Helping Viola Davis Uncover Her Roots

I’ve worked with the research staff at PBS’s show Finding Your Roots on a number of occasions in which they needed help with family histories that include Confederate body servants or camp slaves. I help interpret primary sources uncovered by the team and provide necessary historical context.

At no time do they share the identity of the celebrity guest.

I regularly watch and enjoy the show. A few weeks ago actress Viola Davis was featured. As I watched her story unfold it quickly became clear to me that she was the subject of the most recent work that I did for the show.

Emmanuel was one among thousands of Confederate camp slaves who was forced to accompany his master to war. As I have said numerous times over the years, men like Emmanuel didn’t “serve” or “fight” for the Confederacy.

They survived it.

It’s incredibly rewarding when your research can be used to help someone else learn more about their family’s history and its place in the broader American story. I was especially pleased that host Dr. Henry Louis Gates read my notes almost word for word in this particular segment.

That’s another aspect of this story that I want to quickly highlight. Those of you who have read my blog over the years or have read my book know that, at times, Professor Gates has promoted the Black Confederate myth.

In fact, the first academic talk that I attended after moving to Boston in 2011 was on the subject of Black Confederates at Harvard. Professor Gates introduced fellow historian John Stauffer, who went on to argue that somewhere around 3,000 Black men fought as soldiers in the Confederate army. It was a complete disaster. As you might imagine, the Q&A was quite lively.

I have called out both scholars over the years, especially Gates, because he is viewed by many as an authority on the subject of slavery and the Civil War.

It goes without saying that I am pleased that Professor Gates has finally come around to embrace a more reasonable interpretation, especially on a show like Finding Your Roots that reaches so many viewers across the country.

Finally, I thank the research staff at the show for the opportunity to share my research.