Wanda Tucker fiercely believes her ancestors were the first enslaved Africans in America. A search for answers led her to far-away Angola. The landing of enslaved people in Virginia in August 1619 launched the longest, ugliest, most horrific period in American history. It left millions with a history they will never truly know. USA TODAY took Wanda Tucker to Angola as she challenged the ideas of racism, history and her own past. Source 5a.