> ## Content Index
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# Rising From the Ashes
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/finding-your-roots/episode/rising-ashes/
- Published: 2024-04-02T23:11:31.000Z
- Updated: 2025-10-17T18:01:30.000Z
- Description: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. traces the roots of actors Brian Cox and Viola Davis.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: Finding Your Roots, Season 9, Episode 5, #ZZZ_Episode_4b24b141-befc-4885-83c1-07c268e290c1, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_855aaf88-37bb-4949-872a-c4646a613145, #v1.16

Henry Louis Gates traces the roots of actors Brian Cox and Viola Davis—two people who overcame traumatic childhoods, revealing that they aren’t the first in their families to face enormous odds. From workhouses in Scotland to slave plantations in South Carolina, long-lost records reveal the stories of ancestors who laid the groundwork for Brian and Viola’s success by fighting so hard to survive.