History Shows Us: We Are More Alike Than We Are Different

You may have seen my book review on The Annotated African American Folktales and the fascinating of subject of learning about where we come from. I’d now like to share with you why I was inspired to read it.  

We were fortunate at AT&T to receive a visit from Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., one of the authors of the book and host of the PBS show “Finding Your Roots.” Dr. Gates put on a live version of the show, analyzing the DNA samples of three of our executives. It was amazing to see the family tree of these leaders unfold in front of them – it was inspiring, emotional and educational – I could literally see a new-found awareness and unrealized connection with ancestors that they never even knew, come to life in real time.

The experience reinforced that the vast majority of us can’t even trace back our roots more than 2-3 generations. I asked Dr. Gates how he defines a ‘generation’ and he let me know the consensus is about 25 years, and the modern ‘ancestry’ kits can trace back heritage to about 500 years. What amazed me about this is that means that most of us can’t even go back 75 to 100 years. Sometimes when I’m in a meeting with 10 people I think about how I can’t even trace my own history back that many people! 

Reading books about past generations helps us experience the world in a way we otherwise never would have and can make us empathetic to those whose life experiences were or are fundamentally different from our own. To put in the words of Dr. Gates, “Finding Your Roots celebrates all the things that unite us, the bonds that we all share in common, not what divides us.” This kind of drive is a quality I see a lot of at AT&T, and it’s one of the reasons I love working here. We challenge each other and push for greater understanding - all in the name of strengthening the team. Our own CEO Randall Stephenson said to our community, “Tolerance is for cowards. Do not ‘tolerate’ each other. Work hard, move into uncomfortable territory and understand each other.” 

In honor of Black History Month, and in recognition of the tremendous impact Dr. Gates has made on our own environment, I encourage everyone to champion open dialogue and really getting to know each other. We are more similar than you might think.