I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS," A JOURNEY INTO THE ANCESTRAL PAST OF SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST NOTABLE FIGURES.

IN THIS PROGRAM, WE'LL EXPLORE THE FAMILY HISTORIES OF MUSICIANS BRANFORD MARSALIS AND HARRY CONNICK, JR., TWO OLD AND DEAR FRIENDS WHO SHARE A DEEP CONNECTION TO THEIR HOMETOWN, NEW ORLEANS, AND A PASSION FOR THE MARVELOUS MUSIC THAT WAS BORN THERE.

NOW, MY FRIEND, THIS IS MY GIFT TO YOU.

Gates: TO DISCOVER HARRY AND BRANFORD'S TRUE ORIGINS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE.

GENEALOGISTS HELP STITCH TOGETHER THE PAST USING THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND... NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND WHEN YOU'RE DOING SOME OF THESE.

WHILE GENETICISTS UTILIZE THE LATEST ADVANCES IN DNA ANALYSIS, REVEALING SECRETS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD.

THIS IS YOUR FAMILY.

THESE ARE YOUR PEOPLE.

WOW.

AND WE'VE COMPILED EVERYTHING WE'VE FOUND INTO A BOOK OF LIFE, A RECORD OF ALL OF OUR DISCOVERIES.

IT MAKES ME REALLY PROUD, YOU KNOW?

WOW, THAT PICTURE'S AMAZING.

TAKEN TOGETHER, THE STORY WE'VE UNCOVERED ABOUT HARRY AND BRANFORD'S PAST ILLUMINATES THE COMPLICATED HISTORY OF RACE IN NEW ORLEANS, ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST STORIED CITIES.

♪ IT'S OFTEN BEEN SAID THAT PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS DON'T JUST TELL HISTORY, THEY DO HISTORY.

AND YOU CAN SEE IT EVERYWHERE.

THE STREETS SEEM TO VIBRATE WITH TRADITION.

PULSING THROUGH THIS CITY ARE THE RHYTHMS OF JAZZ, A FUSION OF AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN MUSICAL INFLUENCES.

THESE INTIMATE CULTURAL AND PERSONAL EXCHANGES HAVE CHARACTERIZED NEW ORLEANS EVER SINCE SLAVERY.

AND IN THE VENERABLE OLD JAZZ CLUBS THAT FILL THE FRENCH QUARTER, MUSICIANS TELL THE STORY OF NEW ORLEANS THROUGH THEIR MUSIC.

I INVITED NATIVE SONS BRANFORD MARSALIS AND HARRY CONNICK, JR., TO MEET ME AT LEGENDARY PRESERVATION HALL.

FRIENDS SINCE CHILDHOOD, HARRY AND BRANFORD SHARE AN ENDURING CONNECTION TO NEW ORLEANS, A CITY THEY GREW UP IN AND THAT SHAPED THEM AS ARTISTS.

Connick: BEING A MUSICIAN IN NEW ORLEANS GROWING UP, THERE WAS SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO PLAY SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF MUSIC WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE.

IT WAS -- YOU'RE FORCED -- IF YOU'RE A MUSICIAN, YOU ARE SUCKED INTO IT HERE.

I MEAN, YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM IT.

Marsalis: I JUST REMEMBER WE'D BE ON A SCHOOL BUS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU'D HAVE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE GOING, ♪ OH, IT AIN'T MY FAULT ♪ JUST THE WHOLE BUS SINGING THAT KIND OF STUFF, SINGING SONGS AND BANGING AND, YOU NOW, CLANGING THE RHYTHM THING.

WHEN YOU GROW UP IN A PLACE LIKE THAT, IT'S SUCH AN ADVANTAGE.

BRANFORD MARSALIS IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN AS THE ORIGINAL BAND LEADER FOR JAY LENO'S "TONIGHT SHOW," BUT HE'S ALSO ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED MUSICIANS IN HIS GENERATION.

BRANFORD IS THE ELDEST SON OF THE SO-CALLED "FIRST FAMILY OF JAZZ."

HIS FATHER, ELLIS MARSALIS, IS BOTH A PIANIST AND A GIFTED TEACHER, WHILE YOUNGER BROTHERS WYNTON, DELFEAYO, AND JASON ARE ALL ACCLAIMED JAZZ MUSICIANS THEMSELVES.

Gates: DID YOU FEEL ANY COMPETITION EVER WITH YOUR BROTHERS FOR DAD'S ATTENTION OR TO BE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE GREAT MARSALISES?

NO, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS THE GREAT MARSALISES WHEN WE WERE GROWING UP.

PEOPLE WOULD COME AND SAY, "Y'ALL GOING TO FOLLOW IN YOUR DAD'S FOOTSTEPS?"

AND WE WOULD BOTH ROLL OUR EYES.

IT'S KIND OF LIKE FRED SANFORD USED TO LOOK AT LAMONT SANFORD, HE'D LOOK AT THE JUNK PILE AND SAY, "SON, ONE DAY THIS WILL ALL BE YOURS."

I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, "YEAH, WHO DOESN'T WANT TO FOLLOW THIS TRADITION?"

YOUR FATHER, IN ADDITION TO BEING A GREAT MUSICIAN, IS ALSO WELL-KNOWN AS A GREAT EDUCATOR.

CAN YOU TELL ME SOME OF THE PEOPLE HE INSPIRED?

WELL, HE TAUGHT HARRY CONNICK, JR. HARRY USED TO COME OVER, HE WAS LIKE TEN OR 11 YEARS OLD, AND WYNTON AND I WOULD SIT OUT ON THE PORCH AND WAIT FOR HIM TO COME UP, HE'D DRIVE UP, AND WE'D SAY, "OKAY, HERE HE COMES," AND THEN WE'D ROUGH HIM UP OUTSIDE, 'CAUSE HE WAS A LITTLE FELLA.

AND WE'D SAY, "HEY, PUNK, HOW YOU DOING?"

YOU KNOW, ROUGHING HIM LIKE THAT.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"HUH?

WHAT?

NOTHING."

YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST GOOD-NATURED SILLINESS.

HARRY AND I, IT GOES BACK.

IT'S FOREVER.

YOU KNOW, WE STARTED TO -- HE'S LIKE TODD, THE LOST MARSALIS.

I MEAN, HE'S JUST -- HE'S BEEN AT THE HOUSE GROWING UP.

HARRY CONNICK, JR.'S MULTI-PLATINUM SELLING ALBUMS HAVE HELPED BRING JAZZ STANDARDS BACK INTO THE MAINSTREAM.

HIS 1989 GRAMMY-AWARD WINNING SOUNDTRACK FOR THE HIT MOVIE "WHEN HARRY MET SALLY" THRUST HIM INTO THE SPOTLIGHT.

SINCE THEN, HARRY HAS FOUND GREAT SUCCESS AS AN ACTOR, WINNING PRAISE FOR HIS ROLE ON THE HIT TV SHOW "WILL & GRACE" AND FOR BEING NOMINATED FOR A TONY AWARD IN THE REVIVAL OF "THE PAJAMA GAME" ON BROADWAY.

HARRY CONNICK, JR., WAS BORN IN NEW ORLEANS IN 1967.

HIS FATHER, HARRY, SR., WAS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF NEW ORLEANS FOR OVER THREE DECADES, AND HIS MOTHER WAS ONE OF THE CITY'S FIRST FEMALE JUDGES.

THEY ENCOURAGED HARRY TO START PLAYING THE PIANO AT THE AGE OF THREE.

IT WAS CLEAR HE WAS A PRODIGY, MASTERING INTRICATE CLASSICAL PIECES BY BACH AND BEETHOVEN.

♪ BUT HARRY'S HEART WAS WITH JAZZ.

BY THE AGE OF FIVE, HE WAS BOOKING GIGS AT CLUBS AROUND NEW ORLEANS.

HE RECORDED HIS FIRST JAZZ RECORD WHEN HE WAS ONLY TEN.

AS A SKINNY WHITE KID, DID YOU EVER FEEL ODD OR LIKE AN OUTSIDER IN THE JAZZ SCENE HERE IN NEW ORLEANS?

Connick: YEAH.

IT FRUSTRATED ME TO NOT BE BLACK.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] SO I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO GET AS CLOSE AS I COULD.

SO I TRIED TO DRESS BLACK, WHATEVER THAT MEANT, I TRIED TO TALK BLACK.

YEAH.

IT WAS JUST -- THIS IS SOME REALLY EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION YOU'RE GETTING HERE.

THERE WERE TWO THINGS I WANTED TO BE, AND NOT IN THIS ORDER.

I WANTED TO BE FAT AND BLACK, BECAUSE ALL OF MY HEROES WERE FAT AND BLACK.

WELL, NOT -- SOME OF THEM WEREN'T FAT.

PEOPLE LIKE MILES WEREN'T FAT, AND DUKE, BUT THEY WERE ALL BLACK, AND IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE THE THINGS I WOULD HEAR -- NOT TO TURN THIS CONVERSATION INTO A BIG RACE THING, BUT UNLESS YOU'VE GOT SOME REALLY EXCLUSIVE INFORMATION TO LAY ON ME IN A LITTLE WHILE.

YOU'VE GOT TO WAIT AND SEE.

BUT, LIKE, THE ONLY COMMENTS I HEARD ABOUT BEING WHITE, AND NOT IN A MEAN WAY, BUT WERE FROM GUYS LIKE WYNTON AND BRANFORD BECAUSE THEY WOULD SAY, "MAN, YOU SOUND WHITE, MAN," YOU KNOW, "YOU NEED TO BE MORE NEGROIDAL."

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT.

YOU KNOW, I WAS LIKE -- BUT I WOULD HEAR WORDS LIKE "NEGROIDAL" -- I DIDN'T KNOW THAT'S A WORD.

THAT'S A MADE-UP -- MADE-UP BLACK WORD OF NEW ORLEANS.

BUT THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, WHEN YOU'RE 15 OR 16, THEY, YOU KNOW, YOU GO HOME AND YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF AND THINK, "I'M NOT PART OF THE CLUB."

NEW ORLEANS' HISTORY IS LITTERED WITH BLACK PEOPLE WANTING TO BE WHITE AND WHITE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE BLACK.

[ LAUGHS ] ♪ TALKING WITH HARRY AND BRANFORD ABOUT THEIR UPBRINGING AND THE HISTORY OF JAZZ IN NEW ORLEANS MADE ME WONDER -- WHERE DO MUSICAL GIFTS COME FROM?

SOME BELIEVE IT'S PART OF THE CULTURAL DNA, SOMETHING YOU PICK UP ON THE STREETS.

♪ OH, OH, OH ♪ ♪ OH, OH, YEAH ♪ OTHERS THINK MUSICAL TALENT IS GENETIC, LIKE PERFECT PITCH AND RHYTHM, PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS.

PERHAPS WE CAN FIND SOME ANSWERS ON BRANFORD AND HARRY'S FAMILY TREES.

HOW DID THEIR ANCESTORS, BOTH KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, INFLUENCE WHO THEY ARE TODAY?

I BEGAN WITH BRANFORD MARSALIS, BORN IN BREAUX BRIDGE, LOUISIANA, IN 1960.

I HAD HEARD THAT BRANFORD HAD DEEP MUSICAL ROOTS IN NEW ORLEANS STRETCHING BACK GENERATIONS, SO I ASSUMED IT WAS ALL ON HIS FATHER'S SIDE, SINCE ELLIS IS SUCH AN ACCOMPLISHED JAZZ MUSICIAN HIMSELF.

[ PIANO PLAYING ] HIS PARENTS INVITED US TO VISIT THEIR HOME FOR AN IMPROMPTU PERFORMANCE AND TO SHARE SOME FAMILY PHOTOS AND FOND MEMORIES.

Delores: NOW, HERE'S BRANFORD WHEN BRANFORD GRADUATED FROM KINDERGARTEN.

HE WAS A HANDSOME YOUNG MAN.

HIS PARENTS ALSO HAD SOME VERY SURPRISING INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF BRANFORD'S MUSICAL TALENT.

Ellis: A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK IT CAME FROM MY SIDE, WHICH IT DID NOT.

THERE WAS NOBODY ON MY SIDE OF THE FAMILY THAT I EVEN HEARD OF THAT PERFORMED, EVEN SANG.

DIDN'T EVEN SING IN THE CHURCH.

NOW, ON DELORES' SIDE, THERE'S SEVERAL MUSICIANS, LOTS OF 'EM.

MRS. MARSALIS POINTED OUT THE NAMES ON HER SIDE OF THE FAMILY, LIKE THE DEJANS AND THE EUGENES, WHOSE HOMES, SHE REMEMBERS, WERE ALWAYS FILLED WITH MUSIC.

Delores: THAT'S BECAUSE THEY ALL GREW UP IN THE FRENCH QUARTER.

THAT'S THE PLACE WHERE THE MUSIC WAS BORN.

THEY JUST PLAYED INSTRUMENTS.

THEY WOULD HEAR A MARCHING BAND IN THE STREET, GO GET THEIR INSTRUMENT AND JOIN.

BUT HER RELATIVES WERE NOT JUST ORDINARY MUSICIANS.

SOME WERE JAZZ INNOVATORS, PART OF NEW ORLEANS' MUSICAL ROYALTY.

LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MAMA'S FAMILY.

COULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

WELLMAN BRAUD.

WELLMAN BRAUD, WHO WAS A PIONEERING JAZZ BASSIST WHO WAS FAMOUS FOR PLAYING WITH DUKE ELLINGTON.

HE WAS THE BROTHER OF YOUR MATERNAL GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, WHO WAS HELEN BRAUD.

TELL ME ABOUT WELLMAN BRAUD'S MUSIC.

I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HIM TILL I DID THIS RESEARCH FOR YOU.

HE WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST GUY TO EMPLOY THE WALKING BASS LINE, BECAUSE BEFORE HIM, THE ACOUSTIC BASS WAS JUST TAKING THE PLACE OF THE TUBA, AND THE TUBA WAS THE INSTRUMENT THAT KEPT THE RHYTHM IN THOSE MILITARY BANDS BY GOING, ♪ BOMP, BOMP, BOMP, BOMP, ♪ BOMP, BOMP, BOMP, BUM-BUM-BUM BOMP, BOMP ♪ AND THEN THE BASS PLAYERS WERE DOING IT, AND I THINK HE'S THE FIRST ONE THAT STARTED -- WHEN THE MUSIC STARTED TO SUDDENLY SHIFT, STARTED WALKING, ♪ DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH ♪ THE WALKING BASS LINE.

I THINK WELLMAN WAS THE FIRST.

I WANTED TO TAKE BRANFORD BACK EVEN FURTHER ON HIS FAMILY TREE, TO A TIME BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, WHEN MOST AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE SLAVES, A PEOPLE WITHOUT NAMES, IDENTIFIED ONLY AS "NEGRO" ON SLAVE ROLLS.

FOR MOST OF US, SLAVERY IS A BLACK HOLE, AND WE HAVE TO RELY ON THE PAPER TRAIL AFTER EMANCIPATION AND WORK BACKWARD TO PIECE TOGETHER OUR FAMILY HISTORY.

THE MOST VALUABLE DOCUMENT IN THIS KIND OF RESEARCH IS THE 1870 FEDERAL CENSUS, THE FIRST CENSUS IN WHICH ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE LISTED AS PEOPLE, NOT PROPERTY, WITH BOTH A FIRST AND A LAST NAME.

IN THE 1870 CENSUS FOR THE SEVENTH WARD IN NEW ORLEANS, WE DISCOVERED THE NAME OF BRANFORD'S MATERNAL GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN CALLED JOHN JOSEPH LEARSON, BORN IN 1851.

THE DESCRIPTION OF LEARSON'S COLOR IS QUITE INTRIGUING.

WAS IT SOME SORT OF CLUE TO A MORE COMPLEX STORY?

CAN YOU READ WHAT WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED THERE?

"JOHN.

19.

MALE.

COLOR -- MULATTO."

WOW, I NEVER SAW THAT BEFORE.

BRANFORD, THAT MEANS THAT SOMEBODY, EITHER JOHN LEARSON OR THE CENSUS TAKER, ASSUMED THAT HE WAS OF MIXED RACE BECAUSE HE OBVIOUSLY LOOKED MIXED.

MM-HMM.

DID YOU EVER THINK THAT YOU HAD ANY WHITE OR MIXED RACE ANCESTORS ON EITHER BRANCH OF YOUR FAMILY?

OF COURSE, DEFINITELY.

WHEN THE SUN WOULD COME OUT WHEN I WAS 15 OR 16, IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL OF THE BLACK POWER STUFF, ALL THESE LITTLE BLONDE HAIRS COME OUT ON MY ARM, AND WHEN THE SUN HITS IT, I'M LIKE...

SO IT WAS CLEAR.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T SHOW UP BY MISTAKE.

THERE'S SOME STUFF THERE.

COULD WE ACTUALLY FIND OUT WHY BRANFORD'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOHN WAS DESCRIBED AS A MULATTO?

MOST AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE SOME EUROPEAN ANCESTRY SOMEWHERE ON THEIR FAMILY TREE, BUT ALMOST NONE OF US CAN IDENTIFY OUR WHITE ANCESTORS BY NAME.

WE'VE SEARCHED FOR THE NAME OF JOHN JOSEPH LEARSONS' FATHER IN THE 1850 CENSUS, AND TO OUR ASTONISHMENT, WE ACTUALLY FOUND HIM.

WOULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS THE 1850 CENSUS FOR ORLEANS PARISH.

JOHN REINHARD LEARSON.

THERE HE IS, JOHN REINHARD LEARSON.

THAT IS YOUR THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

MOST BLACK PEOPLE CAN ONLY GET BACK TO 1879.

WOW.

THIS IS YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

WHAT'S IT SAY ABOUT HIM?

IT SAYS HIS RACE IS BLANK, BUT IT ALSO SAYS "GERMANY."

BLANK IN AMERICA MEANS WHITE.

YES.

BRANFORD, ALMOST NONE OF US CAN IDENTIFY AN ACTUAL WHITE MAN BY NAME ON ANY BRANCH OF THEIR FAMILY TREE.

YOU CAN.

I CAN GO FIND HIM NOW.

[ LAUGHS ] THAT'S COOL.

THAT'S VERY COOL.

IT'S SOMETHING OF A MIRACLE TO HAVE SUCH CLEAR DOCUMENTATION OF THE NAME OF A BLACK PERSON'S WHITE ANCESTOR.

FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW I'M DESCENDED FROM A BLACK SLAVE NAMED JANE GATES, MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

JANE HAD FIVE CHILDREN WITH THE SAME WHITE MAN, BUT SHE TOOK THE SECRET OF HIS IDENTITY TO HER GRAVE.

I'M STILL SEARCHING FOR HIS NAME TODAY.

MOST BLACK PEOPLE KNOW THEY'RE A MIXTURE OF COLORS, BUT THEY'RE OFTEN SURPRISED TO DISCOVER JUST HOW WHITE THEY ACTUALLY ARE.

WHAT IF YOU FOUND OUT, LIKE I DID, THAT I'M 50/50 BLACK AND WHITE?

HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT YOUR IDENTITY?

I WENT TO MY BARBERSHOP BACK HOME IN CAMBRIDGE TO SEE WHAT MY FRIENDS THOUGHT ABOUT THEIR OWN ETHNIC MIXTURES.

THERE MAY BE SOME CONNECTION THERE WITH THE TAINO INDIANS AS WELL AS... AND HOW MUCH THEY STILL CLING TO AGE-OLD MYTHS.

OKAY, SO DENNIS HAS INTRODUCED THE GREAT CLAIM THAT ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS I'VE MET MAKE WHICH IS THAT THEIR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER HAD HIGH CHEEKBONES AND STRAIGHT BLACK HAIR AND WAS A CHEROKEE.

HOW MANY OF YOU GUYS THINK THAT YOU HAVE NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY?

I DO.

I DO.

ALL THESE NEGROES HAVE NATIVE AMERICAN IN THEM.

[ LAUGHTER ] MANY BLACK PEOPLE WANT TO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE DESCENDED FROM ANCESTORS OTHER THAN AFRICANS AND EUROPEANS.

THE MYTH THAT WE ALL HAVE A NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTOR IS ONE I ENCOUNTER EVERYWHERE I GO, BUT STATISTICS SUGGEST OTHERWISE.

BECAUSE ONE IN THREE BLACK MEN DESCEND FROM A WHITE MAN WHO IMPREGNATED A BLACK SLAVE DURING SLAVERY.

LIKE, SHAQUILLE O'NEAL DIDN'T GET THAT SURNAME IN GHANA.

[ LAUGHTER ] IT'S TRUE.

NOW THERE'S A GENETIC TEST THAT WILL FINALLY PUT TO REST SOME OF THESE MISCONCEPTIONS.

WE'RE GOING TO GIVE ALL OF Y'ALL A TEST.

BY ANALYZING SMALL MUTATIONS IN OUR DNA, GENETICISTS CAN DRAW AN APPROXIMATE PICTURE OF JUST HOW BLACK, RED, AND WHITE OUR ANCESTORS REALLY HAD BEEN OVER THE PAST 500 YEARS.

YOU GUYS HAVE TO DECIDE, AND WE'VE GOT TO WRITE THIS DOWN, WHAT PERCENTAGE YOU THINK YOU ARE WHITE, BLACK, AND NATIVE AMERICAN.

BUT BEFORE I GAVE THEM THE TEST, I DECIDED TO PLAY A LITTLE GAME TO SEE WHO COULD GUESS CLOSEST.

Man: I WOULD HAVE TO SAY I'M 25% WHITE.

BLACK, I'M GOING TO SAY 50%.

Gates: WRITE IT DOWN, KYLE, 50% BLACK.

Man: AND 25% INDIAN.

I'M GONNA SAY I'M 25% WHITE -- Gates: 25% WHITE.

Man: I'D SAY I'M 50% OF AFRICAN DESCENT.

50% BLACK.

Man: 60% BLACK AND 40% WHITE.

I'M GOING TO TRUST YOU, DOC, ON THIS ONE.

ALL RIGHT, GREAT, ALL RIGHT, LET'S DO IT.

NO INDIAN IN THERE ANYWHERE.

FROM JUST A TINY CHEEK CELL, SCIENTISTS FROM THE GENETIC TESTING COMPANY 23andME CAN HARVEST ENOUGH DNA FOR THEIR ANALYSIS.

YOUR DNA IS IN ALL YOUR CELLS.

IT'S JUST GETTING CELLS OUT OF YOUR CHEEKS.

WE'VE TESTED ALL THE GUESTS IN THE SERIES AND MY FRIENDS HERE AT THE BARBERSHOP.

LATER ON, I'LL COME BACK AND REVEAL THE RESULTS.

[ BOAT HORN BLOWS ] WHILE LOOKING BACK THROUGH OUR FAMILY HISTORIES CAN BE ENLIGHTENING, YIELDING CLUES ABOUT OUR OWN IDENTITY, IT CAN ALSO BE FRAUGHT WITH APPREHENSION.

FOR MANY WHITE PEOPLE WHO GREW UP IN THE DEEP SOUTH, LIKE HERE IN NEW ORLEANS, UNCOVERING SECRETS ABOUT THEIR ANCESTORS WHO LIVED HERE DURING THE CIVIL WAR CAN BE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT.

HAVE YOU THOUGHT MUCH ABOUT YOUR ROOTS, WHERE YOU COME FROM, AND YOUR MAMA'S LINE AND YOUR DADDY'S LINE?

I HAVE, ONLY FROM THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PASSED DOWN FROM MY PARENTS, YOU KNOW?

MY WHOLE LIFE, I'VE HAD THIS KIND OF -- THIS SENSE OF GUILT THAT I REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE, BUT I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF MY ASSOCIATION WITH SO MANY BLACK PEOPLE GROWING UP THAT DIDN'T KNOW THEIR HISTORY, PRIMARILY BECAUSE THINGS GOT SO MIXED UP WITH SLAVERY AND IDENTITY THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY BLACK PEOPLE TO TRACE THEIR ROOTS BACK AS FAR AS A WHITE PERSON COULD.

SO I'VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT?

THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO FIND THAT OUT, I DON'T REALLY WANT TO FIND IT OUT, EITHER.

OH, THAT'S VERY SWEET.

BUT AT THIS POINT, I MEAN, YOU -- THERE WOULD BE NO HARM IN ME FINDING OUT AND I'M EXCITED TO FIND OUT.

[ BELL CLANGING ] IN 1853, HARRY'S IMMIGRANT ANCESTOR, A MAN NAMED JAMES CONNICK, WAS MAKING HIS WAY TO AMERICA TO ESCAPE A DEVASTATING FAMINE AND RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION IN IRELAND.

ONCE HE ARRIVED IN MOBILE, ALABAMA, HE WOULD BE FORCED TO CONFRONT THE ISSUE OF SLAVERY WHICH WAS THREATENING TO TEAR THIS COUNTRY APART.

THIS IS EIGHT YEARS BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT YOUR FAMILY'S EXPERIENCES DURING THE CIVIL WAR?

I MEAN, I THINK ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, I THINK ABOUT MY FAMILY, BUT IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE HERE DURING THAT TIME, YOU KNOW?

YEAH.

AND WHEN YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WERE THEY DOING AND WHAT WERE THEIR BELIEFS AND, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY BEING IN THE SOUTH, I MEAN, IF THEY CAME FROM IRELAND AND THEY KNEW WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE OPPRESSED, AND TO COME HERE, LIKE, WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WERE THEY, YOU KNOW?

YEAH.

Man: THIS IS LOT 52, SECTION D, CATHOLIC CEMETERY IN MOBILE, ALABAMA, AND THIS IS THE CONNICK LOT WHERE JAMES CONNICK IS BURIED.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JAMES CONNICK AND THE LIFE HE LED, WE CAME TO MOBILE TO MEET WITH ART GREEN, A LOCAL CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN.

DIGGING THROUGH THE CHURCH REGISTRY, GREEN FOUND THE CONNICK FAMILY BURIAL SITE WHERE TODAY JAMES CONNICK LIES IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE.

Green: THERE AT ONE POINT HAD TO BE HEADSTONES BECAUSE THEY'RE RECORDED, BUT THEY'RE GONE NOW.

GREEN DISCOVERED THAT JAMES CONNICK WORKED ON THE DOCKS AS A COTTON BAYMAN, OR STEVEDORE.

Green: "CONNICK, JAMES M. BAYMAN.

RESIDENCE, 306 AUGUSTA STREET."

CONNICK PERFORMED A BACK-BREAKING JOB, LOADING BALES OF COTTON ONTO SHIPS AT THE BUSY PORT OF MOBILE ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

Green: JAMES WAS PROBABLY A STRONG INDIVIDUAL TO BECOME A STEVEDORE.

THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A SKILLED LABORING JOB AND PROBABLY RELATIVE POOR PAY.

THEY WERE LIKE DAY LABORERS, HIRED ON SITE AS NEEDED.

AND THERE WOULD BE DAYS WHEN YOU SIMPLY DIDN'T GET CHOSEN, SO IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DAY TO DAY THING AND PROBABLY A RATHER HARD LIFE.

[ CANNON FIRE ] THEN, IN 1861, AFTER CONFEDERATE TROOPS FIRED ON FORT SUMTER, THE CIVIL WAR OFFICIALLY BEGAN.

MEN ACROSS THE SOUTH TOOK UP ARMS.

Green: GENERALLY, I TELL PEOPLE IF YOU HAD A RELATIVE IN THE SOUTH AND HE WAS BETWEEN THE AGE OF 17 AND 45, YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT HE SERVED IN A CONFEDERATE SERVICE OF SOME SORT.

JAMES CONNICK WOULD HAVE BEEN 26 YEARS OLD WHEN THE WAR BEGAN, AND WHILE THE ORIGINS OF THE CIVIL WAR HAVE BEEN DEBATED FOR GENERATIONS, IT WAS INEVITABLY A REFERENDUM ON SLAVERY.

SO, WE WONDERED WHAT JAMES CONNICK'S VIEWS MIGHT HAVE BEEN, AND WE KNEW THAT HARRY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THOSE, TOO.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER NEVER OWNED SLAVES.

PHE W, THAT'S GREAT NEWS.

BUT, WOULD YOU MIND TURNING THE PAGE?

NOW, HARRY -- WHOA.

THIS IS A MUSTER ROLL FROM COMPANY 5, 15th CONFEDERATE CAVALRY.

CAN YOU READ THE NAME AT THE TOP?

YEAH, JAMES CONNICK.

THAT'S RIGHT, HARRY.

YOUR GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER JAMES JOINED THE CONFEDERATE ARMY IN OCTOBER, 1861, AND HE SERVED AS A SOLDIER FOR THE SOUTH, THE CONFEDERACY, FOR THREE YEARS.

WOW.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAD THIS HISTORY OF SUPPORT FOR THE CONFEDERACY IN YOUR FAMILY?

NO, IT'S KIND OF SHAMEFUL TO EVEN ADMIT THAT, YOU KNOW?

YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ANCESTOR.

NO, BUT TO HEAR IT FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD KIND OF HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOUR ANCESTOR WOULD HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH HARRIET TUBMAN OR SOMETHING, TRYING TO HELP AS MANY PEOPLE.

THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, HE'S A PRIVATE IN THE CONFEDERACY IS KIND OF LIKE, "WHOA."

THREE YEARS.

YEAH.

YEAH, IT'S NOT LIKE HE TRIED IT FOR SIX MONTHS AND SAID, "YOU KNOW WHAT, MAN, THAT'S IT FOR ME."

HE SAID, "SIGN ME UP."

[ LAUGHS ] THAT SUCKS.

SO, I MEAN, THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T OWN SLAVES, DOES THAT MEAN HE JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY AND HE WAS TOO YOUNG?

I MEAN, BECAUSE IF YOU JOIN THE CONFEDERACY, YOU KNOW, HE WAS CLEARLY FIGHTING -- HE WAS FIGHTING TO DEFEND SLAVERY AND THE SOUTH.

RIGHT.

I'M GRASPING TO TRY TO RATIONALIZE -- MAYBE WERE THERE ANY OTHER REASONS?

I MEAN, BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK -- I MEAN, I KNOW THAT'S THE REASON THE WAR WAS FOUGHT, BUT, I MEAN, WAS HE GETTING PAID BETTER THAN WORKING AS A BAYMAN, YOU KNOW?

WAS IT LIKE, "I'M GOING TO SIGN UP TO FEED MY FAMILY"?

IT COULD HAVE BEEN ANY OF THOSE THINGS.

I'M JUST HOPING THAT THERE WAS SOME OTHER MOTIVE BESIDE, "I'M GOING TO KEEP THE STATUS QUO GOING DOWN HERE."

THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY MEN ENLISTED IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.

WE MAY NEVER KNOW EXACTLY WHY JAMES DID, BUT WE CAN IMAGINE THAT LIFE FOR HIM AND HIS NEW FAMILY GOT A WHOLE LOT HARDER ONCE THE WAR WAS UNDERWAY.

FOR A BAYMAN LIKE HARRY'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, WORK ON THE DOCKS DRIED UP AS UNION TROOPS TIGHTENED THEIR GRIP ON TRADE ROUTES INTO THE PORT OF MOBILE.

Green: IT WAS A TERRIBLE TIME FOR THE SOUTH.

THE SOUTH HAD BEEN EMBARGOED BY THE FEDERAL FLEET, SO THERE WAS NO COAL FOR FIRES, THERE WAS NO OIL FOR THE LIGHTS.

THERE WAS A BREAD RIOT IN THIS TOWN BECAUSE THERE WAS NO FLOUR FOR BREAD.

IT WAS JUST A DESTITUTE TIME.

ART GREEN SPECULATES THAT JAMES WAS PROBABLY MOTIVATED TO JOIN THE ARMY FOR ECONOMIC REASONS.

Green: I ASSUME THAT HE CAME FROM IRELAND UNDER DURESS WITH SOME BAD TIMES THERE, LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY AND HOPED HE HAD FOUND IT HERE, AND HE SAW THAT THREATENED.

GREEN TOLD US THAT HARRY'S ANCESTOR MAY HAVE BEEN PART OF A NOTABLE CONFEDERATE VICTORY IN MISSISSIPPI -- THE BATTLE OF TUNICA BEND.

Green: THEY RODE FROM THEIR OUTPOST HERE ALL THE WAY OVER.

IT WAS ABOUT 300 MILES.

AND HE MAY EVEN HAVE BEEN WOUNDED IN THE FIGHT.

NOW, HARRY, THESE ARE CONFEDERATE PENSION RECORDS THAT SHOW US THAT JAMES RECEIVED A PENSION BETWEEN 1907 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1914.

NOW, THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU COULD RECEIVE A PENSION AS A CONFEDERATE SOLDIER WAS IF YOU WERE WOUNDED OR INDIGENT, AND MORE LIKELY BECAUSE YOU WERE WOUNDED.

WHOA.

SEE, I TOLD YOU HE WASN'T REALLY FIGHTING FOR THE SOUTH.

HE WENT IN THERE TO -- "LISTEN, I'M DOING THIS TO FEED MY FAMILY" AND SOMEBODY KICKED HIS BEHIND AND IT WAS ALL A MASTER PLAN TO GET THE PENSION.

WELL, HE EXECUTED IT BRILLIANTLY.

SEE?

WE'RE SMART, BRO.

I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FORTHCOMING PAGES.

[ LAUGHS ] I KNOW THIS IS A LOT TO TAKE IN, BRO.

IT'S SO HEAVY, MAN.

SO UNBELIEVABLE.

I DON'T FEEL GUILTY, I'M JUST -- IT'S DISAPPOINTING TO -- JUST THE BLANKET SORT OF, "DID YOU KNOW YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER FOUGHT IN THE CIVIL WAR FOR THE SOUTH?"

IT'S LIKE, "OH..." THANKS FOR PUTTING THAT ON TV.

[ LAUGHS ] MY NEXT ALBUM IS GOING TO BE NEGRO SPIRITUALS.

I CAN GUARANTEE YOU.

[ LAUGHS ] IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW WHAT ANY OF US WOULD HAVE DONE IN THE FACE OF THESE DIFFICULT MORAL DECISIONS.

SLAVERY WAS INGRAINED IN THE VERY FABRIC OF SOUTHERN LIFE AND IT WAS THE BACKBONE OF THEIR ECONOMY.

JAMES CONNICK'S EXPERIENCES REMINDED ME OF BRANFORD'S WHITE GERMAN ANCESTOR, HIS THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER, JOHN REINHARD LEARSON, AND THE DECISIONS HE MADE IN A SOUTHERN SLAVE SOCIETY JUST A FEW YEARS BEFORE THE WAR BROKE OUT.

WE KNOW HE FATHERED A CHILD WITH A BLACK WOMAN, SO, QUITE REASONABLY, WE ASSUMED THAT SHE MUST HAVE BEEN A SLAVE.

DID YOU ALWAYS PRESUME, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, THAT EVERYONE IN THEIR FAMILY LINE, BACK TO KUNTA KINTE, WAS A SLAVE?

NO, I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT IN THAT -- IN THAT DIRECT A FASHION, BUT I ALWAYS KNEW THAT WE ARE DESCENDANTS OF SLAVES.

THERE WAS NO WAY TO DENY THAT.

THAT'S HOW WE GOT HERE.

TO FIND OUT IF WE WERE RIGHT AND TO FIGURE OUT IF JOHN LEARSON OWNED BRANFORD'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, WE TURNED TO GREG OSBORN, A RESEARCHER AT THE NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC LIBRARY.

THIS IS THE STREET THAT JOHN LEARSON LIVED.

HERE, GREG IS POURING THROUGH HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, TRYING TO PIECE TOGETHER EVIDENCE BURIED IN THE PAPER TRAIL THAT BRANFORD'S ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND.

HIS TASK WOULDN'T BE EASY.

BEFORE EMANCIPATION IN 1865, THE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGES OF SLAVES WAS NOT PART OF ANY OFFICIAL RECORD.

SO IF LEARS ON DID FATHER A CHILD WITH A SLAVE, FINDING THE IDENTITY OF THAT WOMAN, BRANFORD'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, WOULD BE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

Osborn: THERE'S STILL A LOT OF GOOD FAMILY HISTORY THERE.

THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD ORAL HISTORY AVAILABLE.

GREG SYSTEMATICALLY SEARCHED THROUGH THE ARCHIVES.

Osborn: IT'S SORT OF A SLOW PROCESS OF FINDING MULTIPLE INFORMATION AND HOPEFULLY FIND A SLAVE CELL OR AN ESTATE INVENTORY.

HE VISITED CEMETERIES ALL OVER NEW ORLEANS TO RECORD NAMES ON OLD GRAVESTONES.

Osborn: SOMETIMES IT TAKES HOURS AND HOURS JUST TO SOLVE ONE MYSTERY.

JUST AS I'D FEARED, IT SEEMED THAT WE'D HIT A DEAD END.

THEN, GREG FOUND SOMETHING DEEP IN THE STACKS.

Osborn: NORMALLY YOU JUST GET THE CENSUS AND A LOT OF RECORDS.

THIS IS MORE LIKE A WINDOW OF SOMETHING JUICY.

WHAT GREG FOUND WAS THE 1851 BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF JOHN REINHARD LEARSON'S SON, BRANFORD'S GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER, JOHN JOSEPH.

ON IT WAS THE NAME OF THE CHILD'S MOTHER, THE VERY WOMAN FOR WHOM WE WERE SEARCHING -- BRANFORD MARSALIS' THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

THIS DOCUMENT ALSO CONTAINED ANOTHER STARTLING BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT BRANFORD'S FAMILY'S PAST.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN ABOUT UNLESS THERE WAS SOME FAMILY STORY THAT GOT PASSED DOWN.

"ON THIS PRESENT DAY OF MAY IN THE PRESENT YEAR 1851," THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE READ, "WAS BORN A MALE CHILD NAMED JOHN JOSEPH LEARSON, THE NATURAL SON OF MYRTHE VALENTIN, A FREE WOMAN OF COLOR."

BRANFORD'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, MYRTHE VALENTIN, WHO HAD BORNE A SON WITH A WHITE IMMIGRANT FROM GERMANY, WASN'T A SLAVE AT ALL.

BRANFORD, SOMETIMES WE GET LUCKY.

HMM.

AND WE GOT LUCKY THIS TIME.

BRANFORD, IT TURNS OUT THAT BY 1851, YOUR THIRD GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, MYRTHE VALENTIN, WAS FREE.

WOW.

YOU DESCEND FROM FREE NEGROES.

HMM.

YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW AFRICAN AMERICANS -- LESS THAN 10% OF US ARE DESCENDED FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE FREE BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

PRETTY COOL.

YOU HAVE TWO GENERATIONS OF FREE NEGROES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR EVEN STARTS IN YOUR FAMILY, YOUR MAMA'S LINE.

THIS IS AMAZING.

I'M LOOKING AT IT, THIS -- IT'S -- IT'S REALLY -- IT'S REALLY AMAZING.

IT CERTAINLY ALLOWS FOR A HEAD-START.

OH, YEAH.

YOU KNOW, EDUCATION, OPPORTUNITIES.

THEY HAD NAMES, PROPERTY.

THEY COULD HAVE A FAMILY BIBLE AND PASS IT DOWN.

RIGHT.

REAL TRADITIONS.

YEAH, I ALWAYS GOT THAT SENSE FROM MY MOTHER'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT THEY WOULD TALK.

AND WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT YOUR THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER, JOHN REINHARD LEARSON, CAME HERE TO MAKE HIS FORTUNE, AND INSTEAD OF BECOMING PART OF THE SLAVE-OWNING WHITE SOCIETY, YOUR ANCESTOR, UNLIKE 99% OF THESE EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS, CHOSE TO MAKE A LIFE WITH A PERSON OF AFRICAN DESCENT, A WOMAN OBVIOUSLY HE FELL IN LOVE WITH.

THIS WAS A WILLING ASSOCIATION, A WILLING ASSOCIATION BASED ON LOVE AND A LONG-TIME COMMITMENT BETWEEN A WHITE MAN AND A BLACK WOMAN.

AND IT WASN'T A CASUAL FLING.

WE'VE LOOKED AT ALL THE BIRTH RECORDS, AND JOHN REINHARD LEARSON IS LISTED AS THE FATHER OF EVERY ONE OF MYRTHE'S SEVEN CHILDREN, AND, BRANFORD, HE GAVE THEM ALL HIS SURNAME.

YEAH.

I MEAN, THIS IS LIKE THE JOHN BROWN OF NEW ORLEANS.

THIS IS LIKE -- THAT'S FUNNY.

YEAH, NO, IT'S -- HE WAS A NOBLE MAN, CLEARLY, TO DO THAT IN THOSE TIMES.

BUT IF IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN IN AMERICA, IT WOULD HAPPEN IN LOUISIANA, IN NEW ORLEANS, SPECIFICALLY.

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES WHERE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO, THAT'S WHAT YOU COULD DO.

PRIOR TO THE CIVIL WAR, NEW ORLEANS WAS HOME TO ONE OF THE LARGEST POPULATIONS OF FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE DEEP SOUTH.

THEY ESTABLISHED A LIVELY AND VITAL COMMUNITY IN NEIGHBORHOODS SUCH AS THE FRENCH QUARTER, THE TREME, AND THE MARIGNY.

FOR A TIME, FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR SHARED SOME OF THE SAME FREEDOMS AS WHITE PEOPLE.

THEY COULD OWN LAND, THEY PUBLISHED THEIR OWN NEWSPAPERS, AND ATTENDED THEIR OWN SCHOOLS.

BUT DEPICTIONS OF ANTEBELLUM NEW ORLEANS AS A MULTI-ETHNIC OASIS HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED IN OUR HISTORY BOOKS.

NEW ORLEANS HAS A SAD LEGACY OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND WAS LONG ONE OF THE CENTERS OF THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.

WALTER, HOW FREE WAS FREE?

WERE THERE DEGREES OF FREEDOM, OR WERE THESE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR AS FREE AS WHITE PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS?

I THINK "DEGREES OF FREEDOM" IS A GOOD PHRASE.

TO UNDERSTAND MORE FULLY WHAT LIFE WAS REALLY LIKE FOR THESE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR, I MET WITH MY HARVARD COLLEAGUE, HISTORIAN WALTER JOHNSON, WHO IS CURRENTLY WRITING A BOOK ABOUT THIS PERIOD OF NEW ORLEANS' HISTORY.

NOW, I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO IMAGINE THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS AS A MULTI-CULTURAL PARADISE, AND OVER TIME, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS PLACED ON FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN NEW ORLEANS.

AFTER 1830, IT'S ILLEGAL, IT'S OFFICIALLY ILLEGAL FOR FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR TO MOVE TO THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.

FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR HAVE TO CARRY THEIR PAPERS.

THEY CAN BE STOPPED ON THE STREET AND MADE TO PROVE OUT THEIR IDENTITY.

AND A LOT OF THESE ARE WORKING CLASS.

THEY'RE WHAT TODAY WE MIGHT CALL THE WORKING POOR.

WALTER EXPLAINED TO ME THAT EVEN AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, BLACK PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS CONTINUED TO SUFFER RACIAL SEGREGATION.

AND DESPITE THE STRIDES MADE BY SO MANY DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, BLACK PEOPLE IN NEW ORLEANS, LIKE THOSE ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH, STRUGGLED TO FIND A PLACE IN WHITE SOCIETY.

MOST RECENTLY, THE HORRIFIC EVENTS FOLLOWING HURRICANE KATRINA REVEALED THE RACIAL AND ECONOMIC FAULT LINES THAT STILL EXIST IN NEW ORLEANS TODAY.

IMAGES OF AFRICAN AMERICANS LEFT DESPERATELY TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES AFTER THE STORM SHOCKED THE COUNTRY.

FOR THESE TWO OLD FRIENDS, BOTH FROM NEW ORLEANS, BUT WITH VASTLY DIFFERENT FAMILY HISTORIES, KATRINA WAS A CALL TO ACTION THAT DREW THEM TOGETHER AGAIN.

TOGETHER, THEY'VE HELPED RAISE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO REBUILD HOMES IN THE SEVERELY DAMAGED UPPER NINTH WARD.

THE MUSICIANS' VILLAGE NOW PROVIDES HOUSING FOR OVER 70 FAMILIES WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN THE FLOOD.

SO, DID YOU GUYS REBUILD THESE HOMES?

YEAH, WE'RE SITTING ON THE STOOP OF ONE OF THE HOUSES RIGHT NOW.

THIS IS A BRAND-NEW HOUSE?

YEAH.

I'M TELLING YOU, IT BLOWS MY MIND, I KNOW IT BLOWS YOUR MIND EVERY TIME WE COME HOME AND WE SEE THE -- THE MARKINGS ON THE DOORS, THE EXES, YOU KNOW, SHOWING THE INHABITANTS AND STUFF.

A BLOCK FROM HERE, YOU CAN STILL SEE IT, BUT THE REAL INCEPTION OF IT WAS BOTH OF US WERE TRYING TO SAY, "GOD, WE'RE ABOUT TO LOSE OUR CITY, LIKE, WHAT CAN WE DO?"

Branford: WELCOME TO THE ELLIS MARSALIS CENTER FOR MUSIC.

Connick: YEAH!

THEY'VE ALSO JUST FINISHED CONSTRUCTION OF A STATE OF THE ART PERFORMANCE SPACE AND MUSIC SCHOOL WHICH THEY'VE NAMED IN HONOR OF BRANFORD'S FATHER AND HARRY'S MENTOR ELLIS MARSALIS, SO FOR GENERATIONS OF NEW ORLEANS MUSICIANS TO COME, THE NAME "MARSALIS" WILL LIVE ON.

THE NAME "MARSALIS" IS PRACTICALLY SYNONYMOUS TO MOST AMERICANS WITH BOTH THE WORD "JAZZ" AND NEW ORLEANS.

IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO KNOW WHERE THE NAME "MARSALIS" COMES FROM?

I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW.

I'VE READ THE MARSALIS NAME WAS ACTUALLY A DUTCH NAME AND COMES FROM THE PLANTATION THAT IS IN SUMMIT, MISSISSIPPI.

BRANFORD WAS RIGHT.

ANY BLACK PERSON BORN WITH THE NAME "MARSALIS" AROUND SUMMIT, MISSISSIPPI, WAS MOST LIKELY A FORMER SLAVE OF A DUTCH PLANTATION OWNER NAMED PETER MARSALIS.

ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, PETER OWNED OVER 40 SLAVES, ONE OF THEM A MAN NAMED SAM MARSALIS, WHO WAS BRANFORD'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

BUT WE DISCOVERED SOMETHING QUITE UNUSUAL IN THE FOLLOWING GENERATION.

SAM'S SON, JOSEPH MARSALIS, MARRIED ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY IN 1886, BUT ACCORDING TO RECORDS, THEIR SON SIMEON WAS BORN THREE YEARS EARLIER IN 1883.

WE WONDERED WHAT THIS MEANT, AND WE WERE AMAZED AT WHAT CAME NEXT.

SO WE STARTED SEARCHING FOR RECORDS THAT COULD TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY.

WE WANTED TO FIND OUT IF SIMMIE HAD BEEN BORN TO THEM OUT OF WEDLOCK AND THEN THEY GOT MARRIED THREE YEARS LATER.

YOU KNOW, THAT OFTEN HAPPENED.

AND WE FOUND SOMETHING INTERESTING.

WOULD YOU MIND TURNING THE PAGE AND READING WHAT WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED?

"YOU ARE HEREBY AUTHORIZED TO CELEBRATE THE RIGHTS OF MATRIMONY BETWEEN BEN CARTER AND LIZZIE MONTGOMERY GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND THE SEAL OF MY OFFICE THIS 12th DAY OF DECEMBER 1882."

THIS IS A MARRIAGE RECORD BETWEEN YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER LIZZIE AND A MAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN, NAMED BEN CARTER.

SO, IT LOOKS LIKE ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY MARRIED A MAN NAMED BEN CARTER BEFORE SHE MARRIED JOSEPH MARSALIS.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THIS MAN, BEN CARTER?

NO, I HAVE NOT.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND WHEN YOU'RE DOING SOME OF THESE.

[ LAUGHS ] THIS IS GOOD.

I'M A CARTER.

[ LAUGHS ] BUT THERE'S SOMETHING CURIOUS ABOUT THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE BETWEEN LIZZIE AND BEN.

NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT THIS CLOSELY, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE IS NOT SIGNED, AND WE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT, WHY WASN'T IT SIGNED?

AND LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND.

WOULD YOU TURN THE PAGE?

OKAY, WAIT.

"MARRIAGE RECORD OF ISAAC BLACK AND LIZZIE MONTGOMERY."

[ LAUGHS ] MAKE UP YOUR MIND, WOMAN!

THIS, INCREDIBLY, IS ANOTHER MARRIAGE LICENSE RECORDED FOUR DAYS AFTER THE ONE POSTED BY BEN CARTER AND LIZZIE, AND IT IS SIGNED.

YOU'RE NOT A CARTER.

YOU ARE A BLACK.

A BLACK.

ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY EVER MENTION THIS BROTHER'S NAME?

NO HAS EVER MENTIONED THE BROTHER'S NAME.

THERE'S A GOOD REASON.

THE RECORDS ARE CONFUSING.

WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

BUT WE DID THE MATH.

SIMMIE WAS BORN TEN MONTHS MINUS FOUR DAYS AFTER LIZZIE MARRIED ISAAC BLACK, SO IT SEEMS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT ISAAC BLACK WAS SIMMIE'S ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL FATHER.

DOES THIS SURPRISE YOU?

THIS IS ALL NEWS TO ME.

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT MARRIAGE, BUT BY THE TIME YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, ELIZABETH AND JOSEPH, MARRIED IN 1886, SIMEON WAS ALREADY THREE YEARS OLD.

JOSEPH MARSALIS, GOOD MAN THAT HE WAS, RAISED SIMMIE AS HIS OWN SON AND GAVE HIM HIS NAME, EVEN THOUGH HE TECHNICALLY WAS HIS STEPSON.

IT'S A LOT TO DIGEST, I KNOW.

NO, IT'S OKAY.

IT'S REALLY OKAY.

BECAUSE, I MEAN, IT'S THE WHOLE NATURE/NURTURE THING.

I MEAN, I AM WHO I AM BECAUSE OF MY PARENTS, AND EVEN THOUGH AS TEENAGERS WYNTON AND I DID HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME GOING TO SUMMIT, MISSISSIPPI, AND KNOCKING ON THE HOMES OF THE WHITE MARSALISES AND SAYING, "I THINK WE'RE RELATED" AND WATCHING THE HORROR ON THEIR FACES, THAT STILL -- THAT -- THAT STILL HAPPENED.

IT'LL STILL LAST.

IT'S PART OF LIFE.

PART OF LIFE.

IT'S PART OF LIFE.

YEAH.

LET'S LOOK AT THIS, MY FRIEND.

HARRY CONNICK WAS ALSO INTERESTED IN THE ORIGINS OF ONE OF HIS FAMILY NAMES -- HIS MIDDLE NAME, FOWLER.

THE FARTHEST BACK I COULD THINK IS MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S NAME IS HARRY FOWLER.

WELL, GUESS WHAT?

WE WERE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT A FAMILY TREE FOR YOU THAT TRACES THE FOWLERS BACK FIVE FULL GENERATIONS -- SO COOL.

TO YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

HE WAS A MAN NAMED JOHN FOWLER WHO WAS BORN IN PENNSYLVANIA IN THE YEAR 1783.

WOW.

BUT OUR JOURNEY THROUGH HARRY'S FOWLER LINE TOOK US BACK EVEN FURTHER, TO A FAMILY NAME THAT HARRY HAS NEVER EVEN HEARD OF -- HIS FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED DAVID McCULLOUGH, A WEALTHY SEA CAPTAIN LIVING IN PENNSYLVANIA IN 1775.

AS AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARIES FOMENTED WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, McCULLOUGH TOOK UP ARMS, USING HIS SHIP TO CHALLENGE THE BRITISH ROYAL NAVY, THE LEVIATHAN THAT WAS MENACING THE ATLANTIC COAST.

HE WORKED AS AN AMERICAN PRIVATEER.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT A PRIVATEER IS?

NO.

IT'S A BIT LIKE BEING A LEGAL PIRATE.

YOUR FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, McCULLOUGH, OWNED A SHIP.

GUESS WHAT THE SHIP WAS CALLED?

WHAT?

THE RATTLESNAKE.

THAT'S BAD-ASS.

YOUR ANCESTOR WAS INFAMOUS FOR SAILING IN THE WEST INDIES, WHERE IT'S SAID THAT HE CAPTURED MANY SHIPS AND BOUNTY, WHICH HE WOULD SEND BACK TO PORTS IN THE UNITED STATES.

THAT'S SO COOL.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.

HARRY, THIS IS AN ARTICLE THAT APPEARED IN A NEWSPAPER CALLED THE PENNSYLVANIA PACKET, AND IT'S DATED 1778.

THIS IS DURING THE REVOLUTION.

WOULD YOU MIND READING WHAT IT SAYS?

SURE.

"THE RATTLESNAKE PRIVATEER, ON HER PASSAGE FROM CHARLESTON IN SOUTH CAROLINA TO THIS PORT, FELL IN WITH SOME SW IFT BRITISH SLOOP OF WAR.

CAPTAIN McCULLOUGH AND HIS CREW LANDED SAFE IN VIRGINIA.

THE CREW OF THE SWIFT SURRENDERED THEMSELVES PRISONERS OF WAR."

IT'S INCREDIBLE TO HAVE A RECORD, AN ACCOUNT IN A NEWSPAPER, ABOUT SOMEBODY'S ANCESTOR.

IT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

THE BRITISH CROWN PROCLAIMED 5,000 GUINEA REWARD FOR DAVID McCULLOUGH'S HEAD.

HE WAS THAT GREAT OF A FIGHTER THAT THEY WERE LIKE, "WE'VE GOT TO TAKE THIS GUY OUT."

THEY WANTED TO TAKE HIM OUT, MAN.

5,000 GUINEAS IS A LOT OF MONEY.

BUT THEY NEVER GOT HIM.

THAT'S SO COOL.

HE SOUNDS LIKE THE ORIGINAL JACK SPARROW.

YEAH, HE DOES.

THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

JOHNNY DEPP HAS NOTHING ON YOUR ANCESTOR.

MAN, I KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA NAME MY FISHING BOAT.

I'M GONNA GO GET SOME OF THOSE LETTERS THAT YOU STICK ON.

I'M GONNA BE DRIVING THE RATTLESNAKE, BABY.

THE RATTLESNAKE!

THAT'S AMAZING.

IT'S AMAZING.

IT'S REALLY COOL.

THANKS, SKIP.

THANK YOU, BUDDY.

MY JOURNEY THROUGH HARRY'S FAMILY TREE IS OVER FOR NOW.

WE MADE SOME REMARKABLE DISCOVERIES THROUGH NINE GENERATIONS OF HIS ANCESTORS.

BUT FOR BRANFORD AND MY FRIENDS DOWN AT THE BARBERSHOP, I STILL HAD ONE LAST BIT OF NEWS -- THE RESULTS OF THEIR DNA TESTS.

IT WAS TIME TO SEE JUST HOW CLOSE THEY ALL HAD COME TO GUESSING THEIR TRUE GENETIC MIXTURE.

ALL RIGHT, GUYS.

TODAY WE'RE GOING TO REVEAL YOUR PERCENTAGES OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY, EUROPEAN ANCESTRY, AND NATIVE-AMERICAN ANCESTRY, AND YOU REMEMBER THAT THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE, WE ALL MADE A BET.

EVERYBODY GUESSED THEIR PERCENTAGES.

AND YOUNG KYLE, BERNARD'S SON, ON THIS SHEET OF PAPER, WROTE DOWN THE PERCENTAGES.

AND I AM GOING TO TELL YOU IF YOU WERE RIGHT OR IF YOU WERE WRONG.

AND WE'RE GOING TO START WITH MICHAEL FLOWERS.

NOW, MICHAEL, YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE 30% WHITE.

YOU ARE 12.4% WHITE.

WHOA!

YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE 40% BLACK.

YOU ARE 86.62% BLACK.

WOW!

[ LAUGHTER ] WOW!

BERNARD HICKS, YOU GUESSED THAT YOU WERE 25% WHITE.

YOU GOT IT ALMOST EXACTLY RIGHT.

YOU'RE 27.5% WHITE.

WHOA!

MY FRIENDS WERE FASCINATED BY THE PROCESS, AND I GAVE THEM A COPY OF THE 23andME DNA RESULTS TO HOLD ONTO.

I'M GOING TO HANG THIS UP IN MY OFFICE.

85% AFRICAN.

JUST AS I'D THOUGHT, NONE OF THE GUYS HAD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY.

I THOUGHT THERE WAS A LOT MORE NATIVE AMERICAN IN ME, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A HIGH PERCENTAGE, COMPARED TO OTHER BLACKS, OF NATIVE AMERICAN IN ME.

MY GRANDMOTHER ON BOTH SIDES WERE VERY DARK.

DENNIS, A DOMINICAN, WAS GRAPPLING WITH THE NEWS THAT HE WAS ONLY 8%.

MANY DOMINICANS DESCRIBE THEMSELVES AS "INDIOS," PEOPLE WITH A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTRY.

Dennis: ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT A LARGE PERCENTAGE, BUT I DO REPRESENT, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, THE TAINO INDIAN.

Gates: YOU DO.

FROM LIKE YOUR FEET AND ANKLES, MAYBE, UP TO YOUR SHIN.

ALL OF THIS IS BLACK.

FOR SOME, THE RESULTS CAME AS A HUGE SURPRISE.

THE REVEREND, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY OF AFRICAN DESCENT.

I THOUGHT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE EUROPEAN AMERICAN IN MY BACKGROUND AND MAKEUP BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF LIGHT-SKIN RELATIVES ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE.

EVEN FOR BERNARD, WHO CAME CLOSEST TO GUESSING HIS PERCENTAGE OF EUROPEAN ANCESTRY, THE NUMBERS WERE STILL HARD TO BELIEVE.

IT'S SHOCKING, JUST EVEN LOOKING AT IT, TO SEE THAT I HAVE THAT MUCH EUROPEAN IN ME.

Gates: WELL, YEAH, BECAUSE...

BUT FOR ALL OF THEM, THE INFORMATION THEY RECEIVED SPARKED A LARGER CONVERSATION ABOUT RACE AND IDENTITY.

Dennis: I CAN ALMOST SAY THAT I'M WHITE, BECAUSE I'M 50.6% EUROPEAN, YET SOCIETY JUDGES YOU FOR HOW YOU LOOK.

NEXT TIME I GET PULLED OVER FOR DRIVING WHILE BLACK, I'M GONNA TELL THE OFFICER, "I'M ACTUALLY WHITE, MAN."

[ LAUGHTER ] I WAS EAGER TO SEE IF THIS SAME DNA ANALYSIS WOULD CONFIRM WHAT WE ALREADY BELIEVED TO BE TRUE OF BRANFORD MARSALIS, THAT HE HAS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WHITE ANCESTRY.

CHICKEN DINNER AT WILLIE MAE'S -- IF YOU GET CLOSE, I'LL PAY.

BRANFORD AND I MADE A DEAL.

IF HE GUESSED HIS PERCENTAGES CORRECTLY, I'D BUY HIM DINNER IN NEW ORLEANS.

HOW WHITE ARE YOU, HOW BLACK ARE YOU, AND HOW RED ARE YOU?

EITHER WAY, WE'D BOTH WIN -- WE'D GET TO EAT SOME DELICIOUS FRIED CHICKEN.

15% WHITE -- NO, 25.

I'D SAY 25% WHITE.

OKAY, 25% WHITE.

GIVE ME SOME NATIVE.

5%.

5% NATIVE.

SO 70% BLACK.

70% BLACK.

TURN THE PAGE.

YOU'RE BUYING CHICKEN.

WHAT DOES IT SAY?

62% AFRICAN, 31% EUROPEAN, 7% ASIAN.

ASIAN IS NATIVE AMERICAN.

SO, 70% AFRICAN, YOU SAID, 25% EUROPEAN AND 5% -- YOU WERE CLOSE BOTH WAYS.

NEVER HAD ANYONE GUESS MORE ACCURATELY.

PAY UP, FOOL.

I WILL, I WILL.

DO THEY HAVE HOT SAUCE?

I THINK WE GOT HOT SAUCE ALL OVER NEW ORLEANS, WE'RE GOOD.

♪ MY JOURNEY THROUGH HARRY AND BRANFORD'S PAST HAS HELPED ME BETTER UNDERSTAND THE HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS ITSELF.

TOGETHER, THEIR FAMILY STORIES FORM A SONG, ONE NOT ALWAYS IN PERFECT HARMONY, THAT TELLS A STORY ABOUT RACE AND MUSIC THAT STILL DEFINES THIS PLACE TODAY.

BUT AS MUCH AS I HATE TO LEAVE, IT'S TIME FOR ME TO GO.

JOIN US NEXT TIME AS WE INTRODUCE TWO NEW GUESTS TO LONG LOST ANCESTORS ON THEIR FAMILY TREES, IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS."