Lionel Richie Who Do You Think You Are? USA

With a successful music career spanning over four decades,

Oscar and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Lionel Richie

has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

# Easy like Sunday morning. #

Lionel has three children and lives in Los Angeles.

But was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.

He was raised on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute,

a highly respected historically black university

where both his mother and his grandmother were teachers.

The family home consisted of my grandmother,

my mom, my father, my sister.

I grew up knowing

that everything was available and possible.

Imagine during the Civil Rights movement,

every black guy I knew had access to a PhD

or they were a lawyer.

It was not like growing up in "the rural South."

And so we called Tuskegee the bubble.

I didn't realise it,

but I was standing on the shoulders of giants.

People who struggled and overcame great obstacles

to create the secure and nurturing environment

in which I was raised.

But I have no idea who the giants in my family are.

Who paved the way for my parents and ultimately for me?

So my goal right now in this part of my life,

is to find out the names

and the faces and the places of those giants,

so I can pass this information on to my kids,

so they can rise to the occasion.

Was I sheltered when I was growing up? Absolutely.

Our parents protected us from everything.

They didn't tell us that there was segregation, didn't tell us.

If the Klan was coming to protest through the streets of Tuskegee,

our parents put us to bed early.

In 1968, Lionel formed the band the Commodores

with fellow students from Tuskegee University.

The Commodores gave me that opportunity to go out

and seek the real world because... the blinders were off.

And I was able to understand my mother and father

and the community a lot better, and I could appreciate them a lot more.

-Hey, Dad.

-I'm getting ready to leave town.

-Where you going?

I think where I'm going to start out is Tuskegee with Auntie Deborah.

And we're going to find some interesting stuff on our ancestry.

-All right.

-Go, Daddy.

OK, guys. Be good.

-All right, be good.

-Bye, Dad.

-Bye-bye, you two.

-Bye.

Lionel's first stop is Tuskegee, Alabama.

He's meeting his younger sister Deborah

at their grandmother's house where they grew up.

Deb and I spent much of our youth living with Grandma Foster.

And while we heard many stories about her mother Velenderver,

we have absolutely no idea who our grandmother's father was.

She never talked about him. Deborah is the keeper of the family photos

'and has been doing some research for me. So I'm curious

'to see what she's been able to dig up.'

Yeah, this should be quite interesting.

-I got a lot to show you.

-Uh-oh. Don't scare me now.

Show me what you got.

-Well, I've got a few photos for you there.

-Wow.

You recognise that face?

That's Grandma Adelaide Foster, right?

Grandma Foster.

And there is Adelaide over there.

-At age 100.

-At age 100.

And she is probably here about, what, seven?

You know, the thing I remember most

growing up with her was...

If she didn't want to talk about it...

-..you don't talk about it.

-You don't talk about it.

The original, "Don't ask, don't tell"

is Grandma Foster.

OK. This is Grandma Foster's social security document.

-Whoa.

-I ordered it.

I haven't seen it yet,

so we're looking at it for the first time.

-Oh, OK.

-So...

Oh, my gosh. Look at that.

"Adelaide M...

-"Brown!

-Brown!"

-Oh, my gosh.

-Wait, let's go down. Wait, wait.

"Father's name.

-"Louis Brown.

-Louis Brown."

So this is my great-grandfather.

Phew!

-That's certainly a revelation.

-So what do you think?

That's powerful right here. I love that.

Lionel has discovered the name

of his grandmother Adelaide Foster's father -

his own great-grandfather - Louis Brown.

But why did she never talk about him?

So for Grandma to fill out that card, she KNEW it was Brown.

-Oh, yeah.

-And she just didn't tell anybody.

-No, no, of course not.

Don't ask, don't tell.

But here's the kick.

She was born in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville, wow.

Well, my dear, I'm going to take this with me.

Thank you very much.

Now that he knows the name of his grandmother's father,

Lionel is heading to her birthplace, Nashville.

He's searching for clues regarding the man she never spoke about.

He's arranged to meet genealogist Mark Lowe

at the Nashville Public Library.

All right. We have a social security application here.

My grandmother was born here in Nashville in 1893.

I know my great-grandmother, Velenderver.

But now, "father's name, Louis Brown."

How do we find more about him?

Well, with that information,

this is the marriage book for this time period.

-Gosh!

-Why don't we look for a marriage,

maybe two to three years before your grandmother was born?

Between Velenderver Towson and Louis Brown.

1891.

Under Brown, right?

We have here, George Brown. Nope.

Not there in 1891.

-So let's back up to 1890.

-Let's just back it up, 1890.

All right, let's move back.

And here we are, Thomas Brown.

JL, Velenderver Towson. Here we are.

Wow.

Velenderver, right here.

This is the date the marriage was issued.

April 6th, 1890. Is that it?

-Yes.

-Unbelievable.

JL.

So what was J?

Well, I have another document to show you.

What is this?

This is what's called a complaint.

Uh, "Velenderver Brown versus John Louis Brown."

Right.

All right. Now we got that name down.

This is 1897.

-Correct.

-Very good.

-They've been married seven years.

-Seven years.

And he's a resident of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee.

Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Which means he's not currently living

-in Nashville...

-..In Nashville.

..where Velenderver is still living.

So this is basically a divorce.

-Yes.

-Wow.

So perhaps the complaint will tell us more about the circumstances.

They were married in Nashville, Tennessee. She was about...

15 years old at the time of her marriage...

..and the defendant was about 50?!

-Wow! 50 and 15.

-Right.

How could they do that in the first place? Was that legal?

It was at the time. The common law was in effect

and she could have been as young as 12.

That's the law at the time? Older than 12?

It didn't change till 1899, about ten years after that.

But that was not uncommon for older men to marry younger women.

I have a 12-year-old daughter. This would be shotgun-in-hand today!

Are you kidding me?

And evidently, these are the things that she says

give her grounds for divorce.

Yes, she said... I'll let you read this.

"Because of the difference in their ages,

"she could not comply with his way of thinking.

"Until it reached a point,

"complainant could no longer stand it.

"Therefore, complainant prays that the matrimony be dissolved."

So there's one more document related to this divorce.

OK.

This one is called the final decree.

-And this is from the judge?

-Correct.

All I can see here is the date, July 26th, 1897.

And I can't...

OK, well basically, the judge found that she was abandoned

for a period of more than two years.

And the divorce is granted.

Wow.

And remember that based on those ages, if he's 57,

being born in 1840, she would have been born in 1875.

And they're clearly from two worlds.

Absolutely.

We know Velenderver was born free after emancipation

but there's the possibility that John Louis could have been born

as a slave, or free, we don't know yet.

If he WAS a slave when he was born,

there'd have be a completely different mindset.

So probably there's some other records to get to that point,

to learn more about who John Louis Brown was.

Oh, I'd love that. Thank you, Mark.

While the age difference might have had something to do

with my great-grandparents' divorce,

there's got to be more to this story.

Lionel is heading to the Metro Archives in Nashville,

searching for any information about his mysterious grandfather,

John Louis Brown.

I know that my great-grandfather left his wife and child

but now I want to find out why he would do such a thing.

Lionel is meeting historian Don Doyle.

I'm trying to find my great-grandfather.

OK, this is a city directory from 1885.

But let's see if we can't find...

These pages are as soft as butter.

Brown...

Brown...

J Louis.

"SGA Knights of Wise Men."

What is that?

It sounds to me like some kind of a fraternal order,

some kind of an organisation.

It does, like the Masons, or it would be a... It could be a fraternity.

Now you know what you've done. You've probably stoked my curiosity.

OK?

Because if we can go back this far, we've got to go back some more.

We've got one more city directory. This is from 1880.

1880, 1880.

And so let's catch him just five years back a little bit earlier.

Let's see what we see. Now this one is...

I'll let you touch the book.

..not only falling apart, it is apart.

So let me see if I can...

Holy cow! It is apart.

John...

Now here...

John L Brown.

Editor of Knights Of Wise Men.

So now, whatever "SGA" meant, we now know that he is an editor

of something called the Knights Of Wise Men.

This tells you just by the names here, again,

that he is involved... he must be literate.

-I was going to say.

-He's an editor.

-I was going to say, he's the editor, this is a schooled guy.

-Yes.

The Knights Of Wise Men. We got to figure out what that's all about.

I think you need someone who's an expert

more on fraternal organisations,

and who can help you on this more esoteric branch of history.

Good. All right. I'm on the hunt.

'It's so thrilling to learn that my great-grandfather

'was involved in such a mysterious organisation.'

Just who are the Knights Of Wise Men? And what on earth is an SGA?

To try to find out who the Knights Of Wise Men were and what they did,

Lionel is meeting an expert on African-American

fraternal organisations.

I'm in search of this SGA Knights Of The Wise Men.

Well, I think I can help you with that.

The Knights Of The Wise Men. This was a fraternal order,

that also had a benefit for its members.

The organisation helped build bonds of community

between African-American men.

It was an institution that provided financial benefits

to all of its members for sickness, as well as in death.

So this is basically an insurance policy or an insurance company, basically.

To some degree.

It's the precursor of what we think of as modern insurance companies.

You are kidding me.

Remember, at this time,

white organisations were completely separate

-and did not admit African-Americans.

-Oh, OK.

The Knights Of Wise Men was founded in 1879 to address the needs

of the black community.

For a brief period after the Civil War,

African-Americans participated in southern government

and implemented social reform, but they were soon pushed out

by a white community that reversed the progress toward racial equality.

Facing the future with few resources and virtually no public help,

visionary leaders like JL Brown took action

and created institutions to assist African-Americans.

The Knights Of Wise Men became one of several national African-American

fraternal orders in the 19th century.

And by 1882, the organisation had grown to 278 lodges.

These were the prototypes of the organisations

that helped propel the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Wow!

So what does SGA mean?

SGA stands for Supreme Grand Archon.

He wasn't just a member of the organisation, he was the leader,

the national leader of the organisation.

And he had the presence of mind to think like this, on this level.

-Not just locally but nationally.

-Nationally.

That was not what I was expecting.

If you look at this, it will give you some hint

of just how important he was.

"Knights Of The Wise Men. Rules, laws and regulations.

"JL Brown, supreme archon."

He was not only the leader,

but he wrote the rules, laws and regulations of the order.

What?

JL Brown was at the forefront

in building a significant institution to meet the needs

-of African-Americans across the nation.

-Unbelievable.

This is unbelievable. So you have...

We have more about the Knights Of Wise Men.

You're telling me from this you have more?!

This is coming from the Daily Times in Chattanooga, Tennessee,

from 1891.

What this article informs us of

is what's happened to the Knights Of Wise Men.

Ah, very good.

It says here, "Chattanooga has the strongest lodge of wise men.

"Outside of this city the organisation has perceptibly weakened

"since the smallpox epidemic of 1885,

"when the backbone of the Wise Men

"was broken by the excessive drain upon the treasury."

What happened was, the Knights Of Wise Men

had to pay out of their treasury these death benefits.

Oh, that's right. Exactly.

So as those death benefits mounted, the treasury was depleted.

It says, "The Knights Of The Wise Men

"is in a quandary concerning the whereabouts

"of their supreme secretary of treasure, SR Walker of Nashville.

"Walker, as supreme treasurer of the Wise Men of the United States,

"handled considerable money, but was not required

"to give bond or secure funds placed in his hands."

So it means now, it is clear...

-The treasurer...

-..ran off with the money.

That's right.

So a little... Six years after the smallpox epidemic of 1885,

we have SR Walker taking what's left in the treasury

and leaving Nashville.

Hm. That was devastating.

My great-grandfather, was he involved in this?

Interestingly enough, the account that we have,

does not implicate your great-grandfather.

Very good. So now what happened?

We see that the Wise Men, although they're still mentioned

in books as late as 1915,

it's no longer a nationwide organisation.

It's no longer this healthy, vital organisation.

So now that explains...

The marriage fell apart during this period.

So it's understandable now, in my head,

why the marriage fell apart.

On top of the fact that the age difference,

but also the business.

The business that he had established was now falling apart.

And he was trying to spend as much time as he could,

probably trying to resurrect this or to clear it up.

And so it makes sense to me, what his mindset was

at that particular time.

Thank you very much, you've been amazing.

-Hey, I enjoyed it.

-Appreciate it.

My great-grandfather went from being,

in my mind, maybe a scoundrel,

all the way to being one of the pioneers

of the Civil Rights Movement.

His commitment to the community was just unbelievable

and he wanted to see the community lifted up,

and did all he could to do that.

I'm extremely proud.

Now Lionel is heading to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

According to the 1900 census, JL Brown moved there

after the demise of the Nashville branch of Knights Of Wise Men.

I really want to find out what happened to my great-grandfather.

Lionel is visiting the Chattanooga Public Library.

He's meeting local historian LaFrederick Thirkill,

looking for information that might continue to link JL Brown

to the troubled organisation he founded, the Knights Of Wise Men.

I'm hoping you can help me.

Well, you came to the right place,

and you'll be surprised that we were able to find him here.

I've got him in the 1929 city directory in Chattanooga.

Oh, come on. 1929?

So born in 1840. That makes him pretty much around 90 years old.

Yes.

Boy, he lived a long time.

That explains a lot about my grandmother.

She lived to be 100, and, um, three.

Wow, wow.

So... I love this family gene.

Ah, here we go.

John L.

He is now... Is that caretaker?

Yes.

"At the Pleasant Garden Cemetery."

Yes.

I think that probably the Knights Of Wise Men,

as the organisation, or as the business, is no longer.

That is somewhat unclear, but we do know

that he worked for a long time.

So I'm taking that he is now working to eat,

working to live,

basically working to maintain his life.

Yes.

Caretaker at 90?

Pleasant Gardens wasn't a small cemetery.

It's 22 to 23 acres big, if you could imagine...

Oh, you're kidding me.

20 some-odd acres is not a small cemetery at all.

And, of course, to be able to move around on that much property.

Wow.

Any more information?

-Just a second.

-That's the right answer!

That's what I'm talking about. Good.

"Biography and Achievements of Colored Citizens in Chattanooga."

Are you kidding me?

Wow.

There are some pretty impressive looking guys here.

JW Williams.

JL Brown!

So that's what he looks like.

I'm noticing, you know, his forehead, and my forehead,

and even to the point of the line,

which I don't like to point out the flaws in my face, but,

he has the same eyes and the same forehead,

it's just unbelievable, it's uncanny. Wow.

I don't know whether this is a write-up about him,

or some of his thoughts.

"It's only by our good qualities,

"rightly set forth, that we are to succeed in the future.

"First by education, every boy and girl,

"and teaching them from the cradle to the grave,

"honesty, industry, economy of time and means

"and the fullest enjoyment of all rights as citizens

"and the destruction, death and burial of the accursed idea

"that the negro is inferior, simply because he has been in time

"deprived of life, liberty and property.

"Let us all be wise men and women."

When I read this, I...

I'm thinking he wants to lift these people up.

-He is not about, you know, "Don't remind me that I'm poor."

-Right.

-"Don't remind me that I'm not doing well."

-Exactly.

-Let's talk about the good,

let's talk about going up... instead of down.

Very good. So now what happened to him?

I was able to find one more document.

Wow.

What is this?

Ah. Place... This is the death certificate, right?

Yes.

Here we go. "Hamilton County, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

"JL Brown."

So now we actually know... do we know where he was buried?

-Yes.

-Pleasant Gardens?

Pleasant Gardens.

Pleasant Gardens.

Oh, my God.

The name here, Morgan Brown?

Morgan Brown was his father?

Morgan Brown is listed as his father.

Whoa, here we go.

"Morgan Brown and mother..."

The mother's name is listed as "don't know."

Don't you just love records like that?

But we have Morgan Brown.

Lionel has just found out that JL Brown's father,

Lionel's great-great-grandfather, was Morgan Brown.

But he still doesn't know the name of his great-great-grandmother.

Pleasant Gardens is still in existence.

Oh, wow. Will you take me there?

-Let's go.

-Let's go. Come on.

Lionel is on his way to pay his respects to JL Brown

at Pleasant Gardens Cemetery.

Pleasant Gardens was an African-American owned

and operated cemetery, founded in 1890,

and was the primary burial ground for black men and women

in Chattanooga.

This is not exactly what I expected.

Man.

Is Great-Granddaddy close by?

Yeah, I can show you the area.

Yeah, I'd sure like to see it.

This portion of the cemetery is the pauper's section of the cemetery.

Some do have headstones

but amongst those are many that don't.

And it is believed that with the information

that we have about JL, that he's buried in this section of the cemetery.

I'm going to leave you a moment to reflect.

-Thank you, my brother.

-OK.

Appreciate that.

To know that your great-grandfather

walked amongst this and was a part of this,

it's moving. It's extremely moving.

It's hard, because you can't really...

you can't really... We take so much for granted.

Because we're not face-to-face with the real stories.

This is about as close to a spiritual awakening

as I've ever had in my entire life.

Even though his circumstances did not work out,

I'm sure his heart was the same throughout.

He wanted to see the community lifted up.

And, you know, I am quite proud to be

one of the guys that my great-grandfather lifted up.

But what about his early years? So far I've learned

that JL was born before slavery was abolished,

and that his father's name was Morgan Brown

but that his mother's name was unknown.

So the question still remains.

Was my great-grandfather born a slave or a free man?

Lionel knows that JL was working in Nashville in the 1870s.

So he's meeting historian Ervin Jordan

to see if he can find out any more information.

What did you find?

Well, let's begin with this first document.

Oh, God.

It says here, "State of Tennessee.

-"Colored man's application for pension."

-Yes.

"Filed, September 19, 1924."

We had a pension back then?

-Yes.

-In 1924?

-When he was 85.

-Wow.

All right, so now, "John L Brown, er,

"a native of the state of Tennessee, and who was a servant

"in the war between the United States

"and the Confederate States."

The Civil War. Wow.

The American Civil War began in 1861.

It was fought between the union states of the north,

led by Abraham Lincoln, who wanted to abolish slavery

and the Confederate States of the south who wanted to preserve it.

As a native of the southern state of Tennessee,

Lionel's great-grandfather, JL Brown, found himself at the heart

of a conflict that would ravage the nation for four years.

So I'm thinking a soldier and he was basically...

He was not a soldier.

-He was a body servant.

-A body servant?

He was a body servant to a Confederate officer.

Now, what is a body servant?

A body servant worked sort of as a butler to an officer or group of officers doing the war.

Free blacks did it because they could get paid for it.

Slaves usually didn't have a choice.

Their owners would hire them out to an officer.

He'd cook, polish the boots, provide food, take care of the horses,

-even provide entertainment.

-But it couldn't have been safe.

It was a dangerous occupation.

It wasn't one of glory or anything like that,

it was very dangerous, highly risky.

Several of these individuals were killed or maimed

during the course of the war.

Were they armed? Were they allowed to carry guns?

A very small number were, but the vast majority of them

didn't get one.

Wow.

But we have a photograph here

fortunately not of your great-grandfather,

showing a dead body servant, alongside what we believe

was probably the person who hired him.

-The body servant here?

-That's him.

He was probably minding his own business,

an artillery shell came in and exploded, killed both of them.

So it's a dangerous job, and your great-grandfather

was a body servant.

Mm. And that picture tells the story right there.

All right, it says here...

"When did you go with the army?"

He served May 20th, 1861.

So that would make him 22 years old.

-Mm-hmm.

-22 years old.

And here's one that just stands out right in front of me.

It says, "Give the name of your owner."

Morgan W Brown.

"Give the name of your owner."

This shows you that he was a slave, and that's why...

-He was the owner.

-He was the owner.

And on JL Brown's death certificate,

the name Morgan Brown was listed as his father.

-Mm-hm.

-Uh...

I'm only assuming that Morgan W Brown

and Morgan Brown, the owner, is the same guy.

It's entirely possible.

And it explains to me totally now where it also said

on that other document, "Name of mother unknown."

Ah.

Oh, that touches me right there.

That's crazy.

I think the word that stabbed me through the heart was "owner."

You know, those words are so far away from 2011.

You know, it's just unbelievable.

-Well, thank you.

-You're very welcome.

Thank you so much, Doctor.

I'm clear on what I have to do now, I'm on the search now

for Morgan W Brown and Morgan Brown.

-Thank you, Professor.

-You're very welcome, Mr Richie. Good luck with your search.

'So who is Morgan W Brown?'

Owner, father?

I need to find the answer.

Lionel is returning to Nashville to try to find out

about Morgan Brown, the man listed as the father of JL Brown

on JL's death certificate.

He's visiting the Nashville Public Library

to meet historian Jacqueline Jones.

'I want to find out whether or not Morgan Brown

'and Morgan W Brown are one and the same.'

Do you know this guy named Morgan Brown?

Well, it's confusing.

Dr Morgan Brown had a son, Morgan W Brown.

Ah, there we go.

So to avoid confusion, I'm going to refer to the father as Dr Brown...

Very good.

-..and the son as Morgan W Brown.

-Very good.

Well, let me go back and tell you about the doctor.

He was a general physician here in Nashville.

He owned a working slave plantation on the Cumberland River.

So with that little introduction in mind,

I have some documents here that you might find interesting.

And the first is an excerpt from Dr Brown's diary.

-We found his diary?

-Yes.

-I love it!

-Yes.

This is very small writing.

Oh, my God, what is this?

It says 1839 here.

"This night, at about 10 or 11 o'clock,

Mariah had a boy child born. Named him Louis.

-Mariah.

-Mariah.

-We've now given a name to the mother.

-Right.

Mariah was one of Dr Morgan Brown's...

BOTH: Slaves.

Wow.

There are several remarkable things about this.

It was unusual for a master to make note of the name of a baby

-born to a slave on a plantation.

-Absolutely.

He was the father, obviously, of that baby also.

Well, we can only speculate.

But just keep in mind that Dr Morgan Brown

was about 80 years old.

It's not unheard of...

Mm-hm, mm-hm.

..for an 80-year-old to have a child by a woman.

But it is unusual.

Morgan W Brown was 39...

Wow.

..when John Louis was born.

Got it.

So we have to go on and look at other pieces of evidence.

One of the most remarkable documents is...

-You mean that wasn't the remarkable document?!

-No!

Even more remarkable, I think, is the will

that Dr Morgan Brown wrote.

-And this is the original will he wrote.

-This is the original will?

This is the original and he wrote it in August 1839.

Now keep in mind that Mariah was pregnant.

Got it.

He's writing this will about the middle of her pregnancy.

So in his will, Dr Morgan Brown

says that Mariah should be freed from slavery.

And then he goes on to say,

"Once her unborn child is born,

"that he should be freed, just like his mother."

And not only does Dr Brown leave Mariah a place

for her and her son to live,

but he also gives my great-grandfather

two years of schooling.

Unbelievable.

That is absolutely unheard of back then.

-It's very unusual.

-Because the law was not to educate.

Right, there were many laws

that outlawed slaves becoming literate at all.

Well, it's pretty clear that Louis got his education.

Right.

Cos he was a sharp, sharp guy.

Well, now, again, this was in his will. Was Mariah freed?

Well, we're not sure, but what he's intending is that Mariah

and this baby should be free when he dies.

And then later in the will he says,

"She might want to live by herself, and if she does, here on my land

"is where I would like her to have her own little cabin."

Right.

But his son, Morgan W,

was the one would be carrying out the will.

And I think that's one of the big question marks. Did he...

-..follow through?

-It's ambiguous.

Let me show you this slave census.

If you can see the census-taker has written,

"Brown, Morgan's slaves."

But if we look here, the very last row, we can see that there are

no free people, either white or black, living on this plantation.

So she has no master living on the plantation,

so she might still be categorised legally.

-As slave.

-As slave.

But she might have some kind of quasi-freedom.

-Mm-hm. This is her property.

-Right.

-How about that? I mean...

I feel so relieved for Mariah.

Mm-hm.

Because, you know, there is some compassion here.

Yes. Let me show you a picture

that I have taken from a painting...

-Oh!

-..of Morgan W Brown.

Oh, geez.

Unbelievable.

This is Morgan W, this is the son.

This is the son who is possibly your great-grandfather's father,

or possibly your great-grandfather's half-brother.

Unbelievable.

You know, when we first started this journey, I was always

thinking in the back of my head,

you know, that we would uncover

an ancestor like this.

But to be standing here face-to-face

with the photograph

is pretty, er... unnerving on one respect,

and empowering on another, you know what I'm saying?

Because it was a brutal time.

It was an extremely brutal time.

And for Doc Morgan...

or for Morgan W,

to even think for a moment

to protect what was his...

..was just the greatest gift.

Doc Morgan, regardless of what the situation was,

he wanted to make sure that the kid, Louis, was taken care of.

JL didn't really know

what the true suffering was, because inside of his bubble,

which was the shelter that Doc Morgan provided for him,

he was able to learn and reason

outside of the pain and agony of slavery.

And for me, Tuskegee University

was MY protective place.

And of course the same circumstance happens with...

..with JL, you know.

It was pretty remarkable.

Pretty remarkable.

Lionel has reached the end of his journey.

He's back home in Los Angeles to tell his family all he's discovered

about his great-grandfather, John Louis Brown.

Thank you very much.

You know this amazing journey would not be complete

if I didn't share it with my younger sister Deborah

and two of my children, Miles and Sofia.

You are coming from the genes and the blood

of very strong people...

..who actually fought for the freedom -

their freedom,

-and also the freedom of black America.

-Mm-hmm.

You should be very proud to know that that's in your family history.

So to understand how fortunate we are now,

we are here because of their struggle.

'When we first started this journey'

it was interesting because

I kept thinking, for the longest time,

that the family was actually keeping a big secret from us.

'Because it was just things that were not pleasant.'

They didn't talk about it. That's just that simple.

Velenderver married John Louis Brown.

'Now that I'm at the end of the journey,

'I can honestly say that I don't think that my grandmother

'withheld the information.'

Um, I think she didn't know.

Your great-great-great-grandmother

is Mariah, who was a slave.

I am in awe of the strength of not only my grandparents

and great-grandparents,

'but just of the strength of black America.'

What this has done for me is kind of given me a sense

that I'm standing on these very powerful shoulders...

of, er...

of a people that just will not take the word...

..defeat.

Um, that... I'm very, very proud,

very proud to be there.

Through your adventures,

was there anything that really struck you the most?

The part that moved me the most was that, er,

JL would have been so proud of us

because his dream is our reality.

And it's... HE SIGHS

Deep breath! Deep breath!

Oh, kid, I love you.

Well, it's done. It's done.

-Oh, my God.

-All right?

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