African American Lives is an American television miniseries hosted by historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., focusing on African American genealogical research. The family histories of prominent people of African American descent are explored using traditional genealogic techniques as well as genetic analysis.

The first installment of the series aired in February 2006. The series featured research into the ancestral lineages of eight prominent African American guests. By billing the guests were: music producer Quincy Jones, astronaut and physician Mae Jemison, comedian Chris Tucker, bishop T. D. Jakes, sociologist Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, actress Whoopi Goldberg, physician Ben Carson and talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Writer, host and executive producer of the series, Henry Louis Gates, also features his ancestral heritage on the show. The miniseries featured interviews with the parents and family members of guests including Winfrey's father, Vernon Winfrey. Geneticists Rick Kittles and Mark D. Shriver also make appearances.

The miniseries' four episodes were broadcast over two nights in two parts. On February 1, the first two episodes were broadcast as "Listening to our Past; The Promise of Freedom". The following week, on February 8, the third and fourth episodes aired as, "Searching for Our Names; Beyond the Middle Passage". Re-runs of the series as individual episodes were broadcast following the joint premier both nights. The miniseries was sponsored by Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble who both produced commercials honoring African American heritage for use in the series.

African American Lives 2 premiered in February 2008, again hosted by Gates. This second set of episodes traced the ancestry of performers Morgan Freeman, Tina Turner, Tom Joyner, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, theologian Peter Gomes, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, poet Maya Angelou, Bliss Broyard (the daughter of writer Anatole Broyard) and publisher Linda Johnson Rice (the daughter of publisher John H. Johnson).

In addition to these more publicly known guests, Kathleen Henderson, an administrator at the University of Dayton, was selected from more than 2,000 applicants to have her family history researched and to have DNA testing. The show continued the genealogical research into Gates's own ancestry. He learned, to his surprise, that it is at least 50% European, including at least one male ancestor who fought in the American Revolution. Gates was invited to give a speech when he was later inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution. The four episodes of this miniseries are "The Road Home", "A Way Out of No Way", "We Come From People" and "The Past Is Another Country".

Due in part to a centuries-long history within the United States, historical experiences pre- and post-slavery, and migrations throughout North America, the majority of contemporary African Americans possess varying degrees of admixture with European ancestry.

Many historians and critics believe that a majority of African Americans also have some Native American ancestry but, according to the experts on this show, it may be much less frequent.

With the help of Mark D. Shriver, Henry Louis Gates Jr. put African-American ancestry in these terms: