Will Anderson Cooper's Black History Month celebration involve reflecting on that time a slave killed one of his ancestors with a farm hoe? If the extent to which he seems to have enjoyed that news is any indication, it's possible.
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. traced Anderson Cooper's family tree for an October 2014 episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS. If you didn't see it when it aired, you missed the CNN host learning how his slaveholding fourth great-grandfather lost his life.
Cooper absorbs the violent news with what looks something like a combination of awe, disbelief, and ... is that glee?
The big reveal goes something like this:
"Wow!"
(PBS)
"Oh My God. That's amazing!"
(PBS)
"This is incredible. I am blown away!"
(PBS)
When he recovers, he adds, "He had 12 slaves. I don't feel bad for him."