Isaiah Washington, who traced his ancestral roots to Sierra Leone through DNA testing, has donated $25,000 to a computer animation project that aims to detail the Atlantic slave trade.

Known for his wide-ranging charity work, the Grey's Anatomy star started a non-profit foundation last year to improve the lives of people in the West African nation.

"The stories of innumerable Sierra Leoneans that were forced into slavery have yet to be extensively told," Washington said, in a statement, as reported by ABC News.

"I believe this project will begin to shed some much-needed light on the region, both past and present."

The computer project focuses on Bunce Island, an 18th-century slave-trading castle that sent African captives to North America.

Joseph Opala and Gary Chatelain, professors at James Madison University, are directing the project, which will show the castle as it appeared in 1805.

They hope to create an educational CD that will let students to look at the castle and its details to see what Africans experienced 250 years ago.

"Our animation project will allow us to go beyond the imagination, and actually see how the Atlantic slave trade was carried out," which is crucial because events then could not be documented by photography, Opala said.

The 43-year-old Washington made his donation through his Gondobay Manga Foundation and the Friends of Sierra Leone.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.