Actor Isaiah Washington recently became a citizen of Sierra Leone, inspired by DNA testing that showed he had ancestral links to the West African country. Washington is shown in his Burbank office with a photograph of students from the village of Gerihun, in southern Sierra Leone, taken on his visit there in 2006. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Isaiah Washington, in his Burbank office, shows off a tepoi, or wooden staff, that he received when he was inducted as a chief in the village of Ngalu, Sierra Leone. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
