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A surprise lay hidden within historical documents of comedian Wanda Sykes’ ancestors — a surprise that even Sykes herself couldn’t fathom. Sykes joined The Root’s editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., on his PBS show Finding Your Roots to investigate the lives of what she thought were her slave ancestors. After scouring archives in Virginia, Gates made an…

The search for Sanjay Gupta’s family history may have been simpler than the CNN medical expert expected it to be. Gupta sat down with The Root’s editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., on his PBS show Finding Your Roots to delve into his family history. Little did he know, eight generations of his family’s past were…

Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart sat down with The Root’s editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., on his PBS series Finding Your Roots to discuss her Polish-American heritage. With Gates’ help, Stewart learned about her grandmother’s humbling voyage to America at the age of 16, as well as her family’s penchant for crafts, textiles, cooking and more.…

Watch More Finding Your Roots Clips Condoleezza Rice’s Sobering History On Finding Your Roots, Condoleezza Rice learns about her great-grandmother’s slavery-era past. Samuel L. Jackson’s Surprising Roots On Finding Your Roots, the actor talks about racism in his youth and learns about his ancestors. ‘Finding Your Roots’: Tracing the Canadas An absent father left Harlem…

Tech investor and entrepreneur Ben Horowitz joined Marcyliena Morgan, founder and director of Harvard’s Hip-Hop Archive, on April 6 to discuss the hip-hop world’s influences on business and entrepreneurship during the Archive’s Cutting Edge Series. Introduced by The Root’s editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Horowitz talked about his youthful fascination with rap and hip-hop and the music’s daily impact…

In April 2011, scupltor and print artist Elizabeth Catlett sat down with The Root’s editor-in-chief Henry Louis Gates Jr. at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Researc to discuss her artistic inspirations, life in Mexico and the struggles blacks and women faced, and continue to face, in the modern art world.…

Beverly Bond has reinvented herself from a disc jockey and fashion model to a self-esteem guru for black girls. In Part 3 of The Root 100 Mentorship Series, the creator of Black Girls Rock! (and member of the 2011 class of The Root 100) explains that her organization helps young women find their best selves…

Baratunde Thurston would never have known how much he liked writing if his mother (and chief mentor, he says) hadn’t told him to try everything. The How to Be Black author, who is also a member of the 2011 class of The Root 100, now passes that important message along when he mentors young kids.…

At a panel held after the premiere screening for Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s new genealogy-themed PBS series, Finding Your Roots, in New York City on Monday, Gates asked Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) a poignant question: If you could go back in time to get to know one person from your…

Melanie Roussell, press secretary for the Democratic National Comittee and member of the 2011 class of The Root 100, has “made it” in her career. But she told The Root that’s not enough. Successful people, she said, have a responsibility not only to mentor but also to give back to the community, HBCUs and others.…