By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
Renowned scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is gearing up for a new installment of his provocative PBS special 'African American Lives,' which brought to the black genealogy to the forefront with its premiere in February 2006.
This go round, the phenomenon --which also included the heralded 'Oprah's Roots' spin-off -- producers are seeking an African American to join the Harvard and an all-new group of distinguished African Americans on an extraordinary journey of discovery.
The new series is tentatively scheduled to air on PBS next February.
"What we find in doing this research is that even a regular person has extraordinary stories within his or her family," said Professor Gates.
Under the supervision of Professor Gates, the series' research will be conducted by the eminent genealogists Tony Burroughs, Johni Cerny, Jane Ailes and Megan Smolenyak together with Ancestry.com -- recognized as one of the world's leading online resources for family history information. They'll research the selected individual's family history, while a DNA testing service will provide a genetic analysis.Interested individuals can now apply online via 'African American Lives' official website through May 4.
"In 'African American Lives 2,' we'll work with one such person to show that the technology and resources for discovering these stories are available to all Americans, especially those of African descent," Gates concluded.
1. I love Professor Gates. His programs are so well done. He seems to really enjoy his work, family and community. I pray he is allowed to continue to show America the best of what we have to offer as a community.
Katrina at 4:59PM on Apr 28th 2007