Angela Davis was shocked to learn that her ancestors came to America on the Mayflower, making her descendants of people who helped found the country.
The civil rights activist learned about this news during the Feb. 21 episode of PBS’s Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates shows her a manifest of names, eventually revealing that the document had the names of the Mayflower passengers.
“No, I can’t believe this,” she said, laughing through her surprise. “My ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower.”
When asked how she felt about the news, Davis said, “…That’s a little bit too much to deal with right now.”
Watch the clip below. The full episode is available for streaming on PBS.
“Do you know what you’re looking at? That is a list of the passengers on the Mayflower.”
Our researchers discovered #AngelaDavis’s ancestors traveled to the US on the Mayflower and here is her reaction. #FindingYourRoots pic.twitter.com/G2HhA9BSrT
— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) February 22, 2023
Finding Your Roots stars Gates as he reveals to America’s icons historical stories about their family lineage. According to the description of the series, “Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all.”
Past shocking stories have included Joe Manganiello finding out he actually has Black ancestry, not Italian ancestry, Don Lemon learning more about his enslaved ancestors, and Lee Daniels learning more about his “uppity” Black ancestors.
Finding Your Roots airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on PBS.
