The UN designated the听International Decade for People of African Descent,听from 2015 to 2024, to promote the recognition, justice, and development of African听descendants听worldwide. Through various programs, events, and awareness campaigns, the Decade seeks to create a platform for dialogue, understanding, and positive change in the lives of听people in听the听diaspora.听Africa Renewal听is highlighting the journeys African Americans are taking to reconnect with Africa听鈥撎齮he continent their ancestors called home. This is the last piece in the four-part series:
In 1999, the pioneering geneticist Rick Kittles joined a team of historians, archaeologists and biological anthropologists to examine remains in New York City鈥檚 Financial District.
Some scientists and experts suggested that the remains may be those of Native Americans or Europeans, Dr. Kittles said. 鈥淢y role was to isolate DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid] from the bones and develop a way to figure out if they were of African descent.鈥�
They were.
Today, that landmark near Wall Street is the听. It is considered one of the most important archeological finds of the 20th century,鈥� according to the US National Park Service, which estimated that 15,000 free and enslaved Africans were interred there.
Dr. Kittles, who received his PhD in biological sciences from George Washington University in Washington DC, spent five years on the interdisciplinary project.
A reporter once asked him, 鈥淚f you can do that for the bones, why can鈥檛 you do that for regular people?鈥� in reference to DNA tracing.
So, he drew from his research in anthropology, evolutionary biology and human genetics and applied it to the field of ancestry.
In 2003, Dr. Kittles partnered with Dr. Gina Paige to launch听African Ancestry Inc., a genetic tracing company that boasts the largest database of African lineages dating back 500 to 2,000 years.听 Unlike other genetic and genealogy firms, African Ancestry does not provide percentages of one鈥檚 lineage rather it pinpoints to a present-day African country or ethnic group of origin by tracing one鈥檚 maternal or paternal line. 听听听听听
A mixture of lineages
According to a study in the听American Journal of Human Genetics, the average African American carries 24 percent European ancestry. For test-takers, it can be a painful reminder of how the legacy of slavery still robs African Americans of their identities.
Unlike other genetic and genealogy firms, African Ancestry does not provide percentages of one鈥檚 lineage. Instead, the company pinpoints a specific present-day African country and ethnic group of origin by tracing one鈥檚 maternal or paternal line.
LaKisha David听has been conducting academic genealogical research while she was a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and as a PhD student and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During that time, Ms. David has also dedicated time to personal genealogical research.
鈥淚 already had a psychological connection to Africa, so I wanted to get more details,鈥� said Ms. David.
Early in her research, she received her family鈥檚 DNA results from African Ancestry revealing that she hailed from the Tikar, Hausa, and Fulani people of Cameroon.
鈥淭he African Ancestry results helped me to narrow down my search to a specific area,鈥� said Ms. David, who appreciated the ancient discovery. 鈥淚t made me more eager to learn about the area, the history and the nuances.鈥�
Now that she knew her roots, Ms. David wanted to explore more recent branches of her tree, particularly the period before her ancestors were enslaved. 鈥淭he narrative was that the period of separation was too long ago to find living African relatives,鈥� said Ms. David.
Then she submitted DNA to other genetic testing sites including 23 and Me, which is where she found a cousin from Cameroon. 鈥淲e shared an ancestor within the last 500 years,鈥� said Ms. David. 鈥淣ow I have a family history, even though it鈥檚 not complete. 鈥淚 have an even greater connection and a psychological claim to Cameroon.鈥�
When Dr. Kittles tested his own DNA, he expected to find a mixture of lineages because enslavers were constantly separating and selling enslaved Africans to different colonies or states in America.
On his mother鈥檚 side, he found Ibo and Hausa from Nigeria; on his father鈥檚 side, he found Mandinka and European. 鈥淚 was shocked to see the results in the lab,鈥� he said of his European ancestry. He reconciled his scientific revelation by remembering family stories of a white ancestor and understanding the legacy of slavery.
That legacy involved generations of European captors raping and breeding enslaved African women and girls like cattle.
Harriet Jacobs recounted the horror in her 1861 autobiography,听.听More than 2,300 other survivors shared their testimonies in the collection,听.
鈥淭hose men passed their European ancestry to their African male children,鈥� the company stated in a听. It cautions its African American clients, particularly men who take what it calls the PatriClan Test to trace their paternal DNA, that their results have only a 65 percent chance of yielding an ancestor from Africa.
However, both genders can trace their maternal lineage with the company鈥檚 MatriClan Test, which has a 92 percent chance of yielding an African ancestor.
Philadelphia-based genealogist Dena M. Chasten听fell into that small percentage of test-takers whose results failed to yield an African maternal ancestor.
鈥淲hen I tested my DNA on my maternal line, I was expecting to find my African lineage. Then when the results came back European, I said, 鈥� What is that!鈥欌��
Ms. Chasten鈥檚 confusion motivated her to dig deeper by working with additional genetic testing firms, following a paper trail and making phone calls. Eventually, her search resulted in locating a distant cousin in Ghana. (You can read about her journey听here).
Act of resistance
Test results help to heal the trauma of the transatlantic slave trade and welcome African Americans home,听听听听 听Dr. Paige explained. 鈥淏lack people should take the test as an act of resistance, because [our ancestry] was something we were never supposed to know.鈥澨� 听听听听听
Denying them knowledge of their origins was an intentional strategy to keep African Americans disconnected from their power and their roots, Dr. Paige said. 鈥淲hen you are unrooted, you have no foundation. You are at the mercy of whatever happens around you.鈥�
Dr. Kittles grew up feeling that disconnection. 鈥淚 wanted us to see ourselves in African people and the culture,鈥� he said. He believed that, if African Americans knew their origins, then they would be more inclined to tackle the challenges and help alleviate hardships facing those nations.
With this information, people can operate differently, Dr. Paige said. 鈥淲e have the ability to live more purposefully because we have strengthened our identities.鈥�
Ironically, when her DNA test revealed that she was Hausa from Nigeria, she was not particularly moved: she found pride in knowing that she was simply a descendant of Africa.
Besides, Dr. Paige had her hands full at the time. 鈥淚 was in the midst of launching a start-up,鈥� said the Stanford-educated entrepreneur. 鈥淚 was focusing on making sure the business was going to be sustainable.鈥�
Ancestral imperative
Twenty years later, African Ancestry has helped more than one million descendants of slaves unravel the mysteries of their heritage.
The company works with Diallo Sumbry, Ghana Tourism Authority鈥檚 first American ambassador, as its director of partnerships. A Fulani descendant, Mr. Sumbry was instrumental in arranging for African Ancestry to share DNA results on the site of the former slave dungeons in Cape Coast, Ghana, during the听.
In addition to Ghana, the company hosts African American family reunion tours in Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. During the tours, it presents test-takers with their ancestry reveals.听听听听
While doing the ancestry reveals, Dr. Paige has discovered what she refers to as an 鈥渁ncestral imperative鈥� when she described a scene that happened like clockwork. 听听听听听
鈥淎t the听Door of No Return, about five minutes before every single ceremony, I鈥檇 start crying uncontrollably out of nowhere,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know why I would start crying. I would have to wait for the tears to stop.鈥�
One day, a spiritual leader at the ceremony told her, 鈥溾�榊ou are giving birth. You are giving someone a new perspective on their life.鈥欌��
Now she lets the tears flow, with no apologies.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear to me that I鈥檓 doing this work because the ancestors want this work done,鈥� Dr. Paige said. 鈥淭he ancestors want us to know who they are.鈥�
Ms. Beard is a writer and educator based in New York.
