Spike Lee
Celebrities trace their roots. Internationally-acclaimed director, producer and actor Spike Lee explores his family's slave origins, determined to find out who owned his family.
Internationally acclaimed director, producer and actor Spike Lee has built his career on chronicling the African-American experience in his films. But for all of his knowledge about African American history, he knew very little about his own family history. After the death of this mother, Spike was raised by his maternal grandmother Zimmie Jackson - and it's her ancestry he's curious about.
Determined to find out more about his family's slave origins, Spike set out with one clear question in mind - 'who owned my family?'. His first stop is Atlanta Georgia where Zimmie lived for most of her life.
In Atlanta he visits Spelman College, America's oldest black college for women, which his grandmother Zimmie attended in the 1920s. From here he heads to the archives where he traces back through the generations uncovering the names of his three times great grandparents. This discovery sets him off on a journey which takes him back through slavery, the American Civil War and emancipation.
Spike's journey culminates in Texas, when he comes face-to-face with a descendant of the man who had enslaved his ancestors.
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Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Participant | Spike Lee |
Participant | Spike Lee |
Director | Christopher Bruce |
Director | Christopher Bruce |
Executive Producer | Lucy Carter |
Executive Producer | Lucy Carter |
Broadcasts
- Tue 22 Feb 2011 22:35麻豆官网首页入口 One except Northern Ireland & Wales
- Tue 22 Feb 2011 23:05麻豆官网首页入口 One Wales
- Tue 22 Feb 2011 23:10麻豆官网首页入口 One Northern Ireland
- Wed 1 Jun 2011 02:10
- Tue 27 Mar 2012 00:05麻豆官网首页入口 One except Yorks & Lincs, North East & Cumbria, North West, Wales & Yorkshire
- Tue 27 Mar 2012 00:15麻豆官网首页入口 One Wales