Detroit is the focus of episode two of a national public TV show with a hokey title: "Genealogy Roadshow."
A Detroiter adopted as an infant learns about her background in Monday night's episode of the new PBS program.
History and science are mixed to uncover family stories -- "part detective story, part emotional journey," the network says.
The one-hour local installment, airing locally at 9 p.m. on WTVS (Channel 56), explores the ancestries of three area residents. Here's how Detroit Public TV describes two of the segments:
"A woman learns about her parents' secret World War II activities and the untimely death of her father; a Mexican-American woman learns about her family's groundbreaking presence in Michigan and of a Civil War-era ancestor who was charged with murder."
That World War II connection relates to Eugenia Gorecki, the first female engineer at Ford Motor Co., according to coverage by Ross Benes posted Monday afternoon at Crain's Detroit Business.
His article says the episode also features Kenyatta Berry, a Detroit native and Cass Tech graduate , who is a genealogist on the show.
A 30-second preview is at the Read More link below, during which one participant says: "I was adopted at two days old, and as an African-American I need to know where I came from."
Here's some of how PBS promotes the new program:
Each individual’s past will link to a larger community history, revealing the rich cultural tapestry of America.
"Genealogy Roadshow" premiere season will feature participants from four American cities — Nashville, Detroit, San Francisco and Austin — who want to explore unverified genealogical claims, passed down through family history, that may (or may not) connect them to an event or a historical figure. These cities were chosen as American crossroads of culture, diversity, industry and history. . . .
Detroit . . . boasts one of the most diverse populations in the country. After its settlement by French-Canadians, Detroit attracted a large number of Europeans and immigrants of Middle Eastern descent, making it now home to the largest Arab-American community in the country. As well, hundreds of thousands of African-Americans moved to Detroit from the rural southern U.S. as part of the Great Migration of the 20th century.
