African Ancestry and DNA
Genetic testing services such as AfricanAncestry.com, which helped the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Isaiah Washington track their ancestry to specific countries in Africa, have stressed the historical and psychological benefits of DNA testing. According to geneticist and African Ancestry co-founder Dr. Rick Kittles, knowing something about their DNA gives African Americans an ancestral through-line to follow, a destination before slavery.
“If you think of young African Americans growing up thinking that their history started with slavery, how do you think that impacts their psyche?” Kittles once said on 60 Minutes. “We went through slavery, we didn’t start with slavery.”
African Ancestry’s president and other co-founder, Dr. Gina Paige, agrees. “If there are slaves in their history, pre-1870, information is virtually non-existent,” Paige states in “Filling the Ancestry Void for African Americans” which appeared in Exceptional People Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 2016.
Paige also acknowledges the emotional significance of the DNA information.
“MANY TIMES YOU DON’T KNOW YOU NEED THIS INFORMATION UNTIL YOU GET IT. YOU DON’T REALIZE HOW BIG THE VOID IS UNTIL YOU FILL IT.”
This emotional impact explains why the genetic “reveal” in shows like Finding Your Roots is so popular. This moment marks something of the hero’s journey, and the way so many resonate with Finding Your Roots shows the epic universality of the quest it represents. As in all epic tales, the hero or heroine must face a daunting challenge – in this case, to remain open to the chance you might learn painful truths during the reveal. In facing the reveal, the seeker meets the challenge, or in quest terminology, “seizes the sword.” Completing the journey, the seeker fills the “big void,” to use Paige’s terminology, and gains new perspective. The world will never look the same again.