Mean Streets: Tracy Morgan Reacts to Discovering That His Great-Great Grandfather Was Jewish

"It's like getting knocked out."
Tracy Morgan reflects on the mystery surrounding his great-great-grandfather's identity and his relationship with his great-great grandmother, Viola.
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[@portiamatthews9654]

I love how Tracey 's first reaction to seeing a picture of his grandfather was to show him love with a kiss.

[@melodywalls4693]

Unlike sunny if the view. She pitched a fit and said No. And.... her ancestors owned slaves

[@Zariel_999]

@@melodywalls4693most black americans have slaveowning ancestors

[@djoldsoulkid3407]

@@melodywalls4693 Who?

[@Lalaloveseveryone]

​@@melodywalls4693a lot of African American's white ancestors owned slaves... in many instances their black ancesters were the slaves their white ancestors owned.

[@samyoung3592]

That sent chills, that is a very Jewish thing to do....

[@ChristopherSibert]

"I better talk to Rabbi Schmuley about this." - Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock

[@yodhin79]

Schmuley's blind support of Israel's genocide against the Palestinians makes him a bad mentor.

[@WJHDetroit]

Werewolf bar mitzvah…

[@ChristopherSibert]

@@WJHDetroit Spooky, scary...

[@chevalierdenoir754]

as much as it is surprising it makes complete sense that he is 7% Jewish which is somewhat recent Jewish ancestry. I wonder if he is DNA cousin is Larry David or Bernie Saunders

[@jesusnthedaisychain]

Boys becoming men Men becoming wolves

[@lf3541]

Awww, Tracey kissing that picture of his Great, Great Grandfather was so touching. ❤

[@tmckenny2994]

That wasn’t the great, great grandfather. That was Carmen, his great grandfather.

[@NewAnimeFreak357]

That was beautiful when he kissed the photo

[@matzrat5006]

His Legacy is you Tracy, he'd be so proud of you.

[@THE-X-Force]

Incredibly sweet comment. ☮

[@tjthreegreenbananas155]

Tracey always seems like such a genuine dude. Love him.

[@silverwings8127]

Dr. Gates continuous to provide a immeasurable service to people, giving them a sense of identity, the truth of their roots and wholeness. Thank you, Dr. Gates.

[@blazee3895]

A service to people or celebrities?

[@LindaJones-gq6bb]

​@blazee3895 celebrities are people flaws and all. This show shows that. They are including so called "regular people" this season of the show. 😊

[@Jayson-bx4uj]

Yeah, celebrities only$$$

[@blazee3895]

@@LindaJones-gq6bb I never said they weren’t “regular” people but let’s not pretend they aren’t given preferential treatment. I'll believe it when he starts portraying average, everyday Americans.

[@valerief1231]

I know if I was Tracy’s grand parent I’d be so proud of what he stands for and what he’s done in his life. Ancestry is so important, it reminds us that we are all made of so many different aspects of humanity.

[@MrEab2010]

my great-grandfather was a white man from the UK, a missionary in Barbados where he met my grandmother's mother. We are all somehow connected.

[@thewordsmith5440]

The African American story is definitely more complex than even most AAs know. There were indentured servants from India brought to the East coast of the U.S. who mixed in with black people during the colonial period. They were referred to as East Indian Indians (Yes they wrote it twice so they weren't confused with Native Americans who they called Indians). There was also Africans of mixed Asian and Southeast bantu origin from Madagascar brought to the East Coast. In the South, in the Delta Region Mississippi and Louisiana a few hundred Chinese men married black women because there was few Asian women around and it was a law in some states that they couldn't marry white women. Again in the late 1800s-1900s Bengali men (eastern Pakistan) came by steam boat, some as merchants and they weren't allowed to marry white women so they married Puerto Rican and Black American women in Harlem and in Louisiana. Chilli from the singing group TLC is mixed with Bengali due to this history and some AAs are finding south Asian on their dna test now and are so confused. That doesn't even touch all the different types of Europeans who enslaved AAs; Swedish, English, Irish, Germans( In Texas and North Carolina), Scottish, French, Dutch (New York was originally Dutch speaking so Sojourner Truth first language was an old version of Dutch). And some of us indeed have indigenous ancestry I know people say it but some of us actually descend partially from native tribes who mixed with Africans.

[@stephanieyee9784]

Wow, Tracy's background is a real mixed bag. Its an interesting story and makes him more flavourful.

[@julies48a]

His story is the American story, for better or worse.

[@peartdahurt]

​@@julies48aExactly!! A majority of Americans are a mixture of so many different backgrounds.

[@mongomaddy]

@@peartdahurtno they’re not. the average American is actually rather pure. i’m 13th generation and im pure english. lots of us are pure english, pure irish, pure german etc.

[@bigstanko7391]

@@mongomaddy do a dna test. not even us europeans are 100% "pure". germans and poles have had lots of intermarriage, as have finns and swedes, english and irish and scots, etc

[@ffjsb]

EVERYBODIES background is mixed. Unless you're from some aboriginal tribe, your family DNA is probably a lot more mixed than you though. ESPECIALLY if your family has been in the US for any time...

[@cbwavy]

My great-great grandfather is Irish, and we're not sure of the circumstances of how he and my great-great grandmother (black) got together in the mid-1800's south USA. It's not likely that it was a love union, but mysteries that like are pretty common in black American geneology.

[@turquoisepurple7sky151]

Sometimes it was

[@ImHenrySellers2]

Many Irish were indentured servants in 1800s, giving 7 years of work for their freedom in the 'new world', cheap labor for the British. I'm sure they would have worked with or around black people.

[@thomaskila3801]

These stories are amazing. In this instance, I am happy for Tracy, who not only accepts his roots, but is proud of them. Too often, we try to judge the actions of our ancestors through our eyes, rather than simply admitting that they were fallible people just like us. Great story!

[@user-ky6oz1bt8f]

My cousins are Ponders down here in Georgia AND related to some Macks. My family migrated to NY in the 50s too. Wonder if we are related

[@roystongibbs7189]

Reach out. Probably are...way too many close circumstances

[@user-ok8yw4lj4o]

Sounds like a strong possibility.

[@Rainbowsun1]

Most likely sis

[@chrismaggio7879]

That's something to Ponder... (see what I did there?)😁

[@eastatlanta5767]

One man I’ve never seen a negative light

[@user-et1ch4zk6b]

That’s awesome Shalom brotha

[@daniellemorocco9242]

I think he’d be very proud.❤️

[@ListenSpeakReadWrite]

I wonder if he meant tracy "even" knew his grandmother's mother in the sense of his great grandmother lived long enough to be able to meet him, or something else. It's interesting how names we associate with women were used as male names. His great grandmother could have left her husband for a variety of reasons. "Your great grand mother took up with another man and split", while plausibly accurate felt disrespectful especially when saying it to a person finding out for the first time. "I just wanna know how my great-great-grandmother got pregnant" is a whole conversation in itself. When he kissed the picture - Wow! I felt that. He would be proud of you Tracy.

[@johnkimber2509]

Why do you feel it was disrespectful? Because a woman is being held accountable for her actions? She broke up her family and alienated her child from her father... happens all the time. She even lied to her descendants, she left him he didn't leave her.

[@moreilly9836]

@@johnkimber2509 Because she was married at 15 to a grown man.. ever seen the color purple????

[@roderickstockdale1678]

@@moreilly9836 it was commonplace back then especially in the south and is still legal in some states(especially down there) today.

[@moreilly9836]

@@roderickstockdale1678 just because its legal doesnt mean its right? she literally grew up and moved on. i like that tracy chose to think positively of both of them.

[@Tau1908]

I think it meant that he met her. She was born in about 1917. Even if she only lived to be 60, she would have died in 1977 and Morgan was born in 1968.

[@ONE1BEAT]

Welcome to the Family , Shalom ❤

[@LuckyAtom-dx5yf]

Jewish is not Israelite The y dna of Israel is E-M2 Many Jewish people are gentiles converts.

[@LuckyAtom-dx5yf]

He's haplogroup I , That is Gentile Israel is E-M2

[@HerveVillechaize22]

One of his grandfathers played a mean New Orleans trumpet and thought very highly of the world.

[@audibletapehiss3764]

Bro... 🤣

[@prosmokeprochokeantibroke]

Louie...

[@windygirl2342]

I love Tracy Morgan! He's such a genuine person.

[@user-ky2sy9lt4l]

Family History can be amazing. Bless Morgan

[@hernalexito]

If they would have done this before 30 Rock, you know this would have been an episode about this 🤣

[@brendenhuerta21]

I was waiting for Ben Franklin to show up in the test results

[@ChristopherSibert]

There is a line where Liz suggests he's out-of-touch with his audience, and he says he's going to "talk to Rabbi Schmuley about this"

[@WJHDetroit]

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah…

[@hernalexito]

@@WJHDetroit I can imagine an episode where he’s excited he gets to do have a bar mitzvah and is about to go all out. Then he finds out he’s uncut and runs around from the mohel

[@zovalentine7305]

Wonderful family photos....stories.... surprises....reactions ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ! ! ! !

[@medusagorgon8432]

Wow! You guys are the best detectives! I am impressed.

[@kingjoe3rd]

Wow, these are actually excellent. Tracy is genuinely moved by a lot of this.

[@biaccagreen7157]

So deep, if we could all trace our roots

[@courtneyholland6215]

Tracy has some of his great papa features

[@angelrosario626]

Tracy has the good hair from his grandpa, you heard!

[@professr9343]

@@angelrosario626”good hair” 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@lct8954]

I appreciate Traceys honesty & acceptance of this. Loved this episode

[@raymondramirez1507]

he had 16 great great grandparents - we need to remember this

[@Candi85]

And it took all 16 to make him

[@yahniadore]

I would love to see this episode in its entirety.

[@codybarkdull3213]

Tracy Morgan your a beautiful person !!!

[@cliffiez4540]

I'd love it if they found Kanye's ancestry was Jewish

[@sexysenior8934]

🤯

[@LordHaveMurcielago]

Kanye has always said that he can’t be anti-Semitic because he himself is a Jew.

[@southernindigo1973]

I don't think that Kanye has a problem with Jewish people. It's the one's who he has dealt with that didn't have the most stellar character and this doesn't reflect at all on the many that do.

[@dr.shlomosands1096]

Jewish is not a race!!!

[@MsBhappy]

​@@LordHaveMurcielagowhat definition of Jew is he using? Ugh he's horrible.

[@jasonmotley]

Our legacies make us cry, for joy and sadness.

[@AnyahEMB]

An interesting episode. That is the question I have pondered when learning about certain ancestors- “ I wonder what they say now?

[@ramon317]

Wow, I want to see this entire episode!

[@AveIvy]

This was so sweet.

[@Xxxxxrrr6464]

Enjoyed this one

[@Slayer-33]

Sup Tracy, dudes a regular here in Washington Heights. 🤜 👍 He's all over the heights 😂

[@Rubyclaygirl]

I love this program, DNA doesn't lie, we are. All so connected it's beautiful ❤

[@Area51-is6vg]

😂😂Tracy got Jewish eyelash and hair 🤣🤣.Rabbi Tracy in the house🙌🙌👌👌

[@jessicacarranza4010]

Mavitav

[@markdonalds7735]

My great great grandfather went on a merchant ship when he was 24 years and never came back .. people who traced the ship confirmed it reached its destination but he never made it back ,,so 20 years after that his kids went looking for him but discovered he never arrived to the said destination and there was no record of any fatalities on board the ship so he basically vanished without any trace or he might have changed his name and started a new life somewhere.

[@yesmayhem]

Henry is casual about what are about clearly sensitive points for Tracy. Tracy shows his affection for his family.

[@Queensofafrica8]

I need to find the full episode

[@elfredawright]

I think Mr. Gates should do Shaggy and Busta Rhymes DNA. Their ancestry DNA discovery may just be the key to helping people in the Caribbean regions see a clearer path to uncovering their history.

[@chevalierdenoir754]

i totally agree with this Sean Paul Henriquez, Ziggy Marley (he won't agree to that) or maybe another Marley , Busta Rhymes, Alecia Keys, Kerry Washington, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Naomi Campbell.

[@natashaa43]

ermmmm, we've never been confused.

[@julies48a]

Love me some Tracy.

[@Max-mb4rj]

He'd love you Tracey like we all do!!!!❤❤

[@bieassialaw6832]

My great-grandmother name was Viola from GA and my grandson's name is Carmen! WOW, talk about a Coincidence.

[@EastTennesseeMountainRanger326]

My mother married my Father at fourteen when he was twenty four. Hes been dead thirteen years and she says she still loves him and will never have another man

[@michaelhenry8091]

your dad was a ped

[@laurabustinza9526]

He looks so much like him

[@evanderdekoning8735]

😂 NO….

[@GhastlyCretin85]

I have no idea why you're saying that or why so many people agreed. They look absolutely NOTHING alike.

[@jajajaja2624]

Morgan is the give away

[@chriszenko3598]

Morgan is a English name

[@carolynm8421]

Not only 5% Jewish but 2% Irish, 1% German, 1% Wales, 1% Swedish. That another 5% White.

[@nic-tv4090]

correction thats 5% EUROPEAN. in total...Tracy is 82% West African and 11% European. Neither is black nor white.

[@wileyjohnson5681]

I discovered a couple of years ago my 52 year old great grandfather married my 19 year old great grandmother in 1920. I said to myself got dam as I was reading the 1930 Census.

[@Jenura01]

Check the 1930 census and others going forward. I wonder if they stayed together.

[@wileyjohnson5681]

I discovered they had married via 1930 Census. I don't know how long they were together. I do know he died decades before my great grandmother did. My great grandmother passed in the 1970's.

[@torijohnston8540]

Wow what a surprise!!

[@sherrybirchall8677]

Id like to see this whole episode.

[@AutonyB]

😮 I would have never guessed this 🎉

[@briangeraghty1555]

I love Tracy Morgan

[@dodgechallenger2116]

Lol😂 this dude is a riot😂

[@VisibleID]

Tracey Morgan plus Walmart makes for a great empire.

[@davecassady7468]

Tracy is a good dude.

[@mikehunt9884]

this used to be pretty common, i think my grandma was like 17 when she got married and her mom (my great grandmother) was like 15 when she got married.. which would've been around ww1..

[@ibstayfly]

I've always found this ancestry thing so cool. I'm curious to know mine. How can I get mine done by him

[@shereerabon8551]

Dante Fortson has some exemplary research regarding how the original Judah population was “shipped” to the four corners of this earth. He uses Bibliographical references as well as old scripts and letters and ancient manuscripts and maps. Tracey would understand his historical lineage (not that he didn’t learn a plethora here, of course).❤❤❤❤

[@blazayblazay8888]

SKIP SEEMS A LITTLE INSENSITIVE HERE

[@charold3]

Great great grandfather would be proud of Tracey, I think.

[@timpower4922]

He’d be proud.

[@thewordsmith5440]

I love how Henry mentioned she was 15 because no 15 year old should be married.

[@bcx1138]

i love him so much i can;t watch this; this is too heart breaking

[@MsBhappy]

What a strange comment? In what way would this be heartbreaking? Can you imagine someone saying this about your ethnicity or would you say this about any other ethnicity?

[@Johnny-xs4tg]

@bcx1138, Be grateful that white men ALLOW you to live in a white nation.

[@cloefauna]

Super sweet 🥹🥰💕

[@Patrick_Felipe]

Im seeing a lot of patterns where these young teenagers are getting married sooo young….ive watched lionel ritchie’s ancestors story….its the same-even younger where lionel’s great great great great grandma married at 14…..just like he said - most fathers will get a shotgun cuz of that….its crazy to me as a father….

[@PHlophe]

Felipe, in those days , it was unusual to be married at 14 . only a specific kind of girls had to be married off at that age . Toublemakers that is. we don't need to pretend it is anything but.

[@ntl5983]

​@@PHlopheNope, you obviously have not built your family tree, I have and I can assure you that before 1930 girls married at 15, 16, 17 years old, that was typical, and they married men in their mid 20s or 30s, sometimes widowers in their 50s. Marriages back then wete basically arranged by the parents, girls were pressured to marry before the age of 20, certainly by 25.

[@dariusmelasecca2715]

@@PHlopheit was normal back in those times. Do your research

[@nathanmedina2809]

Today’s way of living is very different and new compared to what the norm was in most of life. Now today we baby people and they live in their parents basement into their 30s sometimes 40s.

[@alpay4741]

​@PHlophe - Huh? You're WAY off! People were supposed to be married with AT LEAST their first kid by their mid-20's back then. Only middle class people could wait to marry (after college or a good factory or government job). Life expectancy was tricky and families were needed to WORK- farming, share cropping, survival was a group effort. Girls who were over 18 and still at home were burdens, so they needed to marry OR work (share cropping, cotton fields, domestic work, laundresses or raising younger siblings).

[@pollard068]

Carmen ponder after split from wife: "somebody's gonna get pregnant!"

[@bigbro7298]

Tracy is dope

[@Blanco_Brad]

The dude interviewing him has such a upbeat almost rude type of way I get a sense idk why. Like when he had Tracey read about her leaving her husband.

[@daCubanaqt]

Yeah, I didn’t get that either.

[@iamjustsaying4787]

In 1937 it was very common to already be married by 18.

[@tmckenny2994]

What would he say now? I think he’d say he was very proud of you, Tracy.

[@LIL_Dave1964]

Before my mother died, she tried hard pushing me to get my ancestry done, like there was something she wanted to tell me but didn't have the heart to, I wish now I did because I may have found something out that would probably change my life.... I'm actually scared of what I might find out, like was I adopted, was my father not my real father? Idk

[@ryan49805]

Traci did ashkenazi that coming. Lol (sorry)

[@dade4537]

So THAT'S how he's in showbiz.....makes sense. And yeah, Savannah....definitely makes sense haha.

[@austinmoehring6110]

Why does the title say mean streets?

[@zxcccccc1]

Because Anthony Ramos was on the same show, and they're both from Brooklyn, NY.

[@FauxAcct]

Got his J-Card !! Granted the right to pull into a whole new lane of comedy!!

[@nicolehafner8616]

Respect.

[@TheQuadrum]

Absolute opposite reaction to Levar Burton when he found out a great Grandfather was White. Props to Tracy for being open minded

[@Leeslaughtr]

Whatever on open minded. I despise every aspect of foreign ancestry. Tracey is a black man period.

[@marcomosala850]

Why didn't see how Nas was his cousin on this show?????

[@MaskedMadame09]

When he kissed him 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[@Mikeywhatitdo]

i love that he kissed the picture.....i would do the same....so awesome...

[@paullopez6620]

Remember that back then it was very hard for a woman to get a divorce. They were basically property.

[@alansteel]

One of his great-great-grandfathers. There are 8.

[@imsofocused4678]

I wonder where does his relation to Nas come from.

[@showbread9366]

Most AA have at least 25% euro dna 😅

[@southernindigo1973]

More or less.

[@Don-kk7ou]

Yes! White caucasian blood in their body .

[@monsterclass]

His reading aloud was a 😢

[@TurnerSparks]

Tracy's biological father is Tony Dorsett. Don't we already know this?

[@lilphilosophy481]

Dam his great grand pops had that wavy pompadour

[@Jilla0559]

My GrandFather was 35 years older than my Grand mother. We found record of his first marriage and death of his two children, but not a divorce record He moved to Canada a married my Grandma in 1918. How do we look for that divorce record if there was one

[@killawalez3944]

His grandfather look like Pedro infante lol

[@mhm8922]

Let’s not forget that there is always 3 sides to every story. His side, her side, and the truth. The mysteries and the truth will only be revealed when and if time travel can ever be something that happens.

[@biterface03]

still love the lost family

[@ashleyshayia8087]

Him and his grandpa have the same hair texture

[@horizonsky9269]

No wonder Tracy is a comedian He's Jewish it makes sense now. L 'Chaim,

[@WaitAMinute1989]

Mazel tov

[@AndsometimesYYY]

🙄

[@jameswatson5807]

So he cannot eat pork now.

[@WaitAMinute1989]

@@jameswatson5807 rotflmabao, no more chittinlins, pork chops and ribs! Oh Lordt!

[@jameswatson5807]

@@WaitAMinute1989 😂

[@JUGGERNAUT____]

Dang... grandma was for the STREETS

[@dixgun]

They do look similar

[@vanderley3]

This just goes to show us how foolish it is for any of us to be prejudiced or racist toward anyone. We are all in this together, every race and people.

[@ffjsb]

Well said. Except for the Irish of course...

[@angelrosario626]

Facts! Could you tell that to the Black Hebrew Israelites?

[@southernindigo1973]

@@angelrosario626 Aint nobody taking them seriously. No true Hebrew called themselves Black, even if they were.