LeVar Burton Discovers White Confederate Ancestor on 'Finding Your Roots'

The revelation sparks conversations about race and identity, with Burton seeing it as an opportunity to engage with white America.

LeVar Burton, known for his roles in 'Roots' and 'Reading Rainbow', discovered on PBS's 'Finding Your Roots' that his great-great-grandfather was a white Confederate soldier named James Henry Dixon.
Dixon fathered a child with a Black woman who was born into slavery, making Burton's great-grandmother half-white.
Burton expressed surprise and conflict at the revelation, but also saw it as an opportunity to open dialogue about America's racial history.
On his father's side, Burton learned that his grandfather and great-grandfather were both school superintendents, affirming his inherited passion for education.
Burton's discovery has sparked conversations about race, heritage, and identity, and he hopes to use this as an 'entry point' to talk to white America.