Ep 3. Barbara Walters and Geoffrey Canada

Barbara Walters and Geoffrey Canada are the focus in Season 1, Episode 3 of Finding Your Roots. In this episode, host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. dives deep into the genealogy of these two fascinating public figures.

First up is journalist Barbara Walters, who begins by talking about her father, Louis Walters. Her father, a nightclub impresario, was also a Jewish refugee who fled Europe during World War II. Walters is curious to find out more about her family's history and the roots of her father's success.

As Gates starts to uncover more information about Walters' ancestors, he delves into the historical context of their lives. He discovers that Walters' great-grandfather, Abraham Isaac, was a successful businessman who owned a clothing store in Lithuania before immigrating to the United States in the late 1800s. Abraham's success as an entrepreneur inspired Walters and served as a foundation for her own career in the media industry.

But Gates also reveals more tragic moments in Walters' past. He tells her about her grandfather, Lou Walters, who was a nightclub owner and former bootlegger. Lou's business was incredibly successful during the Depression era, but his life was also marked by tragedy. In 1958, his wife, Walters' grandmother, jumped off the roof of their apartment and died. The family never talked about it, and Walters learns about the event for the first time during the show.

As the episode progresses, more and more details about Walters' family emerge. Gates takes her to a synagogue in Lithuania, where she sees a plaque dedicated to Abraham Isaac, her great-grandfather. Later, she visits the Ellis Island museum in New York City, where she gets to see the records of her family's arrival in America. Through these experiences, Walters gains a greater appreciation for her family's history and the struggles and triumphs that brought her to where she is today.

The next person on the show is educator Geoffrey Canada. As the founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, Canada has dedicated his life to improving education and opportunities for underprivileged children. However, he knows very little about his own family's history.

Gates starts by revealing that Canada's grandfather, James Brown, was a prominent Baptist minister who had a huge impact on the community in Georgia where Canada grew up. In fact, Canada was named after his grandfather, whose teachings greatly influenced him. James Brown was also a key figure in the civil rights movement, and his activism is another connection that Canada feels to him.

As Gates digs deeper into Canada's past, he uncovers a surprising revelation: Canada's great-grandfather was a slave owner in Georgia. Canada is shocked and saddened by the news, but also feels a sense of responsibility to confront this difficult part of his family's past.

Gates takes Canada to a plantation in Georgia where his ancestor, John Collins, was a slave owner. There, they meet with a historian who explains how slavery worked on the plantation and what life was like for the enslaved people who lived there. Canada is visibly moved by the experience and says that it's important for him to acknowledge and learn from this dark period in his family's history.

Overall, Finding Your Roots Season 1, Episode 3 is a fascinating exploration of two prominent individuals' ancestry. Through Gates' expert research and storytelling, we get a glimpse into the lives of Walters and Canada's ancestors and how their legacies have influenced their lives today. The episode is a reminder of how we are all connected to our past and how understanding it can enrich our lives in the present.