Lanier initially believed all enslaved people were of direct African descent.

Evidence

I knew that her maternal elders were Cherokee Indian but that afternoon I asked, “Weren’t all enslaved people of African descent? What made Papa Renty any different?” — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 112

Categorization

• QUESTION: What made Papa Renty ‘different’ turns out to be his African birth—the question launches the whole genealogical investigation.