Paula Madison on her trip to China. (Photo courtesy of FindingSamuelLowe.com)
Many of us travel across state lines to attend family reunions. Paula Madison crossed an ocean. The documentary film Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China chronicles Madison's search to locate her Chinese relatives.
Madison and her siblings grew up in Harlem with a single mother, Nell Vera Lowe, who had very limited financial resources. Lowe was born in Jamaica to a black mother and a Chinese father, Samuel Lowe.
At three years old, Nell Vera Lowe's mother took her away from her father, and so Madison's mother never had a relationship with Madison's grandfather. After Madison's mother passed away in 2006, Madison decided to find her Chinese relatives, living and dead.
Madison today is a long way from living on public assistance in Harlem. She and her family are the majority stakeholders in The Africa Channel, and at one time, they owned the WNBA's LA Sparks. Madison is also NBC's former Chief Diversity Officer.