Others taking part include Courtney Vance, Khandi Alexander and writer and actress Anna Deavere Smith. They joined Nas and Gates on the Television Critics Association panel.
Research on each person begins with DNA testing of a saliva sample and eventually results in a detailed family history that Gates presents on-camera to the subject. “I feel like Santa Claus giving people a gift,” Gates said.
The results can be surprising. Alba’s background was traced to the ancient Mayans, while Affleck’s great-great-great-grandfather was among 19th-century spiritualists who claimed to connect Civil War dead with their grieving survivors, he said.
Gates, who has done a variety of PBS specials about African-Americans and their history and experiences, recalled getting a letter from a white woman who accused him of racism for his singular focus.
“I thought white people had more access to knowledge about their family tree than we did,” said Gates, an African American.
But he realized that’s untrue and that people of every ethnicity share the same “cultural amnesia,” he said.
Nas was asked if his newfound knowledge could influence his music. Nothing is planned, he replied, “but I think in some way it will happen on its own.”
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