This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.COM.
TheSaturday Night Livevet adds, I know Im from peoples, but I dont know who they are.
I want to go as far back as possible.
Credit: PBS
Rudolph, 43, certainly gets her wish.
In the 1830s, he challenged the owners grandson in a court of law and won.
How is that even possible?
I cant imagine what the odds could have been, and then they went in his favor.
To me, thats tremendous courage.
After pausing, Rudolph says, Yeah, theyre my people.
But following another maternal line leads to a shocking discovery.
I cannot believe Im looking at this, she says.
After a moment of silence, though, she breaks down.
We always have a box of tissues, Gates tells PEOPLE.
Most guests will cry, male and female, and we dont know when it will happen.
Theres no way to predict it.
You just dont know where that moment of complete empathy [will happen].
Its almost as if they are stepping inside the identity of an ancestor.
