Vanessa Williams on Who Do You Think You Are?: "I Come From Wonderful, Valiant Men — I Didn't Want It to Stop"

Multi-talented actress, singer, and trailblazer Vanessa Williams — the first African American to win the Miss America crown and the first African American woman to star on ABC's Desperate Housewives — appears in the Season 2 premiere of NBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, airing Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

Multi-talented actress, singer, and trailblazer Vanessa Williams — the first African American to win the Miss America crown and the first African American woman to star on ABC's Desperate Housewives — appears in the Season 2 premiere of NBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, airing Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. Researchers traced her lineage to two extraordinary ancestors: David Carl, a Black Union Army soldier in the Civil War whose name appears at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., and William A. Fields, her great-great-grandfather who was elected to the Tennessee state legislature during Reconstruction — one of only 14 colored representatives at the time. Fields was likely educated on the plantation where he was enslaved, and after emancipation his descendants became master carpenters and businessmen who fared very well.

On what she knew before the journey and what she discovered: "I couldn't wait to find out whether there was anything — whether there was a scandal or a scoundrel or thieves or anything. I was so anxious to do it as an African-American. Growing up here in the states, there are a lot of records that we don't have going back for years because of slavery, because of economics. And I was really fascinated to see how far back we could go on both sides. The journey that I went on was extraordinary and very surprising but also really gratifying and I felt so honored."

On the discovery of William A. Fields: "The Memphis side was a complete mystery. We really had no idea. To find out that not only was he in the same profession that my father was — which was a schoolteacher — but that he ended up being elected to the state legislature in Tennessee, that was — I had no idea. And then the fact that he was one of only 14 and had really been a trailblazer and created history. So that was truly a mystery. And to turn that corner, see the bust, and then to see his name just filled me with so much pride."

On the risks her ancestors took: "The fact that they both could've easily been killed for doing what they did — as a colored union soldier, if David Carl was captured in the South, he could be enslaved. Not only besides being killed in battle, but to be enslaved — which was a tremendous sacrifice. The risk that they both took to do what they ended up doing was really highlighted and gave me a huge sense of discovery but also pride."

On what she wants her children and others to take from the episode: "I come from wonderful, warm, gentle men who love their wives, love their children, and provide and are strong, valiant men. And it was wonderful to see it actually illustrated on paper during our research. It was a great history lesson. I didn't want it to stop. I love learning — and especially when it's about your own family, it just seems even more important. I hope it inspires people to ask questions and to start their own research. And if they don't have the tools, there are plenty of avenues that can help them find out what the mysteries are for their own families."

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