American actor and film producer Samuel L. Jackson has traced his ancestry through Finding Your Roots, an American docu-series that uses traditional genealogical research and genetics to discover the family history of celebrities.
The Hollywood veteran found discovered his roots to the Bantu tribe in the African nation of Gabon.
The Bantu people are the speakers of Bantu languages, comprising several hundred indigenous ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa, spread over a vast area from Central Africa across the African Great Lakes to Southern Africa.
Recently Jackson traveled to Gabon, where he met with the president, Ali Bongo Ondimba and his wife, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba.
He also met with the king of Benga. He said that his journey of life has become so clear with the meeting he had with the monarch.
He took to his Instagram saying “When you meet The King of The Benga, your ancestral tribe and he turns out to be your best friend Skeeter!!! When you’re on a journey of discovery and a life choice becomes clear!”
Jackson is ranked as the highest all-time box office star with over $6.9 billion total US box office gross, an average of $87.5 million per film.
He is best known for his roles in blockbusters such as Django Unchained (2012), A Time To Kill (1996), Pulp Fiction (1994), The Hateful Eight (2015) and Unbreakable (2000).
Some other well-known individuals that have traced their genealogical backgrounds (with the help of DNA analysis) back to Africa include Chris Rock (Cameroon), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinea-Bissau), Common (Cameroon), Chris Tucker (Cameroon, Angola), Oprah Winfrey (Liberia, Guinea).
