My Virtual Journey to the Motherland: How DNA Helped Me to Reclaim My Stolen Past

There has always been a little thing gnawing at the back of my mind; something that has been somewhat elusive to pinpoint yet left me feeling…empty. For most of my life I never really knew what it was. However, one year ago I was finally able to put my finger on it. I now know what it is and it’s something most people take for granted.

Just as a child, raised by a single mother, might feel a sense of pain when Father’s Day rolls around and there is no father present. Or an adopted child, while feeling genuine love for his adoptive parents, longs to connect with his birth parents. I had a similar feeling regarding a major gap in my family tree. As a person whose ancestors were snatched from their homeland, stripped of their names, family, and language, and sold into slavery, I have always known there was a major piece of my puzzle missing.

Who am I and where did I come from? Most of the time, I never even think about it, but every now and then, this issue would surface. Occasionally, friends would talk about their European, Scandinavian, or Italian roots. Even recent African immigrants have the advantage of being able to tell people they are from Somalia, Ghana, or several other countries. But for me I could only look at the great African continent on a globe and wonder “where?”

However, for the first time, there may be a way to heal that void I have always felt. Last year, a PBS documentary called African American Lives aired in which several noted African Americans used DNA to trace their ancestral roots. Prior to the documentary, I was aware genetic scientists and anthropologists have used DNA to prove the human species began in central Africa; however, I was unaware that now individuals can use DNA to trace their own lineage. Three testing techniques were used in the documentary:

1. A DNA test known as admixture test can accurately breakdown the ethnic composition of a person contributed by both parents.
2. A mitochondrial DNA test (mtDNA), can trace back an individual’s maternal line; it is found in the DNA of both men and women.
3. A Y-DNA test can trace back an individual’s paternal line; however, this is test can only be conducted on men.

After watching this program, I couldn’t help but wonder what information would be unearthed about me if I had the same tests conducted. Relying on the same testing companies used in the documentary, I first had my admixture test conducted through Ancestry by DNA in California. This test revealed I was 82% Sub-Saharan African, 8 % Native American, 6% East Asian, and 4% European. Of the all information, this test revealed, I found the East Asian to be the most stunning. To put this in perspective, the research information indicates that 6% East Asian can mean I had a great, great grandfather who was full Chinese. Coincidentally, many Chinese immigrants were hired as cheap labor to work on southern plantations after the Civil War and many Asian and black relationships developed. Although no one in my family was aware of anyone of Asian descent in our family, a six percent level traces back to the Reconstruction time.

I now had the “who am I question” partially answered. But to know precisely who I am and, more importantly, where I came from I would need to have an mtDNA test completed. MtDNA is tested with a cheek swab like the admixture; however the samples are compared to the oldest mtDNA sequence ever found. This is known as the Cambridge Reference Sequence or commonly referred to as scientific Eve (haplagroup L). Based on how closely an individual’s mtDNA matches this sequence determines their haplagroup classification (i.e.-the time period their group migrated out of Africa).

This time, I sent a cheek swab to Roots for Real located in England. The results they sent back six weeks later were amazing; in fact, I like to think I won the trifecta. First of all, they were able to accurately determine I originated from the L2 haplagroup also called Daughter of Eve. Second, the sample revealed that my motherline has strong ties to the Temne Tribe in Sierra Leone. Third, currently stored in the lab’s database is the mtDNA of eight individuals who have the exact same mtDNA as mine. This means that sometime within the past 10,000 years (a mere blink of an eye geologically speaking) those eight individuals and I shared a common female ancestor; thus making us mitochondrial cousins.

When I first received this information, I emailed all my family and friends a copy of the results with a note that said “I have a home.” That was when it hit me-all this time I longed to be like everyone else. Thanks to DNA testing, I can now erase one of the last remaining stigmas of slavery from my life by reclaiming a major piece of my past. Some might see this information as trivial, but to me it is like finding the Holy Grail. Why is it so important? I remember once in school as a child, we were given the assignment to write a story about the country from where our ancestors’ immigrated. While the majority of the students talked about various countries, the handful of students with enslaved ancestors felt left out. Today. with mtDNA, my son will not experience the same humiliation I once felt; he can proudly say his ancestors came from Sierra Leone.

Also, with my admixture results, I’m subtly launching a revolution. In the past when completing surveys with questions regarding my ethnicity, I generally would ignore them. Not because I was ashamed of being black but because I don’t like being categorized and because my decision-making is not solely based on my skin color. With my admixture results, I now check off all that apply, in hopes I can skew their data and perhaps one day people will stop asking that question. I’m still holding out hope that one day I will not be judged by the color of my skin, but by the content of my character.

It is amazing how a simple cheek swab can have such a liberating effect on an individual. In some ways it is rather fitting. Historically, science was molded to reinforce and justify racist policies designed to oppress primarily (but not exclusively) blacks. Now, many scientists have devoted their lives to accurately dispel the many falsehoods created previously by science and sanctioned by our government. DNA testing goes a long was to righting the past wrongs. If these results can have this powerful an impact in one person, imagine the impact it could have as more and more people get tested and our nation ultimately realized we are all one people. Admixture testing alone would prove there is no “one pure race” and that knowledge could be instrumental in ending the racial strife that continues to segregate our nation. The way I see it, ending the legacy of racism could only lead to a more perfect union.