I sound what?

Roy: You sound old.

I mean, you done sound-- last time I spoke to you, you was kind of young though.

- Yeah I sound old.

[laughs] Roy: Yes, you sound old.

- Man, I tell you what.

Um, I feel, um, whole, man.

I've been on a-- I've been on a journey um, just getting in touch with my ancestors and trying to understand all the things that have, you know, happened in our family's history, and.

Roy: And you probably haven't got all the whole story.

Roi: I, I, I know that-- I know that I haven't.

But I just really wanted to let you know before we, you know, get started.

I know the time is short.

I just want you to know that I’m not-- I'm not mad.

I’m not... You know, I’m not-- I'm, I’m good, man, you know.

I’m good.

I’m doing, I’m doing things that I love to do now.

I’m, um...

I'm, I'm doing architecture and designing solar and wind powered buildings.

Roy: What?

- Yeah, man.

Roy: You're doing architecture now?

- Yeah.

Didn't you?

Roy: Oh, you know your dad's a builder right?

- Y-you're a builder?

Roy: Yes.

- No, I didn't.

When?

No.

[laughter] No, I did not know that.

Roy: Okay.

[laughs] Okay, your dad's a builder.

And probably at one time was one of the top designers here in Oklahoma.

- Really?

Roy: Yes.

- So... Wow.

Dude, are you, um, are you getting out anytime soon?

Roy: I sure hope so.

I sure hope so, Son.

Son I’m trying to get in-- I want to be in contact with you more than anything else in this world.

You know that?

- Wow.

That's, uh-- [laughs] I'm, I’m just kind of drinking all that in, man.

Roy: [soft chuckle] - Thank you.

Like, seriously I know it sounds a little crazy but um, thanks for... thanks for being my dad.

I appreciate it.

It's a little crazy, right?

Roy: I've loved you all your life.

Ain't you gonna stop me from loving you now.

You've always been in my heart.

It's the truth.

Praise God and, uh, let me hear from you, Son.

- Yes sir.

Okay, copy you.

You have a good one.

Keep it shiny side up, right?

Roy: All right.

Keep all your wheels down.

- Peace.

I'm out.

Roy: Peace.

♪♪ - I wish I'd known it was gonna be that easy.

Seems kind of silly after all this time.

That dude is cool.

[laughs] Honestly, there were many more questions that I could and perhaps even should have asked.

Um, but I was really just stunned to hear his voice.

The best use of the time was to connect on a more human level.

Just to say, hey dad.

How are ya?

♪♪ I feel like anger is just so exhausting.

It's like trying to tread water and holding onto an anchor.

It was really amazing being able to let go of all that anger after so long.

I feel like I’m healing.

I feel connected to people that I didn't know three days ago.

♪♪ I was so angry and dismissive of my father for so long and it, and it really made me remember the guy on TV, I’d seen in Joplin, and how I sort of immediately dismissed his pain.

And I realized that the thing to do was to go to Joplin and just try to help in any way I can.

I think that's the right thing.

♪♪ ♪♪ So we're here at Grace Baptist Church, which I’m told if you want to volunteer, this is the place you go to volunteer and this is where they coordinate it all from.

How's it going?

♪♪ Hey, what's going on man?

Man 4: Come with me.

Roi: Okay.

♪♪ Man 4: [indistinct] Roi: Gotcha.

And head down?

Man 4: Head down this way.

- Okay.

♪♪ Hey guys.

The folks down at the church sent me down here to see if I can help out.

Man 5: Yeah.

Roi: Yeah?

Cool.

Tools are up there?

Man 5: Yeah.

- All right.

♪♪ ♪♪ To be looking at TV and to see that guy and the rebel flag and then to come and stand here is completely different.

I really don't care what he had, uh, what he had on his head anymore.

♪♪ I really felt like the healing actually is in the works.

♪♪ Getting off of that roof, I felt like I was actually sweating out anger.

Nothing really releases that anger quite like working next to people.

To make it better.

♪♪ There's no compassion in hatred.

♪♪ I’m really glad I came here.

♪♪ This whole town is a lot like our discussion.

♪♪ It's like a gaping wound.

That need's actually an opportunity to serve.

And that's an opportunity to build a bridge.

♪♪ Yes, this journey has definitely helped me release some anger, but this is just the beginning.

It's given me access to say to my son, "This is your duty.

"You carry this on.

You work to rise above."

♪♪