By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) --The celebrity ancestry show "Finding Your Roots" has a message to counter divisive political rhetoric, said its host, educator Henry Louis Gates Jr.
The PBS series demonstrates that "we're all descended from immigrants," whether they came to America willingly or as slaves, and all share a common origin, Gates told a TV critics meeting Monday.
"People want that reassurance that we're all the same," he said, especially as some seek to divide the nation and distinguish between who does and doesn't have the right to be an American and live in America.
It was an apparent reference to President Donald Trump's call for four Democratic House members of color to "go back" to their countries, although all are U.S. citizens and all but one was born in the United States.
"Guess what, we're all home. This is our home. And our ancestors came here and fought for the right to make this our home. … and we all have an equal purchase on the rights guaranteed by the Declaration (of Independence) and the Constitution," Gates said.
"And I'm going to go down swinging against anybody who tries to divide us because of our apparent ethnic differences or gender differences or sexual preference differences," he said.
"Finding Your Roots," which is produced by Harvard professor Gates, returns this fall with guests including Melissa McCarthy, Jordan Peele, Issa Rae, Diane von Furstenberg and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Genealogy research and DNA tests help uncover the celebrities' ancestral backgrounds.
Asked if he'd consider having Trump as a guest, Gates said PBS rules prevent candidates from appearing. Would he consider the president if that wasn't the case?
"I don't pick people by their ideology to be on the show," Gates said. That's been shown with previous guests, including Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and the late Sen. John McCain, he said.
Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs
A broad group of civil rights organizations called on the CEOs and board members of major companies Thursday to maintain their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack online and in lawsuits.
An open letter signed by 19 organizations and directed at the leaders of Fortune 1000 companies said companies that abandon their DEI programs are shirking their fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers and shareholders.
The civil rights groups included the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they're broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees," their statement read. "But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs."
Companies such as Ford, Lowes, John Deere, Molson Coors and Harley-Davidson recently announced they would pull back on their diversity, equity and inclusion policies after facing pressure from conservative activists who were emboldened by recent victories in the courtroom.
Many major corporations have been examining their diversity programs in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last year that declared race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional. Dozens of cases have been filed making similar arguments about employers. Critics of DEI programs say the initiatives provide benefits to people of one race or sexual orientation while excluding others.
In their letter, the civil rights organizations, which also included... Read More