Angela Davis, a renowned social activist formerly associated with The Black Panther Party and the Communist Party USA, was shocked when she found out one of her ancestors was a Mayflower settler.
RELATED: Florida Teacher Faces Backlash After TikTok Video Shows White Students Bowing Down To Black Students
During a recent interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr. for his PBS’ series Finding Your Roots, Davis appeared floored to find out she was a descendant of William Brewster — one of the 101 people who arrived at the colonies in 1620 aboard the Mayflower. Brewster, who was Davis’ 10th great-grandfather, sailed the Mayflower from abroad with his wife Mary Wentworth. In a portion of the interview Gates Jr. shared on Twitter, Davis appears to become visibly flustered when presented with the information.
“Do you know what you’re looking at?” Gates Jr. asked Davis. “That is a list of the passengers on the Mayflower.” Davis immediately responded by rejecting the notion, seemingly laughing the idea off, at first. “No, I can’t believe this,” Davis said laughing. “No, my ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower! Oof. That’s a little bit too much to deal with right now.”
Gates Jr., who serves as director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, continued with a follow-up question.
“Would you ever in your wildest dreams think that you may have been descended from the people who laid the foundation of this country?,” to which Davis replied, “Never, never, never, never, never.”
“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
In another separate clip, Davis also learns part of her lineage lies in the early days of American patriots. Gates Jr. revealed to the Alabama native that her fourth great-grandfather served in the Revolutionary War.
“I’m glad to be able to have this information,” Davis said in part. “So many people have called those of us who try to fight against racism and who have visions of a more radical democracy as un-American. And I’ve always insisted that the best way to pay tribute to this country is to try to change it and allow it to develop into the kind of place where anyone can be free and equal and happy. So there’s a sense in which I identify with the identity of the patriot but it has to be a radical identification.”
Elsewhere in the extensive episode, Davis finds out the identity of her mother’s biological father, who turned out to be John Austin Darden — who was an affluent, white Alabama lawyer that was the descendent of a slave owner.
RELATED: Benedict Cumberbatch’s Family Reportedly Owes Reparations Over Connections To Barbados Slave Trade
Davis was thrust into the national spotlight in 1970 after guns she owned were used in a violent standoff in a Marin County courtroom in California. The occurrence left four dead, including the judge. After the FBI issued a warrant for her arrest, Davis went on the run and became one of the Bureau’s 10 most wanted. Upon her arrest, Davis served 16 months in jail before being not guilty of her connection to the crime.
Season nine of Gates Jr.’s Finding Your Roots is currently airing now, with new episodes featuring public figures such as former The X-Files actor David Duchovny and retired NFL player Tony Gonzalez
Watch the full nearly hour-long episode featuring Davis and her ancestry below.
The post Angela Davis, Who Previously Worked With The Black Panthers, Discovers She’s A Descendant Of Mayflower Colonizers appeared first on Hollywood Unlocked .