On Tuesday’s episode of the popular PBS show “Finding Your Roots,” LeVar Burton discovered an intriguing family secret while researching his ancestry. Burton, best known for hosting “Reading Rainbow” and starring in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” also rose to prominence as a young actor in the television adaptation of Alex Haley’s “Roots.” The miniseries, in which host Henry Louis Gates, looked at the complex history of slavery and the lives of African Americans in the United States.
In a surprising twist, Burton discovered that Mary Sills, his great-great-grandmother on his mother’s side, was raised by a man she mistakenly believed to be her biological father. Sills was the biological daughter of James Henry Dixon, a white farmer who was already married and had a family when she was born. Unexpectedly, Dixon was Sills’ biological father, making Burton aware of his white ancestry.
“And she was the other family on the other side,” Burton exclaimed in surprise.
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“Did you expect that? Did you have any idea you had white ancestors?” Gates questioned him. Burton, aged 66, shook his head and laughed. “No. No. I had no idea. So Granny was half-white. Wow.” Then Gates revealed that Dixon had served in the Confederate Army as a teenager. “Are you kidding me?” Oh my god. Oh my god! I didn’t see this coming,” Burton admitted.
As Gates revealed, Dixon served in the Confederate army as a teenager, which came as a shock to Burton. He wondered about the motivations and emotions of white men during that period who had relationships with African American women, particularly those in unequal power dynamics.
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“I often wonder about white men of the period and how they justify to themselves their relations with Black women, especially those in an unbalanced power dynamic. There has to be a powerful disconnect created emotionally and mentally,” Burton spoke as he dealt with the news. “So it’s possible in my mind that he could’ve contemplated it and was conflicted at worst, maybe repentant at best. And then there’s the possibility that he didn’t think about it at all.”
Gates replied: “Right, and we’ll never know. They could’ve been in love; it could’ve been something terrible. We don’t know.”
This revelation also led Burton to reflect on his role in “Roots” and the impact that the miniseries has had on the public’s understanding of slavery and the African American experience. “Now, I’d have fought you five minutes ago if you’d told me that I had a white great-great-grandfather,” he said.
“You can fight me, but it’s the truth, and ain’t nothing you can do about it,” Gates teased. Keeping up with their playful banter, Burton referred to the character he played on “Roots.”
“What? Kunta got white ancestry? What? Come on now, Skip,” he said.
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As an African American with a white ancestor who served in the Confederate army, Burton’s experiences show that our ancestors’ stories are frequently more complex than we realize. Given Burton’s previous comments on “white privilege” and his condemnation of Hollywood’s color tokenism, this revelation must be bittersweet; his truth has been revealed, and it turns out that by embracing our diverse ancestors and engaging in open dialogue, we can work toward a more united and understanding society.
As LeVar Burton’s story shows, exploring our family histories can provide valuable insights into the past and help us better understand the present, paving the way for a more inclusive and harmonious future.
“There’s some conflict roiling inside of me right now, but also oddly enough I feel a pathway opening up.. In this now moment, I believe that as Americans, we need to have this conversation about who we are and how we got here. But yet I see that we are so polarized politically and racially,” Burton says, coming to grips with the truth.
Gates agreed and said, “Right, we’re not talking to each other.”
“And so I’ve been looking for an entry point to talk to white America,” Burton said.
“Well, that door just opened,” Gates replied.
“Here it is,” Burton said.
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Oops! The racist was inside him the whole time.
LeVar Burton needs to move to Cuba.
Even Thomas Jefferson has African American descendants. When his wife died, he started a relationship with a slave woman (who for all practicality became his second wife in everything but legality as mix racial marriages were illegal up to about or after WW1).
Kunta Kinte was played by the grandchild of a Confederate redneck.😆