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Political activist Angela Davis got quite the surprise during her recent sit-down with Henry Louis Gates Jr., as she learned of her ancestral tie to the Mayflower.
The matter came up during a recent installment of Finding Your Roots, as Henry linked with Angela to discuss her family lineage.
During their meet-up, Henry told Angela that a long-distant relative of hers was actually a passenger onboard the Mayflower, which brought the Pilgrims over to America way back in 1620.
Angela was visibly bewildered after learning this, as the camera caught her reaction. After initially laughing in disbelief, she says, “Oof…that’s a little too much to deal with right now.”
Henry then proceeds to ask, “Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that you may have descended from people who laid the foundation for this country?” In turn, Angela simply responds that she would have “never” thought that her ancestor was “one of the 101 people who sailed on the Mayflower.”
Once the clip began circulating, the quote tweets instantly blew up, as some were using the revelation as a way to denounce Angela’s work.
However, others swooped in and broke down how Black Americans will often have white ancestors, as sexual violence was a regular part of enslavement. In other words, they forwarded the argument that this revelation isn’t the fun fact or “gotcha” moment that many are making it out to be.
In addition to how he delivered the news, people also took issue with Henry Louis Gates Jr. referring to the Pilgrims as the ones who “laid the foundation for this country.”
On the flip side, though, it was also pointed out that this information shouldn’t necessarily be surprising to Angela.
However, users also shared that Angela’s reaction was more rooted in “disappointment and frustration” as opposed to surprise.
What do you think about the overall situation?
