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  1. #41
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    I'm very curious of my roots and really, who doesn't want to know where they come from? Who doesn't want to know who their past incestors were and what they did. It is absolutely fascinating. No, most people won't change their culture just to mirror their past culture, but what is so bad about just learning it?

    Anyways, I'd rather people try to find their true roots than make believe their roots. There is a myth that African Americans are all a mix race people, but in truth that is farthest from it. Only 20-25% of us have european in us. Satistics say that only 1% of us have Native American. I never believe it when people tell me they are part native american. I've heard it so much that I can't help but think "prove it" every time. I find it interesting that many black americans who do take the test, expecting to find some native in them, find none at all. People think "oh, I'm pretty light skin, must have some Indian or white in me" or "my hair is so long, I must have some mixture some where." They don't realize that Africans are the most diverse-looking people in the world due to the fact that Africa is the birthplace of human beings. Igbos are a west african tribe known to have many light skin individuals( not all light skin). Many west africans have hair that reach way below their shoulders. Again, I wish that more African Americans were curious about their roots and study all things Africa.

    Me, when I get the money, I will take a DNA test. All I know is my father is black american and my mother is haitian/bahamian.

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  3. #42
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    Interesting discussion!

    @ Kaichi...around 60% of African Americans have some European ancestry, the average percentage is 20-25% European within that 60%.

    @ cinnamonbiscuit…DANG, that’s messed up! My (half) sister and brother have about 25 siblings running around the city and don’t know even all of them. Their dad should have been castrated L

    Personally, I don't feel a strong desireto have one of these tests done, but if a free one falls in my lap I'd probably do it. What people often miss is that when these tests come back saying your genes indicate Dinka or Igbo or whatever theydon't capture your full ancestry. It's just a fraction of your ancestry...your matrilineal or patrilineal line. So it’s your mother’s mother’s mother’s or father’s father’s father’s lineage. If you also have cousins/close relatives to test the picture gets a little fuller, but you'll never have a complete picture of "where you come from". It’s a partial picture.

    I know I have a butterscotch complexion, high cheekbones and straight nose, kinky coils, full lips and a big ole azz, it doesn’t matter a bit to me how I got them.

    The OP can take knowing her “roots” for granted where many of us living in the Diaspora cannot. This doesn’t affect my feeling of belonging, I don’t think finding out than one ancestor in hundreds was Fulani will help me come to terms with the experience of Blacks (and myself) in America…but I can respect those who do. Maybe my sense of belonging isn’t tied so much to race—or I take it for granted that I’m a Black American as a legitimate culture on its own. I agree with the OP in that we can/should participate in cultures that are not our own. I’ve never fully understood why people take African dance class or learn to speak Swahili as a way to “connect” to their roots. If you don’t know which culture/tribe/group you’re derived from isn’t it an artificial connection? Plus Swahili is an East African language…most North American Blacks have roots in E. Africa. Maybe something is better than nothing for some…I dunno. I dance salsa and I’m not a Latina purely because I enjoy it (though it is in part African-derived)

    I wonder if other black folks in the Diaspora struggle with this as much as African Americans (which is not a term I use for myself) most folks I know will say “I’m British, but my family is Jamaican” or “I’m Brazilian”. Again interesting topic!

  4. #43
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    It's only natural that "African Americans" would want to find their ancestry. Do any of you ever notice that we're named after two continents (Africa and America)? This tells us absolutely nothing about our true lineage. Of course, slavery caused all of this, but I feel that we shouldn't just accept the label of "black" or "African American" because we don't know where we really come from and sadly, some of us don't care. It just would be nice to know the truth, and we've all heard before that the truth will set/make you free!

  5. #44
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    Oops...I meant most Black Americans have roots in W. Africa, not E. Africa

  6. #45
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    My father is a native born Kenyan... I'm so proud. I love it when people asked me where my family is from when I say my name to them. I'm blessed. My mother was born in the states but I'm taking a test to see which part of Africa she is from. I'm a proud African and I love learning and celebrating my culture more and more everyday.

  7. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by kinksr4me View Post
    Most on this site are African Diaspora. We have been (due to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade), displaced and have had any past culture taken from us. You know that you are 100% Cameroonian-we don't have that luxury: and yes it is a LUXURY. Why do you think slave masters went to such great lengths to "snuff" out the cultures, languages, habits of the people they oppressed.
    Hint: Breaking up community ties leaves the individual weaker and therefore easier to control, demean and own both physically and psychologically.
    Thank you for stating this! I always give a side-eye to people that criticize from the "outside". And yes, a person that knows their ancestry but questions why anyone else would want to know theirs is definitely commenting from the "outside".
    Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

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  9. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by icetia View Post
    I always give a side-eye to people that criticize from the "outside". And yes, a person that knows their ancestry but questions why anyone else would want to know theirs is definitely commenting from the "outside".
    Co-sign...and it's really a HUMAN thing to want to know where you come from if it's not super clear. The only people I know who aren't at least somewhat curious are those white Americans who call themselves "mutts" ("I'm German, Irish, Scandinavian, I don't even KNOW") and people who can certify that they're 100% ____. Adopted kids and adults often want to know about their bio-families, for example.

    Of course we know that for those AAs who were descended from enslaved peoples, it's not accurate to call ourselves 100% anything (other than African-American, I guess). I've done quite a bit of genealogy on my mom's side of the family and then a few years back my parents got the DNA test done (it was from a company that only told you about your African heritage; my parents weren't interested in knowing about the non-African ). They couldn't conclusively establish what part of Africa my mom's ancestors were from but they were able to point to a couple of specific west African ethnic groups for my dad's people.

    Now if I ever make it to that part of Africa, hell yeah I want to have an Alex Haley-style experience and meet my "people" if possible, but will it change how I live my daily life? Well, if my new cousins tell me that the reason why they don't have fibroids is because they've been using this herb for hundreds of years, best believe I'm going to get my supply but other than that, not really. But to know that my true "roots" are in this place...yeah, that would be pretty cool.
    Hello, 2021. Glad to see you. Hope you're bringing us goodness and light this year!

  10. #48
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    Thank you for making the comparison to adopted children that long to know their birth parents! Perfect analogy.

    How dope is it that you got a chance to do the African DNA test?! It's even cooler that your parents didn't care AT ALL about the non-African part
    Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

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  11. #49
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    Seems akin to superstition and hypochondria whereas something is wrong or missing if someone doesn't have that particular label to put upon themselves. A feeling of loss or lacking to not "know" one's birthday, age, and/or zodiac sign. A distanced feeling perhaps from purpose or betterment to not have social allowance to take pride in a specific culture. These sentiments have been exploited just as people have used fraternities, races, zodiac signs, genders, etc. to encapsulate their prejudices and assert their hierarchy.

    The precursors to be minded, given unknown parentage, seem less vast than the social imperative of one's belonging to have predated dehumanization. It is as if being recognized as a human before democide is a greater (even if dormant) passion than being a better human today. I find that so in many people who identify with martyrdom, victimhood, isolation, etc. Our species is a pack animal, but there has been an indoctrination of elitist and even inbred mediocrity whereas even royals (for instance) are hallmarked by genetic inferiority and incestuous retardation.

    Science has proven the fallacy of these ideals and social evolution and even progress has given us many histories to demonstrate that legacy hasn't made for better people. In reality, legacy has been one of the greatest precursors for genocide. The people who covet that sense of belonging are prone to try to exterminate and/or practice various degrees of incest to assert themselves. This often includes domination of those deemed inferior despite what these people who are seeking to be longest are doing to degrade the viability of their genetic material.

    The form of "belonging" that African Diasporans are being sold on is a sickness which also has caused people to voluntarily give some of the most oppressive governments their DNA. From point blank range it is scientific fact that the m-DNA "root" finding makes for a guessing game that relies more on racist interpretation than science. It's sort of like a child reading the face of adults to decide how they themselves feel. Meanwhile, the US government has once again used the inferiority complex they've fostered to database their subordinates.

    We already know or within reason to figure that Africans who weren't dispersed aren't better than us. We for damned sure should be able to figure out that superstition, theology, and sentimentality doesn't serve us. While humorous and maligned, the whole idea of being pure or of innocent blood (like Native American) rather lends to a sense of hierarchy and "room" to be more exploitative with impunity rather than an excuse to be a better person in deed. It's a sick and depraved game to be socially better rather than so in deed. That's like "pretty" people being figured of less character and people regarded as "ugly" being condemned to rely on personality and deed. This is another way people are trying to make themselves "prettier" and/or more desirable socially rather than actually doing better.

    I appreciate that we're a pack species. However, this is a bastardization built upon exclusivity, inbreeding, and isolation. It's that racism and isolation which breaks up our collective powers rather than not knowing where we can belong with greater authenticity or whatever. A proper battery of health screenings, including for mental illnesses, would suffice. Act as if every precursor is within reason as knowing isn't even knowing these days. That's a sort of how I feel about this "knowing" hustle, even as a blacked intellectual and all that jazz.

    I'll try to add a video about how bogus those DNA hording government operations are (for instance), as if everything else used to brainwash blacked folk hasn't turned up to be so. teehee

    - The DNA database betrays the racism of those behind it (July 2009)


    - DNA ancestry tests branded 'meaningless' (March 2013)
    "As a result, almost every Briton is a descendant of Viking hordes, Roman legions, African migrants, Indian Brahmins, or anyone else they fancy.

    His colleague Prof Mark Thomas said: "These claims are usually planted by the companies that provide these so-called tests and are not backed up by published scientific research. This is business, and the business is genetic astrology.”

    "It's less than .1 percent."
    Last edited by Intellexual; 06-01-2013 at 05:59 PM.
    2009: Transitioned
    2020: Mature, Freeformed Locs

  12. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by icetia View Post
    Thank you for making the comparison to adopted children that long to know their birth parents! Perfect analogy.
    I've got several adopted kids in my (immediate and extended) family...

    How dope is it that you got a chance to do the African DNA test?! It's even cooler that your parents didn't care AT ALL about the non-African part
    Girl listen...my parents were about as pro-black as you could get while raising their kids in an integrated suburb...

    Because I've done a lot of my mother's genealogy, I know that there are several different branches and some of them are more "white" than others. I'm descended from one of the less-white branches. I remember when I was a kid I talked to some of the elders who were from the more-white branches -- and by "more white" I mean they could pass for white -- and they hated white folks like you would not BELIEVE. I was there in their living rooms, I heard them say it...which is why I find it ironic and more than a little sad that some of their descendants are trying to play up their more-white ancestry by creating some kind of alternate history. I'm still waiting for them to provide real proof that Massa really loved their great-great-grandmother and didn't just rape her...ain't seen it yet...
    Hello, 2021. Glad to see you. Hope you're bringing us goodness and light this year!

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