While participating in the show “Finding Your Roots,” LeVar Burton discovered the educational tradition passed down via his father’s side of the family. LeVar Burton discovers unexpected ties to his estranged father on ‘Finding Your Roots’
It has come to light that LeVar Burton’s enthusiasm for reading and writing stems from a long-standing family tradition.
During a recent appearance on the Public Broadcasting Service program “Finding Your Roots,” the actor learned facts about his father, with whom he has severed ties.
The divorce of Burton’s parents occurred when he was 11 years old, and in the years that have passed since then, the celebrity has discovered very little to no new information about his father – until now.
“You inherited from this invisible presence in your life — a guy who disappears when you’re 11 — but all of that educational heritage came with him,” the show’s presenter, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., told the reporters.
Gates disclosed the extent of Burton’s long-standing connections to the field of education in the incident. Aaron C. Burton, the actor’s grandpa, and Pearl B. Burton, the actor’s great-grandfather, both held positions as school superintendents, as shown by the results of the genealogical investigation.
In the end, his great-grandfather was instrumental in establishing a public school in Osceola, Arkansas, specifically designed for students of African descent. He spent most of his life working in the field of education.
The efforts that Burton’s great-grandfather made in the field of education were significant at the time since approximately twenty percent of the Black population in Arkansas was illiterate.
Following the passage of the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which granted voting rights to African-American males living in states that had previously been a part of the Confederacy, Pearl finally reached the position of representative in the Arkansas General Assembly.
Burton was “ecstatic” to receive this information since he has been a champion for reading for a very long time.
In addition, he said, “I won’t even begin to explain how it feels to obtain this information.” It’s almost as if parts of me have been absent since I was born. They have always been present in some other location… Black folks, in general. Do you realize that we don’t talk about our family history? We have many reservations.”
Erma Gene Christian, Burton’s late mother, was the one who inspired him to host the popular Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) educational children’s television series “Reading Rainbow.” Before this finding, Burton attributed this inspiration to his mother.
According to Burton, Christian, who was employed as an English teacher at a high school, was described as being “insistent that [her children] not know about the trials and tribulations that she went through.”
