'Enslaved': Samuel L Jackson speaks of 'survivor's remorse' while connecting with ancestral tribe in Gabon
Samuel L. Jackson joined Trevor Noah on 'The Daily Show' to talk about his Epix docuseries 'Enslaved'. On the show, he described his profound experience of connecting with his ancestors' African tribe, Benga -- a tribe of the West African country of Gabon. He also spoke in-depth about growing up during America's civil rights era and how the protests then have evolved to the protests now.
The interview started off with some light-hearted interaction between Jackson and Noah, with Jackson complaining that Jon Stewart used to invite him "at least once a year" but this was the first time he was on with Noah on the show.
But the conversation quickly moved on to discussing the timely docuseries 'Enslaved' that will premiere on September 14, in which Jackson traced his ancestry while learning more about the slave trade. It is the first thing that Jackson's own production company, UppiTV, has produced.
"It was a way for me to reconnect with my identity in that particular way and to tell a story that we never talk about -- the people that didn't make it," he said, talking about the series. Jackson pointed out that "money [was made] from these people's bodies being stolen", regardless of whether or not they sank or reached their destination.
Trevor Noah elicited a particularly emotional reaction from the Hollywood star when he asked how he felt when he was told that he was the "lost son of this tribe". Jackson revealed that he did not feel comfortable when people asked him how he felt while they were shooting in Gabon because sometimes what he felt was "survivor's remorse".
"Had that [slave trade] not happened I wouldn't have reached the place I have reached here [in America]... what would have happened had my ancestors never been taken from that place and I wouldn't be here [today]," said Jackson about the complex emotions that accompanied his 'homecoming' as he mused on the struggles of generations of his family and making it despite the country being "what it is". Jackson also spoke of how it felt to be welcomed by his people in a way that he had never been accepted and welcomed before.
Jackson also spoke at some length of being part of the earlier era of civil rights protests and being at the funeral of Martin Luther King and the Black Lives Matter protests now. "There's an evolution of protests when you look at it. When I was a kid I grew up in basically American apartheid. I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and there were places I couldn't go, all my schoolmates were Black, I didn't interact with White people unless I went downtown. When the Civil Rights movement began or the sit-ins started, my parents and grandparents were terrified that I was going to go down there and get killed...I was on the streets for the anti-war protests."
Jackson also spoke about how he connected with South African students while he was in college who spoke of their experiences under South African apartheid, which made Jackson realize that this "was some worldwide s**t". He said "change doesn't happen without pain" and how he is so proud of the "these kids today". But he also said that while protests were revolutionary, the most revolutionary thing to do right now was to go and "f**king vote".
'Enslaved' will premiere on Epix on September 14 at 10 pm ET and will consist of six episodes.
