How Don Cornelius Got His Start

February 01, 2012

Trace his rise to the top in this excerpt from Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s Life Upon These Shores.

3 Women 'Red Tails' Left Out

A first lady, a civil rights icon and a pilot aided the Tuskegee Airmen, says Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Rare Images of Black History: A Timeline

An exclusive peek at photos from Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s compendium, Life Upon These Shores.

Dominicans in Denial

In visiting the Dominican Republic, The Root's editor-in-chief discovers that its citizens claim they're anything but black.

Ben Carson Finds Rare Proof of African Ties

The genealogy project African American Lives traces a leading neurosurgeon's African roots back to a census document.

Behind The Root's New Look

Updated: We've given our home page a face-lift and added new features. Our editor-in-chief, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explains why.

Don Cheadle's Deep American Roots

In 2008, the actor discovered his family's stunning and sad connection to Native Americans as part of the genealogy project African American Lives.

Revealing Roots: Chris Rock Uncovers the Ancestral Source of His Drive

In this excerpt from African-American Lives, the comic is moved to tears when he learns about an ancestor who fought for the freedom of other slaves and, against terrible odds, became a state legislator at age 24.

Revealing Roots: Maya Angelou Breaks the Silence

Determined to break her family's silence about the slavery in their roots, the poet who, as her grandmother predicted, would "teach all over this world" speaks out about coming to terms with old secrets through the genealogy project African-American Lives.

'Black in Latin America': The Other African Americans

Less than 5 percent of the 11.5 million Africans wrenched into slavery ended up in the United States. That is one reason Editor-in-Chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. decided to explore the lives and cultures of blacks from Brazil to Haiti, from Peru to Mexico, in his new PBS television series.