On Sunday, March 25, at 8:00pm WGBY will begin airing the new 10-part PBS series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  This is the 12th series from Professor Gates, the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

The basic drive to discover who we are and where we come from is at the core of the series, which is filmed on location across the United States.  Finding Your Roots examines the histories and family genealogies of a number of well-known personalities. But whether it’s anecdotes about ancestors from generations past or stories of recent relatives, each of us has a rich, unique genealogical heritage to share.

The website for the series provides a number of resources for you and students.  There is an opportunity to share your stories, reading about others’ ancestry and submitting stories as well.  For example, in Indiana Jones and the Cuban Connection, Nannette Wonell Serra reveals how her half-sister, Maurine,  got her into family histories.

You’ll also find links to help get started with online databases that make it easier than ever to trace family history and learn about the  DNA testing that allows for the type of deep research conducted for the series.

Check out a preview of the series here: