3 chapters across the catalog
Ben Affleck, Finding Your Roots, Slave Owner Ancestry
Leaked emails reveal that actor Ben Affleck pressured PBS producers to remove information about a slave-owning ancestor from his episode of Finding Your Roots. While the show's host, Henry Louis Gates Jr., initially resisted, the information was ultimately omitted from the broadcast. The hosts mock Affleck's selective pride in his Revolutionary War ancestry.
The hosts argue that while the media focuses on race, the underlying issue driving national unrest is systemic poverty and the lack of economic opportunity. They revisit the 2009 Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest as a turning point in the Obama administration's handling of racial issues. The discussion posits that both black and white poor communities were victims of the 2008 real estate and banking scams.
The Root Publication and Henry Louis Gates Jr.
"The Root," an online publication partially owned by the Washington Post, was founded by Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates is famously known for having a "beer summit" with President Obama following a controversial arrest. Some suggest the publication's close relationship with the White House is a form of political "quid pro quo" for Gates' support.
