Actor LeVar Burton was in disbelief when he learned on Tuesday's episode of “Finding Your Roots” that he is a descendant of white Confederate soldiers.
The PBS documentary uses written ancestry and DNA research to discover the long-lost family histories of famous guests.
Show host and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. revealed to Burton that his family had been hiding a deep secret for generations. The man he thought was his great-grandfather wasn't actually a genetic match for him. His great-grandmother, Mary Sills, was actually a descendant of a white man named James Henry Dixon.
“Were you expecting that? Did you have any idea that your direct ancestors were white?” Host Gates Barton asked..
Former Black Panther Angela Davis is shocked to learn she's a Mayflower descendant
Actor LeVar Burton was stunned to learn that his ancestors were white on the PBS show “Finding Your Roots.” (PBS/Screenshot)
Barton couldn't believe the discovery. “No, no, I didn't know. I mean, my grandma was half white! Wow,” he responded.
Further research into Burton's family tree revealed even more surprising discoveries. His ancestors were born in North Carolina in 1847 and served in the Confederate reserves as a teenager. He later fathered a child with an African American woman who was born into slavery.
“Are you kidding me? Oh my god. I never thought this would happen,” Barton admitted.
Mr. Burton, famous for playing a slave in the 1977 TV miniseries “Roots,” was outraged to learn that his great-grandfather fought to preserve slavery during the Civil War.
He thought out loud about the relationship between his great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents.
Heather MacDonald: This guilt has to end or it's not a racism issue, it's a culture issue
Actor LeVar Burton learned that his great-grandfather was a Confederate soldier who fathered a child with an African-American woman born into slavery. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“I often wonder about white men back then and how they would justify to themselves their relationships with black women, especially black women who were in an imbalanced relationship of power and emotion. “There must be a powerful disconnect, both physically and mentally,” Barton mused.
“So, in my mind, it's possible that he was mulling over it, conflicted at worst, repentant at best. And it's possible that he wasn't thinking about it at all. There is a possibility,” he added.
After seeing a photo of his great-grandfather, Barton joked that he “would have fought” Gates if he had told him he had white ancestry before he was presented with the evidence.
He referenced his “Roots” character's name, joked, “What? Kunta has white ancestry? What? Come on, Skip, come on,” and referred to Gates by his nickname.
Nikki Haley on CNN's racial conflict: 'All men are not created equal and we should know that.'
Adapted from Alex Haley's best-selling novel, Roots begins with the arrival of Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton, right), a young West African kidnapped and sent to America as a slave, and explores the author's many African ancestors. It traced a turbulent 100 years that spanned generations. By emancipation after the Civil War. (Getty Images)
Reflecting on these discoveries, Burton confessed, “Right now, there's a conflict swirling inside me, but in a strange way, I feel like a path is opening up.''
He said he would like to have a “conversation” with Americans about how the history of slavery led to the present, but feels he cannot do so because of political and racial polarization.
“So I was looking for an entry point to talk to white Americans,” he said. “here it is.”
After the initial shock, Burton said she was surprised but “coming to terms” with all of her family's history.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Other celebrities have also been shocked to learn about their heritage on the hit PBS show.
Last year, former Black Panther Angela Davis was surprised to learn that her ancestors came aboard the Mayflower.
