African-Americans: Have Geneology DNA Tests Changed Your Self Identity?

[Northern Son]

Very sensitive topic but do programs like "Faces Of America" and "Finding Your Roots" change (or reinforce) your notions of racial self-identification? I'm African on both sides, raised in the west and I can't help but feel an affinity to diaspora blacks and more or less feel we're the same people/race. It's often pretty hard to tell the difference between African American/West African/Jamaican/Haitian people before they open their mouths.

Videos like this though seem to really push the idea of AA's being mixed and really seem to contain an implicit message of erasing the black/African identity in AA's:




The claims that black Americans are "on average" 80% black, 20% European surprise me even though I've always known most AA's have some distant white ancestry and phenotype OFTEN betrays genotype in genetics. 20% just seems like a rather unbelievable number (basically equivalent to a grandparent) considering how most AA look and the fact that you have to go back a few generations to find a direct white ancestor in most families. I dunno I just feel weird seeing this especially given Skip Gates' white worshiping in the past and the fact that it's said that he gets all his funding from Jews/whites for these programs. Then there's the way the results are interpreted by some people, mostly non-blacks (the loaded youtube video title says it all).

I just can't see someone who looks like Martin Lawrence or Terrell Owens as being "mulatto"/mixed. I just can't. That said, assuming you don't have a parent of another race, do videos/programs like this change your perception of your blackness/how you identify yourself?

 

[Northern Son]

I should add though that autosomal tests have a big margin of error (and should always be taken as more of an "indication" since no test exists that can give you absolute admixture percentages only estimates), the tests in this video are outdated and the company that provides these tests (23andme) supposedly adds "Asian" (that's really African) to most black people's admixture.

That c00n Gates seems a little too happy to find out how white everyone is (he goes around bragging he's Irish and has a look of Christmas morning glee whenever he finds a white ancestor in a guest's family tree).

 

[Northern Son]

ttt

 

[MostReal]

I've watched & it doesn't change my perception at all. I'm also not as trusting of Gates words. He just doesn't seem authentic to me

Also I already knew about my European ancestry

 

[MMS]

its because dark skin is a dominant trait

you could be 50% and still come out with darker skin

 

[jadillac]

I did a DNA test last year and I'm African on both sides, but you gotta remember how far that goes back. Alot of stuff, undocumented stuff, has occured in ur bloodline.

The fact that we AfAm's don't "look" like a typical African tells you everything you need to know.

An African with my same skin tone can stand next to me, and just looking at our facial makeup, you can generally tell he's African and I'm not. So clearly something has been mixed in over the years.

 

[Northern Son]

I've watched & it doesn't change my perception at all. I'm also not as trusting of Gates words. He just doesn't seem authentic to me

Also I already knew about my European ancestry

Gates is one of the biggest sell outs of all time. He has serious issues with his blackness. It really weirded me out how the focus of the show was more about who these celebrities' distant white ancestors were rather than just their family's roots and where they came from in Africa (most likely the reason they took these tests).

I did a DNA test last year and I'm African on both sides, but you gotta remember how far that goes back. Alot of stuff, undocumented stuff, has occured in ur bloodline.

The fact that we AfAm's don't "look" like a typical African tells you everything you need to know.

An African with my same skin tone can stand next to me, and just looking at our facial makeup, you can generally tell he's African and I'm not. So clearly something has been mixed in over the years.

I get what you're saying but there isn't really a typical look for Africans even in one designated region like west Africa (Africa is the most genetically diverse continent). African Americans are typically a mixture of many different African tribes so that also explains some difference.

 

[marcuz]

yo

isn't that the dude who got arrested for breaking into his own house?

 

[teacher]

I just can't see someone who looks like Martin Lawrence or Terrell Owens as being "mulatto"/mixed. I just can't. That said, assuming you don't have a parent of another race, do videos/programs like this change your perception of your blackness/how you identify yourself?

terrel owens is a black muthafukka but Martin?

 

[Northern Son]

terrel owens is a black muthafukka but Martin?

Alright then Wesley Snipes.