0:00:02 > 0:00:04The new Miss America... Vanessa Williams, Miss New York!
0:00:04 > 0:00:09Vanessa Williams started breaking barriers at a very young age.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10When she was just 20 years old,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13she became the first African-American woman
0:00:13 > 0:00:14to earn the title of Miss America.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Since then, the Grammy, Emmy, and Tony-Award nominated performer
0:00:18 > 0:00:21has become one of the most respected artists in the business,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26recently starring in the hit TV series Ugly Betty
0:00:26 > 0:00:29and also in Desperate Housewives.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Vanessa and her four children split their time between Los Angeles
0:00:32 > 0:00:34and their home in Chappaqua, New York,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37where Vanessa was raised.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41My parents were both elementary music teachers.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45They were together as a couple until my dad passed recently.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47About four years ago.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51My dad and I were incredibly close.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54He was unconditionally loving and supportive
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and I always strived to make him proud.
0:01:00 > 0:01:06I had no idea that winning a Miss America title in 1983
0:01:06 > 0:01:09would actually be so significant to people
0:01:09 > 0:01:11that had lived through the Civil Rights Movement.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14And that to me was such an honour.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17But also something that I had no idea...the weight,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20and that there might be some bad consequences.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24To have white people who wanted to kill me because I was black
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and to have death threats against my family
0:01:27 > 0:01:31because, er, they felt that I was tarnishing
0:01:31 > 0:01:35the Miss America crown because I was a black person.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39So it was... it was an incredible time.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42I would love to find out
0:01:42 > 0:01:46whether someone else within my ancestral past
0:01:46 > 0:01:47did the same thing.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50And made a change. Or was noticed.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Or did something that changed other people's lives.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17To being her journey, Vanessa is visiting Pine Hollow Cemetery
0:02:17 > 0:02:20in Long Island, where her father is buried.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27My dad would tell stories about growing up in Oyster Bay.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29They didn't have much.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Pretty rural upbringing.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35But always full of love and joy.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Um, and he always kind of reminisced with a smile.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Cemetery is right back here.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56This is the family hill.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01It's a wonderful place to go and to connect with my dad.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08And when I call upon him, I can feel his presence.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It's nice to start the journey here with my dad.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Searching for his roots on his behalf.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27He would be so happy to be on this journey with me.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28And I know he is.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36I'm coming out here to visit. But this time I'm looking for clues.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39I'm hoping to find some information on my ancestors' headstones
0:03:39 > 0:03:43that I might not have noticed before.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Vanessa knows little about her paternal grandfather,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Milton Williams's side of the family.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50But she does know that her father's mother's name
0:03:50 > 0:03:52was Iris Carll.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Her father was Frank Carll.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And his father was Vanessa's great, great grandfather, David Carll.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05David Carll, it looks like Company 1.
0:04:05 > 0:04:0926 US... I would assume this is "coloured".
0:04:09 > 0:04:12And that would mean infantry.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14I think.
0:04:14 > 0:04:181861 to 1865.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22I guess that would be...
0:04:22 > 0:04:23the Civil War.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Which would be amazing.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29So that's a pretty big clue.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31My question would be, what happened to him?
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Did he make it...?
0:04:33 > 0:04:37If he was a veteran in the Civil War, did he make it back alive?
0:04:37 > 0:04:41And what was the catalyst to make him want to serve?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Vanessa's family has lived in the Oyster Bay area for more than 100 years,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51so she's arranged to meet the town historian
0:04:51 > 0:04:53to find out if there are any records
0:04:53 > 0:04:57dealing with David Carll's enlistment in the Civil War.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Mmm. John, my heart is racing right now.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06The record you're most interested in
0:05:06 > 0:05:12would be this record of soldiers from 1861 to 1865.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15And if we go to page 33...
0:05:15 > 0:05:17- Page 33.- At the very top... - Mm-hm.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19..you'll see a name that you're familiar with.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20David Carll.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Enlisted January 2nd, 1864.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30In New York, blacks were first allowed to enlist
0:05:30 > 0:05:34December 23rd, 1863.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Within the first week of their eligibility, he enlisted.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Wow. He was a brave man to sign up.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Especially in a time where there was a lot of uncertainty.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49It was quite a risk. There was quite a opposition
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and a big question as to would the black soldiers
0:05:52 > 0:05:54be accepted with the white soldiers?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Mm-hm.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02African-Americans had been barred from military enlistment since 1792.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04But by 1862 the Union Army,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08which was fighting to end slavery in the South, was desperate.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10And it was forced to allow African-Americans
0:06:10 > 0:06:12the freedom to fight.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15However, it wasn't until December of 1863
0:06:15 > 0:06:20that the first coloured regiment was raised in the state of New York.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So he was married.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Bounty? 300?
0:06:27 > 0:06:33Yes. Early in the war, they paid a bounty of 75 for enlisting.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- Really?- By this time, the bounty had risen to 300.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39That's a lot of money back in the day.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Yeah. So we have another record.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46This is a record of the purchase of land
0:06:46 > 0:06:47by David Carll
0:06:47 > 0:06:52on January 7th, 1864.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54So...
0:06:56 > 0:06:59..five days later, after he enlisted,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02he purchased this land.
0:07:03 > 0:07:09The bounty was 300 and the land cost 200.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14Yeah. So he bought it to secure property
0:07:14 > 0:07:18for his wife and his family.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- This is where it all started. - Ah. Wow.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Discharged, August 28th, 1865.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31PO Address Oyster Bay, Queens County, New York.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- So he survived the war. - He survived. Yes.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37The question is, when he did serve,
0:07:37 > 0:07:38where did it take him?
0:07:38 > 0:07:41There's no indication of what happened to him
0:07:41 > 0:07:44or where he went in the war.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46For that, you'll have to go to the National Archives.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49National means Washington, DC?
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Yes. It looks like you're going to Washington.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55I'm going to Washington, DC. OK. Yay.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I'm learning that my great, great grandfather
0:07:57 > 0:07:59was an incredibly selfless man.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03He put his life at risk enlisting in the Civil War
0:08:03 > 0:08:06in order to earn money and buy land for his family.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Vanessa is heading to Washington, DC,
0:08:09 > 0:08:14to try to find out about David Carll's service during the war.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17She's visiting the National Archives,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21which holds one of the nation's largest collections of Civil War records.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Think we're going to start with the pension file first.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28This entire file is on your soldier,
0:08:28 > 0:08:29is on David Carll.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- Really? - These are the original documents.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- Wow.- This is a good one to start with.- Mm-hm.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- You can touch it.- Oh, can I? OK.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- Yeah, you can.- "Department of Interior. David Carll. Oyster Bay."
0:08:41 > 0:08:45"When were you born?" "Oyster Bay. 1845."
0:08:45 > 0:08:48"Colour of your skin." "Coloured." OK.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50"Were you a slave?"
0:08:51 > 0:08:53And he wrote, "Never."
0:08:53 > 0:08:57- Never!- He was never. He was born a free man.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58Wow.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01"Never," period.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- That's awesome.- It is.- Ah!
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Prior to the Civil War,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10the fate of African-Americans' freedom
0:09:10 > 0:09:12was in the hands of state lawmakers.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Fortunately for David Carll and men like him,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20slavery was completely abolished in New York by 1827,
0:09:20 > 0:09:22which allowed him to be born free.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26And he enlisted in the Union Army
0:09:26 > 0:09:29to go to war to save men who were not free.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32- Absolutely. - Yeah. It's pretty incredible.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35- Wow.- And when I was going through this,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40I, um, came across something that was really pretty special.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- Actually, we might need to... - Uh-oh.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- ..put on gloves.- Put on the gloves.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- OK.- OK.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50Wow.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00SHE GASPS Is this a picture? Oh, my gosh.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- Wow.- Can you see it?
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- It's called a tintype. - That's an image.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06That's him.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09He sent it in to say, "I'm David Carll."
0:10:09 > 0:10:12He's in his Union uniform.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15I thought he looked like my brother immediately.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18When I saw this, I thought, "Oh, my gosh,
0:10:18 > 0:10:19"we have to bring this to light."
0:10:21 > 0:10:25- Go ahead.- Oh, my goodness. My heart is about to jump.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- Look at that.- You can pick it up. - David Carll.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Look at that. And there's the flag.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36A handsome guy.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39And he looks like a proud man.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Mm-hm. He was risking a lot.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44The Confederate Congress said,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48"If we capture a black Union soldier,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52"we will not put him in a POW camp."
0:10:52 > 0:10:54They'll kill him?
0:10:54 > 0:10:57- Or they'll put him in slavery.- Ah.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- Wow.- Yeah.- What a risk.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01It was quite a risk.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08I knew David Carll risked his life as a soldier
0:11:08 > 0:11:09in the Civil War.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12But it's even more frightening to think
0:11:12 > 0:11:16that as a black Union soldier fighting in the South,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18he could've been enslaved.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20He was a freedom fighter.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Enlisted by his own free will.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Left his home and his family.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28And after all of this -
0:11:28 > 0:11:31after all the hardships,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33he returned home to have kids,
0:11:33 > 0:11:36which had kids, which had my dad, which had me.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It's... It's wonderful.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49Now Vanessa is ready to explore the paternal line of her father's family.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53She's heading to Baltimore to visit her Uncle Earl,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55her late dad's brother.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I'm hoping that uncle Earl has some clues for me
0:11:58 > 0:12:01about the lineage on my dad's father's side of the family.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05I got a great picture of the Carll family,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09but I know virtually nothing about the Williams side of my ancestry.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- Hello.- Hi, Nessa.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- How you doing?- Good to see you.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19- Same here.- How's it going?
0:12:19 > 0:12:20- Good.- Good.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Wow. I have been on such a journey.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- Yeah, I'll bet.- And I've got lots of questions for you.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Look at these family photos.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32OK. Now, um, this was your dad
0:12:32 > 0:12:34when he graduated from high school.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35Ahh.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37And your grandfather, Milton.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39- Milton Senior.- Yeah.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Matter of fact, here is his picture.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45He was 19 at that time.
0:12:45 > 0:12:491930. So he was born around 1911 or so?
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Yeah. He was born in Memphis.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Ah. OK.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55His dad was a barber
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and his name was John Hill Williams.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And do you know what his wife's name was?
0:13:01 > 0:13:03No. That's... that's the mystery, too.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04That's a mystery.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Dad's mom died when he was so young
0:13:08 > 0:13:09that, er, he didn't know.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- He wasn't one year old yet when she died.- Right.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- Then John Hill Williams died.- OK.
0:13:15 > 0:13:16Dad was 11.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20So Milton Senior, your father and my dad's father,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23since he lost his mom at a young age
0:13:23 > 0:13:26and then lost his father, John Hill Williams...
0:13:26 > 0:13:28- At 11.- ..at 11...- Yeah.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32..we don't really know much about his side of the family.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35No. It grieved him to talk about those things, I think.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37- That's painful.- Yeah.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39'Oh, my uncle Earl.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41'He's the closest thing I have to my dad.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43'I'm so grateful he could fill in some of the gaps.'
0:13:43 > 0:13:46- Love you.- Yeah. I love you, too. - OK.- OK.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Off to my journey.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54My next mission, to find out more about John Hill Williams,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57who was a barber in Memphis, Tennessee.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58And who was his wife?
0:14:01 > 0:14:04To continue her research into her dad's side of her family,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Vanessa is meeting a genealogist in Baltimore
0:14:08 > 0:14:11to see what clues she can find in the census records.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I know that Milton Senior, my grandfather,
0:14:14 > 0:14:15was born around 1912.
0:14:15 > 0:14:20So I'm looking for, erm, more information on his dad
0:14:20 > 0:14:21and his mother.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25His mother died very early in his life so we have nothing.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28OK. So here's the 1910 census. This is a little hard to read.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31And actually, their family's right at the very top there.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33John Williams.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37And Mary. Wife. Mary Williams.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- Mary.- Mary.- Mm-hm.- Mm-hm.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43- So that's Milton's mom. - Wow. Mary Williams.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47I went further and I searched for her obituary record.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- And this is amazing. - This is the obituary?
0:14:50 > 0:14:53- Yeah. This is her obituary. - Oh, my gosh.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55So this tells you a whole lot about the family.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- This is kind of eerie.- Uh-huh.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01"Friday evening, February 20th, 1914."
0:15:01 > 0:15:03So my grandfather was two.
0:15:03 > 0:15:09OK. "At 7:25, Mary Williams, aged 38 years,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11"mother of Clarence, Arthur, and Milton,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15"and daughter of Elizabeth and the late William Fields."
0:15:15 > 0:15:18So Mary Fields.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20And her father...
0:15:20 > 0:15:23is...William Fields.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25- Mm-hm.- Hmm.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Well, that's a great clue.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Vanessa has discovered that her great grandfather's wife
0:15:30 > 0:15:35was Mary Fields and HER father, Vanessa's great, great grandfather,
0:15:35 > 0:15:37was William Fields.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40And here is the 1880 census.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- All right, so they're still in the same area.- OK.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- That's William. "WM."- WM.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49There's... So if we look right across here...
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"Schoolteacher." Ah.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54So he was a teacher.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55Interesting.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57So do you have teachers in your family?
0:15:57 > 0:16:00- Both my parents are teachers. - Oh, wow.- Yeah, yeah.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03So if he was a schoolteacher
0:16:03 > 0:16:05- and he was mulatto...?- Right.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- So he's a man of colour. - In Tennessee.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09In Tennessee.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13He must've been an educated man to teach school.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15And so soon after the Civil War.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- Yeah.- That's also fascinating.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19And they're all born in Tennessee, OK?
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Tennessee. So we got some Tennessee roots.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23Serious roots.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27'Every clue I get is just another piece
0:16:27 > 0:16:30'of the puzzle to my life and who I am.'
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Education was in our blood.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36And the importance of education is here in black and white,
0:16:36 > 0:16:37right in front of me.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42To find out more about William Fields's career,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Vanessa is flying south from Baltimore to Nashville.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48She's arranged to meet Kathy Lauder
0:16:48 > 0:16:50from the Tennessee State Library and Archives,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52at the State Capitol Building.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56This is a bust that we just installed
0:16:56 > 0:16:58in the statue of Sampson Keeble,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02who was the first African-American legislator in Tennessee.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I thought you might like to see this first. We're proud of this.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Sampson Keeble.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09First African-American representative
0:17:09 > 0:17:11to the Tennessee State Legislature.
0:17:11 > 0:17:1319th century... SHE GASPS
0:17:13 > 0:17:14Look at the... W...
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- William A Fields?- Yes!
0:17:16 > 0:17:20- Whoa. From Shelby County. - That would be someone you know.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22You're k...
0:17:22 > 0:17:23So he was...
0:17:23 > 0:17:26He was a legislator from Shelby County.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29And he served in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- Fantastic!- One of the first African-Americans elected.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35So it was very impressive.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36Wow.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40And those are his dates? From 1885 to 1886.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44He was in the 44th General Assembly.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Phenomenal.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48This is... This is where he actually would come to work?
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- Yes.- Wow.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53In this very building. It was like this. It hasn't changed.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55Very impressive.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Wow!
0:17:58 > 0:18:00If you'd like, we can go inside.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04- Sure. I'd love to see where he worked.- Go right around here.- OK.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06It's been extraordinary discovery
0:18:06 > 0:18:10to find out that my ancestor, William A Fields,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13made history here in Tennessee.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15I made history in my own right.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17But this is where it all begins.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22This is the photograph of the 44th General Assembly.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26And your ancestor is number 33,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28closest to the legend there.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30And that's William A Fields.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- Look!- There he is.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35Oh, my gosh.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Amazing that I can put a face to the name.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47And we've made you a copy of his picture to take with you.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Oh, my God.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51This is amazing!
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Wow.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00We know roughly where the Shelby Delegation sat.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04- Would you like to go sit over there where he sat?- I would love to see where he sat.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05Oh, my God.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13The first thing I'd like to show you
0:19:13 > 0:19:15is the certificate of election
0:19:15 > 0:19:18that he brought in when he was elected and came in.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20And how did that happen,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23a coloured man in Tennessee to be elected?
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Well, about the time of the Civil War,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29a fourth of the population of Tennessee were slaves.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- A fourth of the population? - And so after the war ended,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35some of the counties had a higher percentage
0:19:35 > 0:19:37of black residents than white residents.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40And so once these people started to vote,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44then there showed up black people in a lot of the local positions
0:19:44 > 0:19:48- as well as, here, someone coming to the house.- Fantastic.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51They've come right out of slavery. Nobody believes they're human.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Some people don't think they're people.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55It was a very tough time for them,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58trying to pass these laws, trying to improve their lot.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02They had just a small window of opportunity to do that.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05So we're watching this window, which starts in 1867,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10when the vote is available, getting narrower and narrower until finally,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13a couple of administrations after this one, it's gone.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15So he's toward the tail end.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17He's the next-to-the-last group.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20From 1888 until 1965,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23there were no black faces in the House of Representatives.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- It was 77 years. - Oh! You got to be kidding.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28No. This was the beginning of something
0:20:28 > 0:20:31that would go on for a very long time.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- So just when you think you've made progress...- Mm-hm.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40I'm learning what a noble and pioneering man William A Fields was.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42But it's left me with more questions than answers.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45What happened in Tennessee that prevented
0:20:45 > 0:20:48any more African-American men from holding office
0:20:48 > 0:20:49for almost 80 years?
0:20:49 > 0:20:53And what happened to William after he left office?
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Vanessa is heading to Memphis, where William A Fields
0:20:57 > 0:20:59was listed in the 1880 census with his family.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04She has an appointment with Dr Beverly Bond
0:21:04 > 0:21:06at the public library.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08You must be Beverly.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Beverly is an expert on 19th-century African-American history.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16There seemed to be a significant amount of time
0:21:16 > 0:21:19where there were no people of colour - men of colour -
0:21:19 > 0:21:22that were serving as a representative for years.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Can you tell me why that is?
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Blacks have voted in Tennessee from the late 1860s.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33- Right.- But in the 1880s and into the 1890s,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35you begin to see that closing of opportunities.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38In the 1890s, states likes Tennessee and Mississippi
0:21:38 > 0:21:40changed their constitutions
0:21:40 > 0:21:43and make it more difficult for blacks to vote
0:21:43 > 0:21:46with poll taxes, sometimes literacy tests.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47Residency requirements.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51You have the violence that comes about in the 1880s.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53- Lynching.- And 1890s.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55The lynchings. The race riots.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00In Tennessee, you've got this racial violence
0:22:00 > 0:22:02that's, in a sense, being organised -
0:22:02 > 0:22:04um, to use the terms of today -
0:22:04 > 0:22:07into terroristic organisations like the Klan
0:22:07 > 0:22:10that were established primarily
0:22:10 > 0:22:16to maintain a sense of pre-Civil War order in the south.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19After the Civil War, the South was in ruin.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Southern states were forced to rejoin the Union
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and to acknowledge the freedom of their former slaves.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30In 1866, the Ku Klux Klan was formed by ex-Confederates
0:22:30 > 0:22:32in Tennessee in an effort to restore
0:22:32 > 0:22:35what they considered to be proper social order.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38To add to the rising racial tension,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42by the 1880s, the southern states had enacted the Jim Crow laws,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46statutes that legalised segregation.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The Jim Crow laws and the violence wrought
0:22:49 > 0:22:51by groups like the Ku Klux Klan
0:22:51 > 0:22:53effectively eliminated the strides made
0:22:53 > 0:22:57by African-Americans like William A Fields after the Civil War.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02- So, like, systematically squeezed out.- Yes. Yes.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05That's one part of the story. The other part is within that place
0:23:05 > 0:23:07that they are being pushed into,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10they create these strong black communities
0:23:10 > 0:23:14- with their own schools and their churches.- Right.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17So it's, you know, it's a very prideful community
0:23:17 > 0:23:20that is struggling against segregation.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21As an example,
0:23:21 > 0:23:25erm, Tyler Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
0:23:25 > 0:23:28is a clear reference that we can use.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30It's a church that was started by former slaves
0:23:30 > 0:23:32in the aftermath of the Civil War.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Eventually, it is... It says it was burned
0:23:35 > 0:23:37by the Ku Klux Klan.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38Oh. Wow.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40If you look a little further,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44you'll see some of the early ministers who are listed there,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47but also the Sunday school superintendents.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49And if you just look down the list...
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Look at this. "The honourable WA Fields.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- "Resigned and deceased."- Mm-hm.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56And then we have a copy of his...
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Obituary?
0:23:58 > 0:24:01A small obituary from the local newspaper.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04"William A Fields, a justice of the peace,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07"died yesterday morning at 5:00 at his home
0:24:07 > 0:24:09"in his 52nd year."
0:24:09 > 0:24:1052!
0:24:11 > 0:24:14"He was a negro member of the County Court
0:24:14 > 0:24:18"and had the respect of that entire court,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21"having been a justice of the peace for ten years."
0:24:21 > 0:24:24That's the first time I've heard about the County Court
0:24:24 > 0:24:27being associated with his name.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- Yes.- So his knowledge and his education served him well.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33It is so heartbreaking for me to know
0:24:33 > 0:24:35that my great, great grandfather died
0:24:35 > 0:24:37before he was able to see any progress
0:24:37 > 0:24:41in the fight against segregation.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Vanessa knows that William A Fields was a member of the court,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48so her next stop is the Shelby County Archives.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51Oh, my.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56She's looking for any information on William's court record.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I found something for you in the Quarterly Court.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03- Big red book.- Mm-hmm.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10"Minutes. July 1898 to July 1899."
0:25:10 > 0:25:13William A Fields served on the Quarterly Court.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16And I did find something interesting
0:25:16 > 0:25:17here on page 250.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21- There.- OK. WA Fields.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24"The committee appointed at the present term
0:25:24 > 0:25:26"of this court to draft resolutions
0:25:26 > 0:25:30"touching the death of WA Fields, Esquire.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35"William A Fields was born near Fisherville
0:25:35 > 0:25:39"in Shelby County about 52 years ago."
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Fisherville. Near Fisherville.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Where... where... What was Fisherville like?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Well, at that time, when he was born,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49that would've been a cotton plantation area.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52And, most likely, he was born a slave on a plantation.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54Ah.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57"He was faithful and true.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01"Discharging with fidelity every trust
0:26:01 > 0:26:03"confided to his keeping.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07"While he has not left large earthly riches
0:26:07 > 0:26:09"to his afflicted family,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13"he has bequeathed them a legacy more precious than gold,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17"more imperishable than monumental brass -
0:26:17 > 0:26:18"a spotless name."
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Wow.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27He sounds a lot like my dad.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28And this is...
0:26:29 > 0:26:31This is my dad's story.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Of a man who taught and changed people's lives.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41Was faithful and true to his family.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46And it's like reading the story of my father's life.
0:26:46 > 0:26:52But this is 100 years before he was ever alive. It's...
0:26:53 > 0:26:55It's extraordinary.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59And it just makes me so proud of the men
0:26:59 > 0:27:01that I am descended from
0:27:01 > 0:27:05and the family that I come from.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09SHE EXHALES Wow.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Vanessa's journey is over.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17So now she's heading home to Los Angeles
0:27:17 > 0:27:20to share her discoveries with her mother, her brother, Chris,
0:27:20 > 0:27:21and one of her daughters, Sasha.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28- So you're glad you went? - Oh, it was fantastic.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30I wish I could've taken you on every step.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35- Wow.- I never thought I'd find two pictures of ancestors that far back.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36- Exactly.- Amazing.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39- Oh, Dad would be so...- He would be delirious with excitement.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42..so excited. Oh, my goodness.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44The through line that I get
0:27:44 > 0:27:46from my two great, great grandfathers
0:27:46 > 0:27:50is that the men in my life have been heroes
0:27:50 > 0:27:54that have made a difference and been there for their families.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56What I loved about this journey
0:27:56 > 0:28:01was the amazing parallel with my dad's legacy.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03The fact that my dad served in the army,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06that he was a schoolteacher,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10er, he was...he was very heroic in his life.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15And it's my responsibility to teach my own children
0:28:15 > 0:28:18the value of their roles in history,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20just as my father taught me.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk