We have probably all heard the question: "What are you?" My father taught me to respond "American," but, as most of the people asking this question were of immigrant backgrounds, it always left me wondering -- what else? My folks didn't come over on the Mayflower, and I have only 3% Native American blood, but I know now that I am more American than those who asked the question. Why does that make me feel proud? Because our ancestors were among the first to build this country and through hard work, fighting for their freedom in wars and often excruciatingly difficult circumstances, they persevered ...
so here I am and here you are!
so here I am and here you are!
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Results of my ethnicity report as done by Ancestry DNA
I have not done DNA disease testing. Africa 46% Benin/Togo 15% Cameroon/Congo 13% Mali 7% Ivory Coast/Ghana 7% Trace regions 4% America 3% Native American Europe 50% Great Britain 30% Europe West 13% Trace regions 7% West Asia <1% At first I was surprised by the results (50% European; can't be!), but as I learned more about American history and particularly our ancestral past, it made more sense. Still, there is so much more we do not know. My paternal ancestry has many missing pieces (other than her name and that she was a mulatto, I know nothing of my paternal great-grandmother). Part of my maternal ancestry is pretty straightforward. We can see that back to 1662 England (and probably further if I had an International subscription). Yes, my father was right, we are true Americans.
Keep in mind that documentation officially acknowledging liaisons between African Americans and whites was deliberately withheld due to laws (most of these liaisons were illegal and some the product of rape, although rape by a white man of a black woman was not illegal) and none were recorded. Also, white fathers were under no obligation to acknowledge their paternity of non-white children. The child's status was that of their mother's -- slave or free. Another factor, in the early days of slavery, when poor immigrants were brought over from Europe as indentured servants, their status was like that of slaves (until their term of servitude was over) and there were many interracial children born of the relationships between them. The links to the right will help explain the results of the DNA test and you will be able to see more details of the DNA results at the Ancestry site. |
Learn more about genealogy, DNA and race at these sites:
DNA A short video on DNA -- where do genes come from? Are We So Different? After opening, click on the word 'Race' at the top of the screen to begin.
Race: The Power of Allusion Is race real? Faces of America -- Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. production.
What made America? What makes us? These two questions are at the heart of this PBS series |