Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

I am not that into genealogy that much. But, for me learning about the genealogy of famous people is fascinating.

On finding your roots there are usually 3 guests on each episode. Luis gates sits at a table with each guest and takes them through their genealogy. The show switches back and forth between guests.

And sometimes Luis gates jr even finds that two of the guests on the show are related or that a guest on the show is related some someone else famous.

It always interesting.

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates is soaring high this season. The celebrity guests are awesome. The American history, the story telling, and the surprise endings are so moving. Every episode is a must watch. Science Pioneers, The Slave Trade, Beyond the Pale, Secrets & Lies, Off the Farm, Italian Roots. I can't pick a favorite because they are all so good. Keep the stories coming! I love this show.

How can I get chosen for a research into my family roots ?

Dr. Gates takes the guest through history. He weaves the stories of forefathers with an eloquence that leaves the audience spellbound. The research is amazing but when Dr. Gates introduces the past to the present, it is truly magical. The profiles are beautiful and at times agonizing, but the past woven so articulately to the history of family is wonderful. It absolutely should be shown in history classes as it draws you into the eras of yesterday while letting the guests learn about occurences and activities that lead to who they are today. Brilliant work.

I didn't realize this is a show from. 2012. I found it on late night PBS. I love this slice of history. Dr. Gates is masterful.

Genealogical research is often fascinating, illuminating and addictive. But here's the thing about televising something that involves a lot of library time and reading -- you have to make it engaging. Finding Your Roots means well but it is nowhere near as fun or interesting to watch as another genealogical show, Who Do You Think You Are, currently airing on TLC. Unfortunately, it is Gates himself that is a drag on the show. He is a scholar and a professor and his sit downs with his guests come across like a dry lecture. The guests show up like good students for the lecture but they have had little or no personal involvement in the quest up to that point. And frankly some of them don't look too interested in their own stories.

I've been involved in genealogical research for many decades and I have learned some remarkable things at the hands of Professor Gates and his association with PBS. I don't want the show to disappear but I would encourage PBS to reformat it in favor of engaging both the guest and the viewer to a higher degree. They have the perfect opportunity to do that in the wake of the revelation that Gates and the show's producers covered up the facts of Ben Affleck's slave owning ancestry.