Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Famous actor Edward Norton revealed Monday in a preview for PBS’ “Finding Your Roots” that his ancestors once owned slaves.
Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. — who hosts the show — first made the revelation to the 53-year-old actor, Metro reported.
“What’s it like to see that?” Gates Jr. asked after presenting the actor with a photo of a family of seven.
“The short answer is, these things are uncomfortable, and you should be uncomfortable with them. Everybody should be uncomfortable with it,” responded the “Fight Club” actor.
“It’s not a judgment on you and your own life but it’s a judgment on the history of this country. It needs to be acknowledged first and foremost, and then it needs to be contended with,” Norton added.
“When you go away from census counts and you personalize things, you’re talking about, possibly, a husband and wife with five girls – and these girls are slaves. Born into slavery.”
Gates Jr. responded: “Born into slavery and in slavery in perpetuity.”
“Yeah,” Norton said. “Again, when you read ‘slave aged 8,’ you just want to die.”
Though the photo given to Norton is undated, it is revealed that Norton is distantly related to James Rouse — who founded the Rouse Company, a now-defunct shopping mall developer.
The ninth season of #FindingYourRoots will premiere on January 3, 2023, with the episode featuring Norton airing the same day.
