While appearing as a guest on the widely viewed PBS show, Finding Your Roots, actor Edward Norton uncovered that he has a direct ancestral connection to the Pocahontas.
Hulk Star Edward Norton Discovers His Ancestors Were Slave Owners-‘These Things Are Uncomfortable’
Host and historian, Henry Louis Gates Jr, informed the 53-year-old actor that his ancestors had once kept slaves, and the star admitted that it was an ‘uncomfortable’ situation to be in. The show offers an in-depth exploration of the backgrounds of famous people and their ancestors.
The star was astonished at the revelation of his ancestral roots, particularly to discover that his twelfth great-grandparent was the renowned Pocahontas, known for her substantial influence in history and ties to the Jamestown colonial establishment in Virginia.
With that being said, this is what Norton had to say: “This is about as far back as you can go, unless you’re a Viking. It makes you realize what a small piece of the human story you are.”
Edward was a descendant of Pocahontas, who had married a tobacco farmer known as John Rolfe in 1614. Unhappily, three years later, Pocahontas was reported to have died in 1617.
And given that the Oscar nominee’s relatives had once held their family as slaves, that was something hard to stomach. His following comments confirmed as much: “These things are uncomfortable, and you should be uncomfortable with them.
“Everybody should be uncomfortable with it. It’s not a judgment on you and your own life but it’s a judgment on the history of this country.”
The social media response was far from enthusiastic. This was on the basis that the ancestral ties did not define who Edward was as a man. One person wrote: “We are all very likely descendants of Ghengis Kahn. So what?”
It is fair to say that this is not something you often hear. So there you have it folks. What did you think about this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
