The family histories of prominent people of African American descent are explored using traditional genealogic techniques as well as genetic analysis.

This second set of episodes traced the ancestry of performers Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, Tom Joyner, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, theologian Peter Gomes, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, poet Maya Angelou, Bliss Broyard (the daughter of writer Anatole Broyard) and publisher Linda Johnson Rice (the daughter of publisher John H. Johnson).

In addition to these more publicly known guests, Kathleen Henderson, an administrator at the University of Dayton, was selected from more than 2,000 applicants to have her family history researched and to have DNA testing.

At a large family gathering in DeKalb County, Georgia his two sisters, three brothers, and mother, Mary Louise Bryant, are identified.

The Reverend Bryant also takes the cameras on a visit to his childhood home, now overrun by brush, it was the first piece of land ever owned by his family.

In keeping with the episode's theme of ancestors lives immediately after finding freedom, Oprah Winfrey discovers her family's long ties to education.

Also featured in the episode is Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, who learns more information about her grandfather's profession with the historic Utica Normal and Industrial Institute.

[6] Due in part to a centuries-long history within the United States, historical experiences pre- and post-slavery, and migrations throughout North America, the majority of contemporary African Americans possess varying degrees of admixture with European ancestry.

[12] In more recent genetic testing research reported in 2015, scholars found that varied ancestries among African Americans related to different by region and sex of ancestors.

[10][11] Gates has written an associated book, In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past, which was published in early 2009.