Lizzo Family Ordeal Never Seen Before | Finding Your Roots | PBS - March 13, 2026 -
Watch more: https://to.pbs.org/4pH4zhG | #FindingYourRootsLizzo discovers that her enslaved ancestors were granted freedom by the will of their deceased owner, with provision to send them to Liberia, by way of The American Colonization Society. In all the time Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has done research for Finding Your Roots, it's the very first instance of a guest on the show having a relation to this movement. Unfortunately, the story does not end with her ancestors obtaining that freedom.
Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, is a four-time GRAMMY® Award-winning, Emmy Award-winning superstar singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress who has left an indelible and incomparable mark on popular culture. She has garnered numerous accolades, notched two Hot 100 #1 smashes, earned dozens of gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications, packed arenas worldwide, and shined in blockbuster films.
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Finding Your Roots
For more than a decade, renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has helped to expand America’s sense of itself, stimulating a national conversation about identity with humor, wisdom, and compassion. Professor Gates 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.










