LeVar Burton shocked to discover he's descended from a Confederate soldier

 On Tuesday's episode of "Finding Your Roots," actor LeVar Burton was surprised to learn that he is descended from a white Confederate soldier.

The PBS documentary show uses written genealogy and DNA research to discover the long-lost family histories of prominent guests.

Show host and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. told Burton that his family had kept a dark secret for generations. The man he thought was his great-grandfather was not actually a genetic match to him. His great-grandmother, Mary Sills, was actually a descendant of a white man named James Henry Dixon.

"Were you expecting this? Did you have any idea that any of your direct ancestors were white?" host Gates asked Burton.

Burton was in disbelief at this discovery. "No! No, I had no idea. So Grandma was half white! Wow," he responded.

Further research into Burton's lineage revealed even more surprising discoveries. His ancestor was born in North Carolina in 1847 and served in the reserve troops in the Confederate Army as a teenager. Later, he fathered a child with an African-American woman born into slavery.

Burton admitted, "Are you kidding me? Oh God. Oh God. I didn't see that happening."

Burton, who played a slave in the 1977 TV miniseries, "Roots," was impressed to learn that his great-grandfather had fought to protect the institution of slavery during the US Civil War.

He thought out loud about his great-great-grandparents' relationship.

Burton said, "I often think about white men of that period and how they justified their relationships with black women, especially those with unbalanced power. A powerful separation emotionally and mentally. Must be born."

He continued, "So in my mind it's possible that he may have considered it and may have been very conflicted, maybe at most regretful. And then there's also the possibility that he may not have thought about it at all." Would not have thought."

After seeing a photo of his great-grandfather, Burton joked that he would have "fought" Gates if he had told him he had white ancestry before presenting the evidence.

Referring to his "Roots" character's name, he jokingly said, "What? Kunta got white ancestry? What? Now come on, quit," he said, referring to Gates by his nickname.

Reflecting on these discoveries, Burton admitted, "There's some conflict going on inside me right now, but strangely I feel a way opening up."

He said he wanted to have a "conversation" with Americans about how our history with slavery has led to the present moment, but felt he could not do so because of political and racial polarization.

"So I'm looking for an entry point to talk to White America," he said. "Here it is."

After the initial shock, Burton said he was surprised but that he was "embracing" all of his family's history.

Other celebrities were surprised to learn about their heritage on the hit PBS show.

Last year, former Black Panther Angela Davis was surprised to learn that her ancestors arrived on the Mayflower.