Fashion's Roots

GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR., WELCOME TO "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'RE STEPPING INTO THE WORLD OF FASHION TO MEET THREE ICONS OF STYLE: DIANE VON FURSTENBERG, NARCISO RODRIGUEZ, AND RUPAUL CHARLES.

EACH HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE SEE OURSELVES, ALL THE WHILE KNOWING VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE ANCESTORS WHO SHAPED THEIR OWN IDENTITIES.

VON FURSTENBERG: MY MOTHER, SHE USED TO SAY THAT SHE HAD FOUND ME IN THE GARBAGE AND IT TOOK HER TWO DAYS TO CLEAN ME.

SHE NEVER TALKED ABOUT THE DARKNESS.

NOT TO ME.

RODRIGUEZ: WELL, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INCREDIBLY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE, MY ANCESTRY IS BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SUCH A MYSTERY FOR SO LONG.

CHARLES: I'M REARRANGING ALL OF THE STORIES I'VE EVER BEEN TOLD ABOUT THE FAMILY.

EVERYTHING'S SORT OF RECALCULATING, RECALIBRATING.

GATES: TO UNCOVER THEIR ROOTS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE.

GENEALOGISTS COMBED THROUGH THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND, WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD.

AND WE'VE COMPILED EVERYTHING INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.

CHARLES: WOW.

GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OF OUR DISCOVERIES.

VON FURSTENBERG: OH MY GOD!

GATES: AND WE MADE THIS FOR YOU.

RODRIGUEZ: THAT IS INCREDIBLE!

CHARLES: THAT'S PRETTY AMAZING!

VON FURSTENBERG: IT'S GETTING VERY EMOTIONAL.

RODRIGUEZ: I'VE GOT TO START RETHINKING MY WARDROBE NOW.

I'M GETTING THE WHOLE LOOK.

GATES: MY GUESTS ARE CELEBRATED AROUND THE GLOBE FOR THEIR DARING CREATIVITY, BUT THEY SHARE SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL: EACH DESCENDS FROM WOMEN AND MEN WHO FACED DAUNTING CHALLENGES.

IN THIS EPISODE, THEY'LL DISCOVER HOW THEIR ANCESTORS MET THOSE CHALLENGES, HEARING STORIES OF SACRIFICE, COURAGE, AND SURVIVAL, ALL HIDDEN IN THE BRANCHES OF THEIR FAMILY TREES.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYS) ♪ ♪ GATES: RUPAUL IS A TRUE PIONEER.

THE MULTI-MEDIA SUPERSTAR HAS ALMOST SINGLE-HANDEDLY TRANSFORMED THE WAY THE WORLD PERCEIVES DRAG QUEENS, AND DRAG CULTURE, BRINGING THEM INTO THE MAINSTREAM WITHOUT COMPROMISING EVEN AN IOTA.

IT'S AN INCREDIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENT.

BUT TO HEAR RUPAUL TELL IT, IT'S JUST WHAT HE WAS BORN TO DO.

CHARLES: MY SISTERS WILL TELL YOU THAT I WAS ALWAYS, IN THE FRONT YARD WEARING WHATEVER, THEIR DRESSES, ANYWAY.

I LOVE CLOTHES.

I LOVE TEXTURES.

I, I DIDN'T LET, UH, THE BORDERS OR SOCIAL CONCEPTS STOP ME FROM DOING WHATEVER I WANTED TO DO.

GATES: UH-HUH.

FROM A LITTLE KID, ON?

CHARLES: LITTLE KID, LITTLE KID ON, NEVER LET THAT STOP ME.

AND TRUTHFULLY, PEOPLE WERE NEVER MEAN TO ME.

I, YOU KNOW, UH, NEVER, WAS NEVER BULLIED.

GATES: PEOPLE DIDN'T CALL YOU NAMES?

CHARLES: UH, THEY WOULD SAY NAMES, BUT THAT DIDN'T BOTHER ME.

MY MOTHER CALLED ME NAMES.

(LAUGHTER) GATES: RUPAUL MAKES EVERYTHING SOUND EASY, BUT HIS CHILDHOOD WAS ACTUALLY QUITE TRAUMATIC.

HIS PARENTS DIVORCED, BITTERLY, WHEN HE WAS ONLY SEVEN, AND HE CHANGED HOMES, STATES, AND SCHOOLS, NEVER THRIVING IN ANY OF THEM.

BUT THROUGH IT ALL, RUPAUL HAD HIS MIND SET ON A VERY SINGULAR GOAL.

CHARLES: I WANTED TO BE DAVID BOWIE.

GATES: OH, YOU DID?

CHARLES: I WANTED TO BE DAVID BOWIE BECAUSE, UH, AND IF I TALK ABOUT HIM LONG ENOUGH, I, TEARS COME UP BECAUSE HE MEANS SO MUCH TO ME AND TO SO MANY PEOPLE IN MY GENERATION OF, OF FREEDOM.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: OF JUST BREAKING DOWN ALL OF THE, THE WALLS AND BARRIERS IN, IN OUR HEADS.

AND SO, IN MY MIND, I WOULD GO TO NEW YORK, BECOME FRIENDS WITH ANDY WARHOL... GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: UH, CREATE A PERSONA, AND THEN GO TO HOLLYWOOD AND BECOME A STAR.

GATES: WHEN YOU WERE 12 AND 13?

CHARLES: YES.

I WAS THINKING THAT'S WHAT I WOULD DO, AND YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT'S REALLY BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENED.

GATES: RUPAUL IS RIGHT, HIS CHILDHOOD VISION WOULD PROVE REMARKABLY PRESCIENT.

AFTER MOVING TO NEW YORK IN THE 1980S, HE BECAME A NIGHTCLUB SENSATION, AND HAS MORE OR LESS BEEN IN THE LIMELIGHT EVER SINCE.

CULMINATING IN HIS NOW-WILDLY SUCCESSFUL SIGNATURE TV SERIES, "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE", WHICH HAS BROUGHT HIM A GLOBAL AUDIENCE, AND A DEEP SENSE OF PERSONAL SATISFACTION.

CHARLES: MAY I CALL YOU JIGGILY?

SHONTÈ: YES, MOMMA.

CHARLES: SHONTÈ, YOU STAY.

SHONTÈ: THANK YOU.

CHARLES: YOU MAY JOIN THE OTHER GIRLS.

THIS SHOW HAS, UH, BECOME A LAUNCH PAD FOR THESE BEAUTIFUL, CREATIVE SOULS TO, TO BE INTRODUCED TO THE WORLD.

AND AT ITS CORE, IT'S ABOUT THE TENACITY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: WE SEE THESE KIDS WHO COME FROM NOTHING.

A LOT OF THEM HAVE BEEN KICKED OUT OF THEIR HOMES.

THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH, AND THEY HAVE BEEN BULLIED.

GATES: UH-HUH.

OH, I'M SURE.

YEAH.

CHARLES: AND, AND YOU KNOW SOCIETY HAS SAID, NO, WE DON'T NEED YOU.

AND EVERYONE WHO IS AN OUTSIDER, WHETHER YOU'RE A DRAG QUEEN OR NOT, RELATES TO THAT ASPECT OF IT, THAT, UH, YOU ARE NOT INVISIBLE AND THAT YOUR DREAM OF BECOMING SOMETHING BIG AND BEAUTIFUL IS NOT STUPID.

IT'S NOT, UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF.

GATES: UH-HUH, OH, YOU'RE MAKING A, UH, A CIVIC CONTRIBUTION.

CHARLES: YEAH.

RIGHT.

GATES: I MEAN TO A BROADER NOTION OF WHAT AN AMERICAN IS, WHAT A HUMAN BEING IS.

CHARLES: YES.

AND I'VE ALWAYS SAID YOU'RE BORN NAKED, AND THE REST IS DRAG, AND THE TRUTH IS WE'RE ALL IN DRAG.

WE ARE ALL GOD PLAYING DRESS-UP.

GATES: LIKE RUPAUL, DIANE VON FURSTENBERG IS AN INTERNATIONAL ICON.

HER NAME AND HER SIGNATURE WRAP DRESS HAVE BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH ELEGANCE FOR MORE THAN FOUR DECADES.

HER DESIGNS ARE SOLD IN MORE THAN 100 COUNTRIES.

BUT DIANE'S CHARACTER WAS FORGED IN A PLACE OF UTTER HORROR.

BORN IN BELGIUM, SHE'S THE DAUGHTER OF LILY NEHEMIAS, AN AUSCHWITZ SURVIVOR, LILY EMERGED FROM THE CAMP A VERITABLE SKELETON, AN EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD FOREVER MARK HER DAUGHTER.

VON FURSTENBERG: SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE BUT SHE DID.

GATES: UH-HUH.

VON FURSTENBERG: SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAVE A CHILD BECAUSE THEY SAID THAT IF SHE HAD A CHILD, SHE HAD TO WAIT AT LEAST 3 OR 5 YEARS BEFORE HAVING A CHILD BECAUSE SHE WOULDN'T SURVIVE, AND I WOULDN'T BE NORMAL.

GATES: MMM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND SHE WAS A TOUGH MOTHER.

GATES: UH-HUH.

VON FURSTENBERG: SHE USED TO SAY THAT SHE HAD FOUND ME IN THE GARBAGE.

AND IT TOOK HER TWO DAYS TO CLEAN ME.

(LAUGHS).

VON FURSTENBERG: AND UH YOU KNOW, SHE WOULD NEVER ALLOW ME TO BE AFRAID.

I WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK, SHE WOULD LOCK ME IN THE CLOSET.

GATES: MMM.

VON FURSTENBERG: TODAY SHE WOULD GET ARRESTED.

BUT AS A RESULT, SHE REALLY MADE ME INDEPENDENT AND, AND FEARLESS.

GATES: DIANE'S FEARLESSNESS HAS HELPED HER BUILD A BRAND, IN A FIELD THAT IS NOTORIOUSLY CUT-THROAT.

BUT HER SKILL AS A DESIGNER FLOWS OUT OF SOMETHING THAT IS LESS DRAMATIC, AND MORE PERSONAL: HER REALIZATION, AS A CHILD, THAT HER IDENTITY COULD BE RESHAPED BY HER IMAGINATION.

VON FURSTENBERG: I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR IN MY MOTHER'S ROOM.

SHE HAD A BIG VANITY, AND NOT THAT I LIKED THE WAY I LOOKED AT ALL.

BECAUSE IN BELGIUM EVERYBODY HAD BLONDE STRAIGHT HAIR AND I HAD DARK CURLY HAIR, BUT WHAT I REALIZED IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR IS THAT I HAD COMPLETE CONTROL OF THAT IMAGE.

GATES: HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: IF I WOULD DO THIS, THE IMAGE WOULD DO THIS.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED HOW MUCH CONTROL YOU CAN HAVE OVER YOURSELF.

GATES: DIANE WOULD, INDEED, EXERT A GREAT DEAL OF "CONTROL" OVER HERSELF.

IN 1969, SHE MARRIED HER FIRST HUSBAND, A GERMAN NOBLEMAN NAMED EGON VON FÜRSTENBERG.

SUDDENLY, SHE WAS A PRINCESS.

BUT SHE DIDN'T ACT LIKE ONE.

INSTEAD, DIANE SET OUT TO LAUNCH HER OWN BUSINESS, AND SOON DESIGNED THE WRAP DRESS THAT WOULD MAKE HER FAMOUS.

AN AFFORDABLE YET INGENIOUSLY SOPHISTICATED CREATION THAT HAS HAD ENORMOUS STAYING POWER, SELLING MILLIONS, BRINGING DIANE IMMENSE SATISFACTION AND GIVING HER CAREER A LARGER MEANING.

VON FURSTENBERG: MY BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IS THAT I'VE GIVEN A LOT OF CONFIDENCE TO WOMEN.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: EVERYBODY HAS A STORY.

EVERY, I MEAN, "MY FIRST JOB, MY FIRST THIS."

"MY FIRST THAT, MY FIRST DATE."

YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WERE CONCEIVED IN, IN THE WRAP-DRESS.

THEY STILL SELL, GENERATION AFTER GENERATION.

GATES: RIGHT.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND SO, I LOVE THE FACT THAT IT'S ASSOCIATED WITH EMOTION AND WITH BEGINNING OF LIFE.

GATES: MY THIRD GUEST IS NARCISO RODRIGUEZ.

LIKE DIANE, NARCISO IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST CELEBRATED DESIGNERS.

RENOWNED FOR HIS CLASSIC, BEAUTIFULLY TAILORED DRESSES.

SINCE HIS BREAKOUT IN THE LATE 1990S, HE'S BEEN THE FAVORITE OF MANY OF HOLLYWOOD'S LEADING LADIES, AS WELL AS ONE VERY NOTABLE FIRST LADY.

NARCISO'S METEORIC RISE IS ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE GIVEN WHERE IT BEGAN: IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, WHERE HIS PARENTS SETTLED AFTER COMING TO AMERICA FROM CUBA, SPEAKING NO ENGLISH, DESPERATE SIMPLY TO WORK.

RODRIGUEZ: MY PARENTS WERE SO INCREDIBLY COURAGEOUS.

YOU KNOW, I COULD NEVER DO WHAT THEY DID.

GATES: OH YEAH.

RODRIGUEZ: IT WAS TERRIFYING FOR THEM.

THEY HAD, UM, SOME FRIENDS AND A FAMILY MEMBER AT NEWARK SO THEY FELT A LITTLE BIT LIKE THEY HAD SOMEWHERE TO LAND WHEN THEY GOT HERE BUT IT WAS COLD.

THEY HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED THE COLD.

GATES: NARCISO WAS BORN IN 1961.

BY THAT TIME, THE COMMUNIST REVOLUTION IN CUBA HAD CUT OFF ANY POSSIBILITY OF HIS FAMILY'S RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND.

BUT THEY WEREN'T ALONE.

THE RODRIGUEZ FAMILY WAS IMMERSED IN A LARGE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, WHICH, NARCISO SAYS, BOTH SUSTAINED AND INSPIRED HIM.

RODRIGUEZ: IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

I GREW UP WITH ALL THESE AMAZING WOMEN.

THEY LOOKED BEAUTIFUL TO ME.

AND THEY ALL CUT HAIR AND MADE CLOTHES, AND ALL THE WOMEN WERE INCREDIBLY ANIMATED AND STYLISH IN THEIR OWN WAY AND I GUESS I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH MORE NOW BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THEY LOOKED THAT GOOD WITH VERY LITTLE MEANS.

AND, UM, I THINK THAT WAS THE STARTING POINT FOR ME.

GATES: NARCISO WOULD RAPIDLY BUILD ON HIS "EARLY START", AFTER GRADUATING FROM PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN IN NEW YORK CITY, HE LANDED JOBS AT A SERIES OF HIGH-PROFILE FASHION FIRMS, CULMINATING WITH A POSITION AT CALVIN KLEIN.

IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE OUTSET THAT NARCISO WAS DESTINED FOR SUCCESS, BUT SUCCESS ACTUALLY CAME FASTER THAN ANYONE IMAGINED.

IN 1996, NARCISO WAS ASKED TO CREATE THE WEDDING DRESS FOR A FRIEND HE'D MET AT WORK: CAROLYN BESSETTE, A CALVIN KLEIN PUBLICIST WHO WAS SOON TO MARRY JOHN F. KENNEDY, JR. THAT REQUEST WOULD CHANGE NARCISO'S LIFE.

RODRIGUEZ: IT WAS SUCH A FUNNY COINCIDENCE.

I HAPPENED TO MOVE INTO THE SAME BUILDING THAT SHE LIVED IN.

SO WE WERE WORKING TOGETHER AND LIVING TOGETHER.

MY APARTMENT WAS BIGGER, SO SHE KEPT A LOT OF HER SHOES AND HERSELF IN MY APARTMENT QUITE OFTEN, AND IT WAS A, YOU KNOW, AN INCREDIBLE FRIENDSHIP.

AND I MADE THAT WEDDING DRESS WITH SO MUCH LOVE FOR THE PERSON THAT I LOVED MOST IN THE WHOLE WORLD.

I NEVER VIEWED IT AS A PRESS EVENT.

GATES: THIS WASN'T A DRESS FOR THE FUTURE MRS. JOHN KENNEDY, JR. RODRIGUEZ: NO, NOT AT ALL.

GATES: IT WAS FOR CAROLYN.

RODRIGUEZ: BUT THEN THE NEXT DAY AFTER THE WEDDING, IT WAS ON THE COVER OF EVERY NEWSPAPER AROUND THE WORLD.

AND I WENT FROM BEING A VERY KIND OF PRIVATE PERSON TO BEING A VERY PUBLIC PERSON OVERNIGHT.

GATES: AFTER SPENDING TIME WITH MY GUESTS, I WAS STRUCK THAT EACH HAD BEEN MOLDED AND MOTIVATED BY ADVERSITY.

AS I DUG INTO THEIR ROOTS, I FOUND THAT THEIR FAMILY TREES WERE FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO SHARED THAT TRAIT.

BUT THEIR STORIES HAD LARGELY BEEN FORGOTTEN.

IT WAS TIME TO UNEARTH THEM.

I STARTED WITH RUPAUL, AND WITH THE MAN WHOM HE SAYS GAVE HIM A LARGE MEASURE OF HIS STYLE, HIS FATHER: IRVING ANDREW CHARLES.

CHARLES: MY SHOW BUSINESS SIDE REALLY COMES FROM HIM.

HE WAS VERY CHARISMATIC AND HE WAS VERY CHARMING.

HE KNEW HOW TO, UH, PERFORM FOR AN AUDIENCE.

GATES: YOU MEAN TELL STORIES OR SING?

CHARLES: HE WOULD TELL STORIES, AND HE WAS, HE WOULD CHARM THE LADIES.

HE LOVED THE LADIES.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: IN FACT SO MUCH SO THAT I ALWAYS FELT LEFT OUT.

SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY NO ACCIDENT THAT, I WANTED A LOT OF THE ATTENTION THAT MY SISTERS GOT, SO, UH, I TURNED OUT TO BE, UH, THE PRETTIEST GIRL.

(LAUGHS).

GATES: IRVING WAS BORN IN 1929 IN MANSFIELD, LOUISIANA WHERE HIS FATHER OWNED A BUTCHER SHOP.

HE GREW UP AT THE HEIGHT OF JIM CROW, AND ATTENDED A SEGREGATED TRADE SCHOOL BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE BLACK CHILDREN IN THE AREA COULD GET AN EDUCATION.

IT'S NOT DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND WHY HE WOULD SOON WANT TO LEAVE HIS HOMETOWN BEHIND.

DID YOUR FATHER EVER TALK ABOUT THIS OR ABOUT HOW HIS LIFE WAS IMPACTED BY SEGREGATION?

CHARLES: NO, HE NEVER DID.

NEVER DID.

GATES: HMM.

CHARLES: AND MY FATHER USUALLY, UH, ALWAYS VEERED TOWARDS THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS, NEVER THE PAINFUL ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE.

GATES: WAS THERE ANY BRIGHT SIDE TO CHILDHOOD IN MANSFIELD?

CHARLES: HE TALKED ABOUT HIS FAMILY.

AND UH HE TALKED ABOUT HOW HE LOVED HIS FAMILY LIFE.

HE LIKED THAT PART OF IT AND WANTED HIS KIDS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE FAMILY IN THAT WAY, BUT WE WERE SO REMOVED FROM, FROM THAT LIFE.

GATES: IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT RUPAUL IS ONLY TWO GENERATIONS REMOVED FROM A BUTCHER SHOP IN RURAL LOUISIANA.

BUT MOVING BACK TO HIS GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, ANNIE WALLS AND ISAAC CRESWELL, WE CAME TO SOMETHING THAT WAS EVEN HARDER TO COMPREHEND, AS BOTH WERE BORN WELL BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.

SO, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS ABOUT THEIR STATUS?

CHARLES: UH-HUH.

GATES: IT MEANS THAT THEY WERE LIKELY BORN INTO SLAVERY.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: RIGHT.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: HAD YOU EVER HEARD THOSE NAMES BEFORE?

CHARLES: NO.

NO.

GATES: AND SO YOU'VE NEVER HEARD ANY STORIES ABOUT THESE PEOPLE?

CHARLES: UH-HUH.

I HAD NO IDEA.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: IT'S, IT'S, I'M GOBSMACKED, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE, UH, ALL OF THIS HAS EXISTED AS A SORT OF MYTH, FOLKLORE IN MY MIND, BUT TO ACTUALLY SEE IT IS PRETTY AMAZING.

GATES: RUPAUL WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HIS ANCESTORS LIVES DURING SLAVERY.

THIS SENT OUR RESEARCHERS INTO THE ARCHIVES OF DESOTO PARISH, LOUISIANA, WHERE HIS GREAT- GREAT-GRANDPARENTS LIVED JUST AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, HERE, WE FOUND RECORDS FOR A MAN NAMED DAVID CRESWELL, WHO HAD OWNED SLAVES BEFORE THE WAR.

WHICH GOT US WONDERING: SINCE RUPAUL'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS NAMED ISAAC CRESWELL.

COULD ISAAC HAVE BEEN OWNED BY DAVID?

WE CAN'T BE CERTAIN, BUT IN THE SLAVE SCHEDULE FOR THE 1860 CENSUS, WE SAW DAVID'S SLAVES, LISTED, NOT BY NAME, BUT BY AGE AND GENDER.

CHARLES: IT'S, UH, IT'S KIND OF HUMILIATING, IT'S VERY HUMILIATING, ACTUALLY.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I CAN FEEL FOR THEM.

I REALLY DO.

GATES: I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING.

PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

CHARLES: HUH.

GATES: THAT'S DAVID CRESWELL AND HIS WIFE, JULIA.

THAT'S THE MAN WHOM WE BELIEVE OWNED YOUR GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER.

CHARLES: WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE NICHOLAS CAGE, BY THE WAY.

GATES: YEAH.

CHARLES: I WOULD NEVER THINK I'D EVER GET TO SEE THEIR FACES.

GATES: HOW DOES IT FEEL TO SEE THAT?

CHARLES: IT'S FEELS, IT'S WEIRD...

IT FEELS REALLY WEIRD BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, OBVIOUSLY YOU, YOU HAVE TO FORGIVE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE.

THEY WERE DOING WHAT THEY WERE TAUGHT TO DO.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: BUT UH, IT'S INTERESTING, I KIND OF DON'T KNOW WHAT TO FEEL ABOUT IT.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE SOMEHOW SO DISTANT FROM ME BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UH... GATES: YOUR GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER WAS SEEING HIM EVERY DAY.

CHARLES: ABSOLUTELY.

AND BEATEN BY THEM AND THEIR RIGHTS TAKEN AWAY BY THEM AND...

IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO THINK OF THAT KIND OF HUMAN CRUELTY.

GATES: OH YEAH.

CHARLES: IT'S A, IT'S A HARD BURDEN TO CARRY.

GATES: THERE WAS A FINAL BEAT TO THIS STORY, ONE THAT PROVIDED A NOTE OF OPTIMISM.

IN THE SAME PARISH IN WHICH ISAAC LIKELY LIVED IN SLAVERY, WE FOUND ANOTHER DOCUMENT, DATED APRIL 13TH, 1870, RECORDING HIS MARRIAGE TO RUPAUL'S GREAT GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, ANNIE.

SO, WHEN THAT RECORD WAS CREATED, MOST AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD ONLY HAD THE RIGHT TO MARRY FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS.

IF YOU WERE A SLAVE, LEGAL MARRIAGE DID NOT EXIST BECAUSE YOU WERE PROPERTY.

SO, AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, LOTS OF BLACK PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN IN LOVING RELATIONSHIPS GOT MARRIED AS SOON AS THEY COULD.

CHARLES: UH-HUH.

GATES: AND THERE'S THE MARRIAGE RECORD, CHARLES: WOW.

GATES: WHAT DO YOU THINK IT MEANT TO YOUR ANCESTORS FINALLY TO HAVE THE RIGHT TO MARRY?

CHARLES: WELL, UH, YOU KNOW, THE OBVIOUS THING FOR ME IS, YOU KNOW, I'M MARRIED, AND I, IT'S AN INTERESTING THING, UH, TWO MEN HAVE JUST NOW, YOU KNOW, RECENTLY BEEN GIVEN THE RIGHT TO, TO MARRY.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: AND TO, TO THIS HOW, HOW IT, UH, MIRRORS WHAT WAS HAPPENING THEN AND HOW PEOPLE, HUMANS ON THIS PLANET CAN, UH, CAN KEEP PEOPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER APART.

SO THAT PARALLEL IS PRETTY INTERESTING.

GATES: AND IT REMINDS US THAT RIGHTS THAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED HAVEN'T BEEN THERE FOREVER AND COULD BE TAKEN AWAY AGAIN.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: SO THAT WE HAVE TO BE VIGILANT.

CHARLES: YES.

GATES: LIKE RUPAUL, DIANE VON FURSTENBERG IS THE PRODUCT OF A FAMILY THAT SURVIVED AN UNIMAGINABLE CHALLENGE.

ON MAY 5TH, 1944, HER MOTHER LILY NAHMIAS WAS ARRESTED BY THE NAZIS WHILE WORKING FOR THE BELGIAN RESISTANCE, AND MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.

VON FURSTENBERG: SHE HAD ON THE BICYCLE SHE USED TO DELIVER FAKE PAPERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND APPARENTLY WHEN SHE GOT ARRESTED, SHE GOT ARRESTED NOT AS A JEWISH PERSON BUT AS A RESISTANCE.

GATES: AH.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND THEN SHE WAS VERY SCARED THAT THEY WOULD UH, TORTURE HER TO GET THE NAMES OF OTHERS AND THEN SHE SAID I'M JEWISH I'M JUST HIDING, AND THE WOMAN SAID TO HER, DON'T SAY YOU'RE JEWISH.

GATES: UH-HUH.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND, BUT SHE DID AND, THEN SHE GOT SHIPPED.

GATES: ONCE THE GERMANS REALIZED THAT LILY WAS JEWISH, SHE WAS SENT TO A TRANSIT CAMP NEAR ANTWERP, FROM THERE, LILY WAS FORCED INTO A RAILWAY CAR, AND SHIPPED EAST, ALONG WITH ROUGHLY 500 OTHER MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, WHO COULD HAVE NO IDEA THAT THEY WERE HEADING FOR AUSCHWITZ.

GATES: YOUR MOM WAS 21-YEARS-OLD AND SHE WAS ALL ON HER OWN.

HOW DID SHE HOLD HERSELF TOGETHER?

VON FURSTENBERG: SHE SAID THAT SHE BECAME FRIENDS WITH AN OLDER WOMAN WHO WAS 40 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND WHO SPOKE A LITTLE GERMAN.

GATES: MM-HM.

AND THAT WOMAN BOLSTERED HER.

VON FURSTENBERG: YES.

SHE SAID THE WORST WAS THAT TRAIN RIDE.

GATES: MM.

VON FURSTENBERG: IT LASTED I THINK A FEW DAYS.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND THEY WERE IN A CATTLE, YOU KNOW, WITH NO AIR AND PEOPLE WENT TO THE BATHROOM AND, AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHEN SHE CLINGED TO THAT WOMAN.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: CLINGED TO THAT WOMAN, AND NO MATTER WHAT THAT WOMAN BECAME HER UNIVERSE AND SHE DECIDED SHE WAS NEVER GONNA LEAVE THAT WOMAN.

GATES: TRAGICALLY, LILY'S HOPES FOR SALVATION WITH HER NEWFOUND FRIEND WOULD COME TO NAUGHT.

INSTEAD, WHEN SHE ENTERED THE NAZI CAMP, DIANE'S MOTHER WOULD LOSE ALL CONTROL OVER HER LIFE.

VON FURSTENBERG: THEY ARRIVED, AND I THINK THEY SHAVED THEM AND TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY AND SO ON.

AND SO, THERE WAS THE SELECTION.

LONG LINE, AND THERE WAS ONE SOLDIER THAT WOULD SAY YOU GO RIGHT, YOU GO LEFT.

YOU GO RIGHT, YOU GO LEFT.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: BEHIND THAT, BEHIND THAT, THERE WAS A MAN OF A HIGHER RANK WHO WAS JUST WATCHING.

ALL DRESSED IN WHITE.

JUST WATCHING, AND HE WATCHED EVERYBODY GO BY.

WHEN THE IT CAME THE TIME OF THE WOMAN WHO WAS WITH MY MOTHER THE SOLDIER SAY YOU GO RIGHT AND MY MOTHER WITHOUT LISTENING TO WHAT WOULD BE TOLD TO HER, SHE WENT THERE ALSO, AND THE SOLDIER LEFT HER, LET HER GO.

THIS OTHER MAN DRESSED IN WHITE WHO HADN'T MOVED AT ALL CAME TO MY MOTHER, AND WITH-WHIPPED HER AND THREW HER ON THE OTHER SIDE.

GATES: MM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND SHE LOOKED AT HIM AND SHE SAID WHY?

SHE HATED HIM SO MUCH.

SHE SAID, "WHY, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THAT TO ME?

THAT WAS THE MOMENT THAT SHE HATED...

ANYONE, SHE'S NEVER HATED ANYONE THAT MUCH.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: THAT MAN SAVED HER LIFE.

GATES: MM.

VON FURSTENBERG: BECAUSE THAT SIDE ALL WENT TO THE GAS CHAMBER, AND HE SAVED HER LIFE.

GATES: OH MY GOD.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND THAT WAS THE LESSON THAT MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAY: "YOU NEVER KNOW.

WHAT YOU THINK IS THE WORST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU CAN BE THE BEST."

GATES: HMM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND-AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS, WHEN, WHEN I HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT SOMETHING, I SAY, LISTEN, LISTEN TO THAT STORY AND THEN THAT SAYING.

YOU NEVER NEED TO SAY ANYTHING ELSE.

GATES: THOUGH LILY IS EXEMPLARY, SHE'S NOT THE FIRST MEMBER OF HER FAMILY TO SHOW GREAT RESILIENCE.

IT'S A TRAIT THAT RUNS DEEP IN DIANE'S ROOTS.

LILY'S PARENTS, DIANE'S GRANDPARENTS, WERE MOSHE AND DIAMANTE NAHMIAS.

BOTH WERE BORN IN THESSALONIKI, GREECE IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 19TH CENTURY.

THEIR FAMILIES WERE WELL-ESTABLISHED IN THE CITY, AS WERE MANY OTHER JEWISH FAMILIES.

IN FACT, THESSALONIKI HAD BEEN A REGIONAL CENTER OF JEWISH CULTURE FOR CENTURIES.

BUT ALL THAT WAS FOREVER CHANGED IN AUGUST OF 1917, WHEN THE CITY WAS RAVAGED BY A TERRIBLE FIRE.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIBED LINES?

VON FURSTENBERG: OOH, "MOSHE NAHMIAS.

VICTIMS OF FIRE OR NOT: YES.

TYPE OF ASSISTANT GIVEN: MILK, COAL, AND CLOTHES."

OH.

I REMEMBER, I ALWAYS HEARD ABOUT THE FIRE, THE FIRE, AND ONCE THERE WAS THE FIRE THEN EVERYTHING WENT WRONG.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: BEFORE THAT EVERYTHING WAS NICE, AND EVERYBODY WAS HAPPY AND-AND THEY WERE VERY PROSPER, PROSPEROUS.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND THE, AND THEN THE FIRE WENT ON AND AFTER THE FIRE THINGS JUST WENT, SPIRALED DOWN.

GATES: THE FIRE DEVASTATED MOST OF THESSALONIKI, BUT THE JEWISH NEIGHBORHOODS SUFFERED THE WORST.

ROUGHLY 50,000 JEWS, INCLUDING DIANE'S ANCESTORS, WERE LEFT HOMELESS.

MANY WERE RESETTLED IN TENTS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY, BUT MOST NEVER WERE ABLE TO RETURN THEIR ORIGINAL HOMES.

BY 1930, DIANE'S FAMILY WAS IN BELGIUM, WHERE THEY ENJOYED A SCANT FEW YEARS OF PEACE BEFORE THE NAZIS INVADED... AND THESE WERE NOT THE ONLY TIMES THEY'D SEEN THEIR LIVES TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

RECORDS SUGGEST THAT THE NAHMIAS FAMILY ORIGINATED IN SPAIN, AND HAD BEEN EXPELLED, ALONG WITH MUCH OF SPAIN'S JEWISH POPULATION, BY THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS, FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, AFTER AN EDICT THAT THEY ISSUED IN 1492.

VON FURSTENBERG: SO, WE'VE BEEN KICKED OUT OF EVERYWHERE.

GATES: YOU HAVE BEEN KICKED OUT OF EVERYWHERE BUT BABY, YOU HAVE SURVIVED AND YOU HAVE THRIVED.

VON FURSTENBERG: WE'VE BEEN KICKED OUT OF EVERYWHERE.

GATES: YOU COME FROM A LONG LINE OF TOUGH PEOPLE.

VON FURSTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: YOU'RE THE INHERITOR OF ALL THESE EXPERIENCES.

WHAT ABOUT YOURSELF DO YOU THINK HAS RESULTED FROM WHAT WE'VE WALKED THROUGH SO FAR, ON YOUR MOM'S SIDE OF YOUR FAMILY TREE?

VON FURSTENBERG: WELL, I MEAN I ALWAYS SAID I'M, YOU KNOW, HER VENGEANCE.

GATES: MY THIRD GUEST, DESIGNER NARCISO RODRIGUEZ, CAME TO ME WITH A VERY SPECIFIC REQUEST: NARCISO WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT HIS ANCESTORS WHO LIVED IN THE CANARY ISLANDS, A SPANISH ARCHIPELAGO JUST OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA.

NARCISO KNEW THAT HIS PATERNAL GRANDFATHER WAS BORN THERE, BUT BEYOND THAT, THIS BRANCH OF HIS FAMILY TREE WAS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY.

RODRIGUEZ: I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MY GRANDFATHER'S HERITAGE.

I KNEW THAT HE JUST JUMPED ON A SHIP AND CAME TO CUBA, UH, AND MY DAD TRIED TO DO A LITTLE INVESTIGATING IN THE '80S AND WENT TO THE CANARY ISLANDS TO SEE WHERE HIS DAD WAS FROM, BUT I DON'T THINK HE GOT VERY FAR.

GATES: OUR SEARCH BEGAN WITH THE ONLY CLUE WE HAD: NARCISO'S GRANDFATHER'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE, WHICH INDICATES THAT HE WAS BORN IN 1900 IN THE TOWN OF ARUCAS ON GRAN CANARIA, ONE OF THE LARGEST OF THE CANARY ISLANDS.

AT THE TIME, ARUCAS WAS PART OF A FARMING REGION, AND VITAL RECORDS SHOW THAT, LIKE MOST OF THEIR NEIGHBORS, NARCISO'S ANCESTORS WORKED THE LAND.

RODRIGUEZ: "IN THE TOWN OF ARUCAS, ON 31ST OF MAY YEAR 1873, BEFORE MUNICIPAL JUDGE APPEARED SILVERIO RODRÍGUEZ, MARRIED, FARM LABORER WITH THE PURPOSE OF HAVING THE BIRTH OF HIS SON RECORDED."

WOW.

GATES: WHAT IS IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

RODRIGUEZ: IT'S JUST BEEN SUCH A MYSTERY FOR, FOR EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY SO INCREDIBLE TO SEE AND TO KNOW AND TO THINK OF THESE PEOPLE, THESE FARMERS.

GATES: YEAH.

AND ON THE LEFT, YOU COULD SEE A MAP OF ARUCAS AS WELL AS PHOTOS OF ARUCAS FROM THE TIME YOUR GRANDFATHER WAS BORN THERE.

SO THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN HE WAS BORN THERE.

RODRIGUEZ: IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE.

GATES: IT MAY NOT BE WHAT HE'D EXPECTED, BUT NARCISO'S FAMILY LIVED IN AND AROUND ARUCAS FOR GENERATIONS.

AND AS WE DUG MORE DEEPLY, WE NOTICED SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT ONE OF HIS ANCESTORS.

THE ESTATE PAPERS OF NARCISO'S 2ND GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED SILVERIO RODRIGUEZ BATISTA, SHOW THAT HE MADE HIS HOME IN A RATHER UNUSUAL PLACE: A CAVE, PARTIALLY BUILT ON PROPERTY HE'D INHERITED FROM HIS PARENTS.

RODRIGUEZ: WAIT.

HE LIVED?

GATES: HE LIVED IN A CAVE.

RODRIGUEZ: THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

ON A MOUNTAINSIDE.

GATES: YEAH!

YOUR GREAT- GREAT-GRANDFATHER, SILVERIO, AND HIS FAMILY LIVED IN A CAVE IN AN AREA OF ARUCAS CALLED TABAIBAL.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE PHOTOS THAT'S WHAT THE AREA LOOKED LIKE.

RODRIGUEZ: UNBELIEVABLE.

GATES: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS SUCH CAVES HAVE BEEN USED IN THE CANARY ISLANDS AS HOMES AND YOUR ANCESTORS LIVED IN ONE.

AND GUESS WHAT?

THESE CAVES ARE STILL BEING USED AS HOMES, AMAZING FACT NUMBER ONE, HAVING BEEN PASSED DOWN IN THE FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS, AND YOU CAN RENT THEM ON AIR B-N-B.

RODRIGUEZ: NO!

GATES: YEAH.

RODRIGUEZ: I HAVE TO FIND THIS CAVE.

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

INCREDIBLE.

GATES: THE STORY WAS ABOUT TO GET EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE.

WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE NARCISO ALL THE WAY BACK TO HIS 14TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED JUAN DE QUINTANA O SORIA, WHO DIED IN GRAN CANARIA SOMETIME AROUND THE YEAR 1530, WHICH MEANS THAT NARCISO'S ROOTS ON THE CANARY ISLANDS GO BACK ALMOST 500 YEARS!

WHAT'S MORE, WE UNCOVERED A PETITION FILED BY JUAN'S SON, INDICATING THAT JUAN DID SOMETHING QUITE REMARKABLE.

RODRIGUEZ: "I KISSED THE HANDS OF YOUR LORDSHIP AND I SAY THAT JUAN DE SORIA, MY LORD FATHER, CONQUEROR, ONE OF THE FIRST TO CONQUER THIS ISLAND, WAS GRANTED CERTAIN DRYLANDS AND CAVES IN AGALDAR.

THESE LANDS AND CAVES WE HAVE MAINTAINED AND PEACEFULLY POSSESSED WITH COMMON CONSENT FOR 40 YEARS."

GATES: SO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

YOU ARE A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF ONE OF THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORS ON THE ISLAND OF GRAN CANARIA.

RODRIGUEZ: OH MY GOD.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

THAT IS INCREDIBLE.

GATES: NARCISO'S 14TH GREAT-GRANDFATHER ARRIVED ON GRAN CANARIA IN 1478, AS PART OF A FORCE SENT BY THE SPANISH CROWN TO CONQUER THE ISLAND.

AT THE TIME, GRAN CANARIA HAD AN INDIGENOUS POPULATION COMPRISED PRIMARILY OF NORTH AFRICAN BERBERS, WHO LIKELY HAD NOT ENCOUNTERED OUTSIDERS FOR OVER A MILLENNIUM.

THEY WERE QUICKLY BROUGHT UNDER SPANISH CONTROL.. AS A REWARD FOR HIS ROLE IN THE CONQUEST, JUAN WAS GRANTED LAND JUST MILES FROM THE TOWN, WHERE NARCISO'S GRANDFATHER WOULD BE BORN ALMOST 400 YEARS LATER.

BUT WE DISCOVERED SOMETHING THAT SUGGESTS THAT HIS STORY WAS FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN IT SEEMED.

JUAN MARRIED A WOMAN NAMED MARIA GONZALEZ, AND MARIA GONZALEZ IS YOUR 14TH GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.

AND CANARIAN HISTORIANS AND GENEALOGISTS AGREE THAT MARIA WAS AN INDIGENOUS CANARIAN, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU DESCEND FROM THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF GRAN CANARIA.

RODRIGUEZ: WOW.

GATES: SO YOU HAVE BLOOD LINES FROM SPAIN BUT ALSO FROM THE PEOPLE THAT YOUR SPANISH ANCESTORS CONQUERED.

RODRIGUEZ: RIGHT, WOW.

GATES: YOU'RE MIXED.

YOU'RE MULATTO.

RODRIGUEZ: THANK GOD.

THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE.

IT'S JUST FASCINATING.

GATES: WE HAD ALREADY INTRODUCED RUPAUL TO HIS FATHER'S ANCESTORS WHO ENDURED SLAVERY IN DESOTO PARISH, LOUISIANA.

NOW, TURNING TO HIS MOTHER'S ROOTS, WE MOVED SLIGHTLY SOUTH, TO ST. MARTIN'S PARISH, WHERE WE FOUND A STORY ABOUT PEOPLE WHOSE EXPERIENCE WITH SLAVERY WAS QUITE DIFFERENT.

IT BEGAN WITH RUPAUL'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, ANDRÉ FONTENETTE AND CONSTANCE WILTZ.

THEY ARE LISTED BY NAME IN THE 1860 CENSUS, MEANING THAT SOMEHOW THEY HAD MANAGED TO BECOME FREE, AS THE NAMES OF ENSLAVED PEOPLE WERE RARELY RECORDED IN FEDERAL DOCUMENTS.

THEY WERE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR.

CHARLES: WOW.

GATES: JUST TO PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE IN 1860 IN LOUISIANA, 95% OF THE BLACK PEOPLE IN LOUISIANA WERE ENSLAVED.

5% WERE FREE, AND YOU DESCEND FROM TWO PEOPLE WHO MADE UP THAT 5%.

CHARLES: WOW.

GATES: HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL, RUPAUL?

CHARLES: WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I THINK ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ENSLAVED.

MY FIRST THOUGHT IS, "OH MY GOD, THAT OTHER 95%."

GATES: MM, OH YEAH.

CHARLES: TERRIBLE... GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: HONESTLY, MY, MY HEART, UH, MY HEART JUST HURTS FOR, FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THAT TIME, FIRST OF ALL.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: AND THEN, UH, I THINK ABOUT WHAT THE DAILY LIFE OF SOMEONE WHO IS LIVING IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, WHO IS FREE, WHAT THEIR DAILY LIFE IS.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: AND DO THEY FEEL BETTER OR PRIVILEGED?

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: DO THEY FEEL THAT, UH, SOMEHOW, UH, THEY'VE BEEN BLESSED, UH, OR DO THEY STILL FEEL THE SHACKLES OF, OF SLAVERY EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE A FREE PERSON.

GATES: UH-HUH.

CHARLES: AND MY GUESS IS PROBABLY ALL OF THE ABOVE.

GATES: WITHOUT A DOUBT.

SOME THOUGHT, "WE'RE BETTER THAN THEY ARE."

CHARLES: UH-HUH.

GATES: AND SOME THOUGHT, "THERE, BEFORE THE GRACE OF GOD, GO I."

CHARLES: THAT IS REALLY, REALLY CRAZY.

WOW.

GATES: WE SET OUT TO SEE HOW THIS FAMILY BECAME FREE, AND FOUND A RECORD, SIGNED BY A WHITE PLANTER NAMED JACQUES FONTENETTE LISTING RUPAUL'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER NANETTE AND HER BROTHER ANDRE.

BUT THIS RECORD WAS MUCH MORE THAN A LIST.

CHARLES: "ON THE 21ST OF JANUARY, IN THE YEAR OF 1804, MR. JACQUES FONTENETTE GIVES GENUINE AND FULL LIBERTY TO THE MULATTO NAMED ANDRE AND TO NANETTE HIS SISTER, BOTH CHILDREN OF NEGRO JULIE."

GATES: MMM-HMM.

CHARLES: HMM.

OH...

OKAY, SO NEGRO JULIE WAS THEIR MOTHER.

GATES: UH-HUH, WAS THEIR MOTHER.

CHARLES: AND MR. JACQUES FONTENETTE... GATES: RIGHT, OWNED THEM.

CHARLES: OWNED THEM.

GATES: RIGHT, AND THAT IS THE MOMENT HE IS FREEING THEM.

CAN YOU IMAGINE BECOMING FREE WHEN YOUR MOTHER REMAINS A SLAVE?

JULIE WAS STILL A SLAVE AT THE TIME OF HER OWN CHILDREN'S MANUMISSION, WHICH HAD TO MAKE HER HEART SING, YOU KNOW, THAT HER CHILDREN WOULD BE FREE.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: BUT IT STILL MEANT THAT SHE WAS ENSLAVED.

CHARLES: WOW...

I WONDER WHAT PRECIPITATED, UH, GIVING THEM THEIR FREEDOM.

I WONDER WHAT THAT WAS, WHY HE DID IT.

GATES: WHY DO YOU THINK?

CHARLES: MY, MY... (SIGHS).

THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS THAT THEY'RE...

HE HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH NEGRO JULIE.

SOMEHOW THROUGH COMPASSION OF THE HEART, HE DID THIS, MAYBE BECAUSE HE'S THEIR FATHER.

GATES: UH-HUH.

LOVE.

CHARLES: LOVE WOULD BE THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT WOULD, UH, SOMEONE WOULD GRANT SOMEONE THEIR FREEDOM LIKE THIS.

GATES: BUT HE DIDN'T LOVE JULIE ENOUGH TO FREE HER, TOO.

CHARLES: RIGHT.

YEAH.

YEAH.

OH MY GOODNESS.

OH, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S BITTERSWEET.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JULIE AND THE MAN WHO OWNED HER, BUT HER STORY HAS A HAPPY ENDING.

IN THE ARCHIVES OF ST. MARTIN PARISH, WE FOUND A MANUMISSION RECORD DATED SEPTEMBER 7TH, 1818, ABOUT 14 YEARS AFTER NANETTE AND ANDRE HAD BEEN FREED.

CHARLES: "NANETTE STATED THAT BEFORE HE DIED, HER BROTHER ANDRE HAD BOUGHT JULIE, HIS MOTHER, FROM JACQUES FONTENETTE WITH THE INTENTION OF MANUMITTING HER.

HOWEVER, ANDRE DIED BEFORE THIS COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED.

NOW NANETTE, SOLE HEIR OF ANDRE, MANUMITS JULIE."

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

CHARLES: TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO FREE YOUR MOTHER, YOU KNOW, FROM SLAVERY, THAT TAKES SOME REAL FAITH, AND TO NOT GIVE UP WHEN VERY EASILY PEOPLE COULD, UH, FADE AWAY.

GATES: IT'S TOO MUCH.

CHARLES: TOO MUCH.

GATES: TOO MUCH.

CHARLES: AND HE DIDN'T QUITE GET TO THE FINISH LINE, BUT HIS SISTER... GATES: BUT HIS SISTER DID.

CHARLES: PICKED IT UP.

GATES: YEAH, AND HE MADE SURE OF THAT.

CHARLES: WOW.

GATES: CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT THAT MUST'VE FELT LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT?

CHARLES: OH, WOW, I CAN ONLY, YEAH, I CAN IMAGINE, UH, TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO COME FULL CIRCLE IN LIFE LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN MY MOTHER WAS ON HER DEATHBED, SHE CALLED ME AND SHE SAID, "RU, COME HERE, I NEED YOU."

SHE WAS IN THE, ON HER DEATHBED, IN THE LIVING ROOM, WHERE I'D PUT THE BED, AND SHE SAID I'M EMBARRASSED ABOUT THIS, BUT I, I NEED YOUR HELP BECAUSE I HAVE MESSED MYSELF.

GATES: RIGHT.

CHARLES: AND THIS SOUNDS WEIRD, BUT IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS I'VE EVER DONE ON THIS PLANET, TO HAVE, TO HAVE HELPED SOMEONE WHO HAS HELPED ME IN THAT WAY.

GATES: UH-HUH.

YEAH.

CHARLES: I, I'VE DONE A LOT OF THINGS IN LIFE.

THAT TURNAROUND OF HELPING MY MOTHER LIKE THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING I'VE EVER DONE.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY EXPLORED DIANE VON FURSTENBERG'S MATERNAL ROOTS, REVEALING HOW HER ANCESTORS ENDURED CENTURIES OF ANTI-SEMITISM, CULMINATING IN HER MOTHER'S EXPERIENCE AS A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR.

NOW WE ENCOUNTERED ANOTHER SURVIVOR, DIANE'S FATHER, LEON HALFIN, A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN WHOM DIANE CREDITS FOR MUCH OF HER OWN SUCCESS.

VON FURSTENBERG: I'M VERY THE SAME AS MY FATHER.

I MEAN I WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND I SEE MYSELF IN THE MIRROR, I SEE HIM.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: I AM VERY CLOSE TO MY FATHER.

GATES: HOW ARE YOU MOST UNLIKE YOUR FATHER?

VON FURSTENBERG: WELL, I THINK I'M MORE SOPHISTICATED.

MY FATHER WAS, EVEN THOUGH MY FATHER CAME FROM A FAMILY WHO TURNED OUT TO BE SOPHISTICATED, HE WAS NOT.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: BUT HE WAS THE LUCKY ONE...

HE WAS THE BLACK SHEEP, BUT HE WAS THE LUCKY ONE.

GATES: YOU CAN'T BEAT LUCK.

VON FURSTENBERG: YEAH.

GATES: DIANE'S FATHER'S "LUCK" IS BOUND UP IN THE SAME NIGHTMARE THAT NEARLY CLAIMED HER MOTHER'S LIFE: THE HOLOCAUST.

LEON WAS BORN IN 1912 IN THE CITY OF KISHINEV, IN WHAT WAS THEN ON THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

VON FURSTENBERG: HE LOVED KISHINEV AND HE LOVED HIS MOTHER BUT THEN HE WENT TO BELGIUM TO GO TO SCHOOL... GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND HE NEVER CAME BACK.

BECAUSE BY THE TIME HE HAD GONE THERE THE SITUATION GOT BAD.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: MY GRANDFATHER DIED, AND UH, THINGS WEREN'T GOOD AND HIS MOTHER SAID, "DON'T COME BACK."

GATES: LEON'S MOTHER WAS NAMED SARA WEINBERG.

SHE'S DIANE'S GRANDMOTHER, AND BY HEEDING HER ADVICE, LEON WOULD SAVE HIS OWN LIFE.

HE REMAINED IN BRUSSELS UNTIL WORLD WAR II, WHEN HE BECAME A REFUGEE IN SWITZERLAND, AND WAS SPARED THE VIOLENCE.

HIS MOTHER, HOWEVER, WASN'T SO LUCKY.

DIANE KNEW THAT HER GRANDMOTHER HAD PERISHED IN THE WAR, BUT SHE DIDN'T KNOW THE DETAILS SURROUNDING HER FATE.

WE UNCOVERED THOSE DETAILS.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1941, KISHINEV WAS INVADED BY THE NAZIS AND THEIR ALLIES.

SARA WAS ABOUT 63 YEARS OLD, AND EXTREMELY VULNERABLE.

VON FURSTENBERG: OOH.

GATES: THIS IS KISHINEV.

VON FURSTENBERG: OOH.

GATES: JULY 1941.

JEWISH WOMEN AND CHILDREN BEING ROUNDED UP AND FORCED INTO A GHETTO.

VON FURSTENBERG: AWFUL.

AWFUL.

GATES: AND YOU CAN SEE A MAP OF THE GHETTO, ON YOUR LEFT.

VON FURSTENBERG: I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.

GATES: BY THE TIME THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GHETTO WAS COMPLETED ABOUT 10,000 JEWS WERE LIVING WITHIN ITS WALLS.

DISEASES LIKE DYSENTERY AND TYPHOID FEVER SPREAD RAPIDLY.

VON FURSTENBERG: OH MY GOD.

GATES: WE SCOURED THE DAILY DEATH LIST FOR VICTIMS WHO DIED WITHIN THE GHETTO OF "NATURAL CAUSES" BUT WE DIDN'T FIND YOUR GRANDMOTHER OR ANY OTHER MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY.

SO, SHE DIDN'T DIE OF A NATURAL DEATH.

PLEASE TURN THE PAGE.

VON FURSTENBERG: WOW, THIS I KNOW NOTHING.

I MEAN, THAT'S AMAZING... OH MY GOD.

GATES: IN OCTOBER OF 1941, SARA WAS TRANSPORTED TO "BOGDANOVKA", A TEMPORARY MASS HOLDING SITE THAT SOON CONFINED ROUGHLY 52,000 JEWS.

WHEN TYPHUS BROKE OUT, ABOUT 4,000 OF THEM WERE GATHERED IN STABLES, THEN SET ON FIRE.

VON FURSTENBERG: SO, THESE ELEGANT WOMEN THAT WE SAW BEFORE ENDED UP IN A IN FLAME IN A STABLE?

GATES: OR, THE OTHER REMAINING 48,000 WERE LED TO A RAVINE AND SHOT TO DEATH...

VON FURSTENBERG: WOW.

GATES: OVER SEVERAL DAYS.

SOME FROZE TO DEATH WAITING FOR THEIR TURN TO BE SHOT.

VON FURSTENBERG: THAT'S NOT VERY PRETTY.

GATES: WILL YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR HERITAGE DIFFERENTLY NOW KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW?

VON FURSTENBERG: YOU KNOW, ALL I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT, AGAIN, BECAUSE ME, I ALWAYS LOOK AT THE POSITIVE OF THING.

HER SON, YOU KNOW, WAS PROTECTED AND DID SO WELL.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: SO, THE TRUTH IS THAT WHEN YOU SEE THIS GENOCIDES, WHEN YOU SEE THESE HORRIBLE THINGS YOU SAY, "OH MY GOD HOW IS IT POSSIBLE AND WHAT CAN WE DO?"

BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT EVEN IF YOU ONLY SAVE ONE LIFE.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: BEHIND ONE LIFE THERE IS A DYNASTY.

GATES: MM-HM.

VON FURSTENBERG: AND SHE PERISHED BUT HER SON FLOURISHED AND THEN THERE WAS ME AND MY FAMILY AND EVERYBODY ELSE.

GATES: YEAH.

BEHIND ONE LIFE THERE WAS A DYNASTY.

WE HAD ALREADY TAKEN NARCISO RODRIGUEZ BACK OVER 500 YEARS ON HIS FATHER'S FAMILY TREE, INTRODUCING HIM TO ANCESTORS WHO TRAVELED FROM SPAIN TO THE CANARY ISLANDS AND THEN, EVENTUALLY, TO CUBA.

NOW, TURING TO HIS MOTHER'S ROOTS, WE FOCUSED ON HIS CUBAN ANCESTRY, WHICH WOULD MEAN CONFRONTING A CENTRAL FACT OF CUBA'S PAST: SLAVERY.

SCHOLARS ESTIMATE THAT CUBA IMPORTED NEARLY A MILLION SLAVES FROM AFRICA.

BUT AS THE CHILD OF IMMIGRANTS, GROWING UP IN AMERICA, NARCISO WAS ONLY DIMLY AWARE OF THIS ASPECT OF THE ISLAND'S HISTORY, AND THAT AWARENESS CAME TO HIM IN A UNIQUE MANNER.

RODRIGUEZ: MY MOM WAS VERY CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING AFRICAN.

I MEAN, WE WERE EXPOSED TO, UH, AFRICAN RELIGION... GATES: MMM-HMM.

RODRIGUEZ: AND MUSIC AND, UH, SO MUCH OF WHAT IS CUBAN TO ME CAME FROM AFRICA.

GATES: UH-HUH.

RODRIGUEZ: I ALWAYS FELT VERY CLOSE TO THE YORUBA TRIBE AND LEARNED AND STUDIED ABOUT THEIR DEITIES, THEIR RELIGIONS, AND THE MUSIC AND THE FOOD AND EVERYTHING.

GATES: AS IT TURNS OUT, NARCISO'S ANCESTORS WERE FAR MORE CONNECTED TO AFRICA THAN HE COULD IMAGINE.

IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE PROVINCE OF MATANZAS, WE FOUND RECORDS SHOWING THAT HIS 3RD GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED JUAN LORENZO BENAVIDES, OWNED A FARM OF MORE THAN 200 ACRES.

BUT THAT WASN'T ALL JUAN OWNED.

RODRIGUEZ: WHAT IS ALL THAT?

GATES: NARCISO, THIS IS A BAPTISMAL RECORD.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSLATED SECTION?

RODRIGUEZ: "DAUGHTER OF UNKNOWN FATHER AND OF JUANA LUCUMI, SLAVE OF DON LORENZO BENAVIDES IN THIS PARISH.

AND UNTO THIS CHILD, I PERFORM THE SACRED CEREMONIES AND PRAYERS AND NAMED HER MARIA VICTORIA."

GATES: DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT?

RODRIGUEZ: SHADINESS.

GATES: YOU GOT IT.

THIS IS A BAPTISMAL RECORD OF AN ENSLAVED THREE-MONTH-OLD CHILD WHOSE NAME WAS MARIA VICTORIA.

NARCISO, MARIA VICTORIA AS WELL AS HER MOTHER JUANA WERE SLAVES OWNED BY YOUR THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER JUAN LORENZO BENAVIDES.

RODRIGUEZ: INCREDIBLE.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

RODRIGUEZ: SAD, BUT, UH... A LOT TO TAKE IN.

GATES: IN 1841, THE YEAR THIS BAPTISM WAS RECORDED, THE ENSLAVED PEOPLE OF MATANZAS CONSTITUTED OVER 60% OF ITS TOTAL POPULATION.

AND OUR RESEARCHERS IN CUBA FOUND RECORDS SHOWING THAT NARCISO'S FAMILY'S FORTUNES WERE INTERTWINED WITH SLAVERY FOR DECADES.

NARCISO, AT LEAST THREE GENERATIONS OF JUANA'S FAMILY WERE HELD IN BONDAGE FOR OVER 30 YEARS BY JUAN LORENZO BENAVIDES AND HIS HEIRS.

RODRIGUEZ: I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT SLAVERY IN CUBA, EVEN THOUGH IT EXISTED.

SO IT'S MIND BLOWING TO SEE THAT.

GATES: YOU KNOW, CUBA IS A PLACE, IN MY OPINION, THAT'S BEEN IN DENIAL ABOUT ITS SLAVE PAST.

CUBA GOT TWO AND A HALF TIMES MORE AFRICAN SLAVES THAN THE UNITED STATES.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE BUT IT'S TRUE.

RODRIGUEZ: SO HARSH.

GATES: ALL TOLD, NARCISO'S THIRD GREAT-GRANDFATHER OWNED AT LEAST 31 HUMAN BEINGS.

RODRIGUEZ: WOW, THIS IS NOTHING THAT ANYONE HAS EVER SPOKEN ABOUT.

I MEAN, AS I SAID, MY MOM WAS VERY CONNECTED TO AFRICA, AFRICAN RELIGION.

GATES: OH, YEAH.

SHE CAME BY IT NATURALLY.

RODRIGUEZ: SO I MEAN IT WOULD BE VERY SHOCKING TO HER TO KNOW THAT HER ANCESTORS OWNED SLAVES.

GATES: BUT THEN IT WOULD HELP TO EXPLAIN WHY SHE WAS CONNECTED TO YORUBA.

BECAUSE IT WAS ALL AROUND YOUR FAMILY.

RODRIGUEZ: RIGHT.

GATES: PROBABLY YOUR ANCESTORS WERE CONNECTED TO IT SPIRITUALLY AS WELL IN, IN THAT CURIOUS WAY THAT MULTICULTURALISM COMES ABOUT EVEN BETWEEN OPPRESSOR AND OPPRESSED, YOU KNOW.

OWNER AND PROPERTY.

RODRIGUEZ: I HAVE NO WORDS.

GATES: THE PAPER TRAIL HAD NOW RUN OUT FOR EACH MY GUESTS: IT WAS TIME TO SEE WHAT DNA COULD TELL US ABOUT THEIR DEEPER ROOTS.

WE BEGAN WITH AN ADMIXTURE TEST, WHICH REVEALS A PERSON'S ANCESTRY OVER APPROXIMATELY THE LAST 500 YEARS.

FOR EACH GUEST, THE RESULTS MIRRORED WHAT WE'D SEEN IN THE PAPER TRAIL.

VON FURSTENBERG: I MEAN, I'M COMPLETELY JEWISH.

GATES: YES.

YOU ARE JEWISH.

VON FURSTENBERG: I MEAN, COMPLETELY.

CHARLES: 70% AFRICAN, 30% EUROPEAN.

IT MAKES IT ALL SO MUCH MORE REAL.

RODRIGUEZ: 93.4% EUROPEAN.

SHOCKING.

GATES: BUT THERE WAS ONE SURPRISE STILL TO COME, WHEN WE COMPARED OUR GUESTS' DNA TO THAT OF OTHER PEOPLE WHOM WE HAVE TESTED OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SERIES, WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT MATCH FOR RUPAUL.

EVIDENCE WITHIN HIS OWN CHROMOSOMES OF A RELATIVE HE DIDN'T KNOW HE HAD.

CHARLES: OH, MY GOODNESS.

GATES: THAT IS CORY BOOKER.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: YOU AND CORY BOOKER ARE DNA COUSINS.

CORY WAS IN THE FIRST SEASON OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS" AND OF COURSE IS A SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: YOU AND CORY SHARE A LONG STRETCH OF IDENTICAL DNA ON YOUR FIRST CHROMOSOMES.

CHARLES: HE, YOU KNOW, HE, HE LOOKS LIKE MY KIN.

GATES: YEAH, HE DOES, DOESN'T HE?

CHARLES: WE LOOK, YOU KNOW, HE ACTUALLY, THERE'S A SWEETNESS ABOUT HIM THAT I'VE ALWAYS LOVED AND AN INTELLECT THAT IS UNDENIABLE, BUT EVERY TIME I'VE EVER SEEN HIM, HE REMINDS ME OF MY COUSIN EULA.

GATES: REALLY?

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: WELL, THERE'S A GOOD REASON.

CHARLES: YEAH.

GATES: BECAUSE YOU'RE RELATED.

CHARLES: HOW ABOUT THAT?

GATES: THAT'S THE END OF OUR JOURNEY WITH RUPAUL, DIANE, AND NARCISO.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME WHEN WE UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE PAST FOR NEW GUESTS ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".

LEONI: I'M IRISH?!

NARRATOR: NEXT TIME, ON "FINDING YOUR ROOTS" ACTOR TÉA LEONI... LEONI: THE FIRST THING I COULD THINK OF WAS, "THEN WHO ARE GRAND MOM AND GRANDDAD?"

NARRATOR: AND RADIO HOST, JOE MADISON.

MADISON: WELL, I WOULD ALWAYS WONDER, "WHY WASN'T I LIVING WITH MY MOTHER AND FATHER?"

NARRATOR: DEEP FAMILY QUESTIONS.

LEONI: WHO'S THAT?

GATES: THAT'S YOUR GRANDMOTHER.

NARRATOR: SHOCKING ANSWERS.

GATES: THAT MAN IS NOT YOUR BIOLOGICAL FATHER.

MADISON: I WOULD NEVER HAVE DREAMED THAT THIS COULD EXIST.

NARRATOR: ON THE NEXT, "FINDING YOUR ROOTS".