Michael Strahan In Freedom Tales

Michael Strahan, an NFL hall of fame inductee and Good Morning America television talk show host had no knowledge of his inheritance before his grandparents. This lack of understanding spans back hundreds of years for the Black population as “‘slavery erected on every African American’s family tree. Erasing the names of [their] ancestors’” (“Freedom Tales,” Season 5 Episode 5, 1:35-1:45). Throughout the episode, Henry Louis Gates Jr. shares Strahan’s great-great grandparent's stories to reveal his ancestry. Michael Strahan’s personal and familial traits in “Freedom Tales” disprove Charles Davenport’s dihybrid cross theory that interracial marriage creates disharmonious traits through both his newfound white ancestral roots and his attribution

Strahan remembers that when he was younger, his brothers would make fun of him because he wasn’t working out and he was eating too much. However, through his perseverance and his desire to get stronger, he “bought the Jane Fonda workout tapes” to help him start working out and he “loved it” (“Freedom Tales,” Season 5 Episode 5, 3:34-3:41). His passion for football led him to the NFL, but even when he joined, he was still learning the game because of his “unusual background” (“Freedom Tales,” Season 5 Episode 5, 5:13-5:14). Being a hybrid, Strahan became one of the most successful athletes, holding the record for the number of sacks in one season, and has had an accomplished career as a talk-show host. Strahan attributed his fitness to how hard he trained and how disciplined he was to reach his goal and enter the NFL. Michael connects his success to his training, rather than the stereotype that any African American male has exceptional athletic talent as he has displayed that his African American genetics is not associated with his athletic

Strahan’s lineage was constructed through white and black descent, defying the odds of Charles Davenport’s dihybrid cross experiments and societal stereotypes, as Strahan completed his goal of playing in the NFL through years of hard work and discipline. These conclusions align with Franz Boas’ idea that race is a social construct as he observed the capability of all different races on his journey across the world (The Invention of Race). I believe Boas’ idea that the power of science should outweigh prejudices is evidently clear through Strahan’s story as he defied the odds of numerous societal stereotypes. In the end, Strahan felt like he belonged, and he recognized that he “comes from this line of people who have paved the way for [him]” (“Freedom Tales,” Season 5 Episode 5, 41:32-41:36). Strahan mentioned both biological and cultural traits dismantling prejudices that have laid the foundation for racist ideologies perpetuated by