Angela Davis taken aback by her ancestry, she's a descendant of the Mayflower pilgrim

Angela Davis, a 79-year-old author and enduring symbol of the Black Power movement, recently delved into the mysteries of her ancestry on the February 21, 2023, episode of Finding Your Roots. Hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr., the episode provided Davis with long-sought answers about her family’s history, including details about her maternal grandparents—figures her mother, Sallye Bell, never knew. While the team could not uncover her grandmother’s name, they identified her grandfather as John Austin Darden, a white lawyer from Alabama. Upon seeing his photo, Davis remarked on the striking resemblance, noting, “He has my mother’s lips. It’s so funny, I can see her in him.” Darden had six children—four sons and two daughters—raising the possibility that Davis’ mother may have had Black half-siblings.

The exploration didn’t stop there. The team traced Davis’ lineage back to her fourth great-grandfather, Stephen Darden, who was born in colonial Virginia and served in the Revolutionary War. Reflecting on this discovery, Davis linked it to her activism, stating that she had often been labeled as "un-American" for her work but felt that true patriotism involves striving to make the country better. For Davis, this journey into her ancestry reinforced her belief in activism as a profound way to honor the nation’s ideals.

Davis also digested the news that Stephen Darden became a slave owner after moving to Georgia. Though she was glad to learn more about her family, the news was bittersweet. The team then uncovered the identity of Davis' paternal grandfather. They found that her father, Benjamin Frank Davis' mother, Mollie Spencer, had been in a relationship with a white man named Murphy Jones, who was Frank Davis' biological father. It was a shocking discovery, as interracial sex was illegal across the South at that time.

The team then found that Spencer's father, Davis' great-grandfather Isom Spencer, was an enslaved person. Isom Spencer eventually won a court battle to free his nephews, who had been retained as slaves by his former owner after the Civil War. The news of his resistance made Davis feel proud of her ancestors.

Finally, the team discovered that Davis was descended from William Brewster, one of the 101 people who came to the colonies aboard the Mayflower. It was a surprise to Davis, who laughed and said she "never" expected to learn that she was descended from one of the nation's white settlers. "No. I can't believe this. No, my ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower," Davis says

Davis' appearance in "Finding Your Roots" was an emotional experience for her, which was filled with a roller coaster of contradicting emotions. Though she was glad to have answers to some of her lingering questions, the show also opened up new questions and possibilities. Regardless, the episode showed Davis her family's history of resistance, which is something she can be proud of.

This article originally appeared 1 year ago.