a film by Kunhardt Productions ; executive producers, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., William R. Grant, Peter W. Kunhardt ; written by Henry Louis Gates. Jr. ; series producers, Graham Judd, Leslie D. Farrell ; a production of Kunhardt Productions, Inc. and Thirteen/ WNET New York.
ISBN
1415716943
Edition
Widescreen format.
Place of Publication
[Alexandria, Va.] : Hollywood, Calif
Publisher
PBS Home Video ; distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment,
Date of Publication
[2006]
Physical Description
1 videodisc (ca. 240 min.) : sd., col. and b&w ; 4 3/4 in.
Notes
Originally broadcast as a four-part television series in 2006.
Host: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; features Oprah Winfrey, Chris Tucker, Quincy Jones, Sara-Lawrence-Lightfoot, Mae Jemison, T.D. Jakes, Ben Carson, Whoopi Goldberg.
Contents
Listening to our past / producer and director, Jesse Sweet; editors, Eric Davis, Michael Weingrad -- The promise of freedom / producer and director, Leslie Asako Gladsjo ; editors, Joanna Kiernan, Geeta Gandbhr -- Searching for our names / producer and director, Leslie D. Farrell; editors, Merril Stern, Kathryn Moore -- Beyond the middle passage / producer and director, Graham Judd; editors, Kate Hirson, Stefan Knerrich.
Summary
A compelling combination of storytelling and science, this series uses genealogy, oral histories, family stories and DNA to trace roots of several accomplished African Americans down through American history and back to Africa.
"By following the story of my great-grandmother Isabella Ford's life, and adding to it with information from available sources, I have been able to get a better understanding of the circumstances of Lancaster's free blacks. Her story provides a sense of life in mid-nineteenth century Lancaster County and shows how free black families held their own, despite an environment that was often unfriendly and that restricted their opportunities by both law and custom."
