Eva Longoria Parker praise

08012009

Eva Longoria Parker has nothing but praise for the work Henry Louis Gates Jr. has done in tracing the ancestry of African-Americans.

The Harvard professor, who has been in recent headlines is going to include Latinos and other ethnic groups in a new PBS series called Faces of America, Longoria said during the National Council of La Raza conference in Chicago this past week.

Dr. Gates traced Longoria's family roots and she spoke about their first conversation at the conference. "I think you are a fascinating person and I want to tell a Latino story of where your ancestors came from," Longoria said Gates told her. Longoria recently got her results from DNA testing and research. It turns out the Longoria family landed in North America in 1603 "which was 20 years before the Mayflower," Longoria said.

"I was blown away and Dr. Gates said I have to tell you of all the people I have traced you are one of the most interesting American people I've ever found. Your family was here before Pilgrims," said Longoria who is Mexican-American and traces her roots all the way back to Asturias, Spain.Her family has lived in Texas for 12 generations under the flags of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the United States.

"(Gates) said your family lived under five flags without ever moving a foot," Longoria said. "And you're still on the same land."

"He asked me 'Do you feel like your Latino story or your Latin roots was portrayed in the history that you learned growing up?' "


Longoria explained that it was the first she had learned of it. "It' important to you know where you come from to know where you are going," she said.

Longoria didn't comment on the news worthy Gates run-in with Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley.

"I'm really proud of Dr. Gates for recognizing that the Latino story is missing from history," Longoria said.
She told the crowd, "I was honored to be a part of it."

Eva Longoria Parker