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1. Any African American who can trace their roots to slavery (assuming she can) should consider that they very well may have had white relatives and may be some part white.
I'd be surprised if there is a single African American living today whose ancestors have lived in the United States since before the Civil War that doesn't have any white people in their family tree.
I'd be surprised if there is a single African American living today whose ancestors have lived in the United States since before the Civil War that doesn't have any white people in their family tree.
Exactly. Whether it's as significant as 31% for everyone is another question, probably unlikely, but this woman didn't even entertain the possibility that she was part white. She and her family only thought they were Native American and black.
I don't know how a black person whose family was here since before the Civil War, if that's the case, genuinely doesn't think she could be part white. Maybe not knowing much about history? How common it was for slave masters to have sex with their female slaves, for example, often rape, sometimes even actual loving relationships? Who knows. Even Thomas Jefferson had children with his slave. It's honestly fascinating history.
I do think it's sad that finding this out about herself changes this woman's identity and how she views herself. It shouldn't. She's the same person, grew up the same way, had the same culture and experiences.
I wouldn't be surprise if I were to take a DNA test that my ancestry will come up as at least 15-20% European. My Great Grandmother was thought to be at least half white and my Great Aunt also had strong European features but was considered black nonetheless. Like many other African American families, we too have tales of "Indian" blood, specifically Cherokee. on my grandfather's side of the family. Likely the truth favors towards more European ancestry, since that part of the family is from Louisiana.
Now when it comes to White Americans, they are on average are very European in ancestry at 98.6%. More than 95% of American whites have no ancestry from either group, according to studies. The few with any African or native American ancestry only have about 3.6% at most. White Americans Are Very White
So in terms of racial make-up, White Americans are one of the least diverse groups(I think certain Asian groups are even more racially "pure"). African-Americans and Latinos on the other hand have much higher degrees of racial ancestry, which shows in some our features. According to studies, the average latino is 65% European, 18% Native American, and 6% African. Of course these percentages varies according to specific nationalities. Mexican-Americans likely have Native American ancestry of around 25-40% on average, whereas Puerto Ricans and Dominicans on average have much higher African ancestry, especially the latter group.
As dark as my husband and I are, I gave birth to one child with bluish eyes. Even though they rather quickly turned brown it was an indication that he had white ancestors somewhere in the mix, which means one of us did. There are very few "pure breeds" in America, if there are any. It's one of the reasons reparations for slavery are nutty at this point, most people would end up needing to pay themselves. We are far more of a melting pot than most people are willing to acknowledge.
I really want to get one of those ancestry tests. My people are from Germany, a part that has been invaded and occupied multiple times over the centuries. I expect to find DNA from the Mongol hordes, the Invading British and Roman Legions! And of course from the Middle East as the Muslims tried more than once to invade Europe and partially succeeded.
I'd be surprised if there is a single African American living today whose ancestors have lived in the United States since before the Civil War that doesn't have any white people in their family tree.
Yeah well...doesn't mean they'll be happy about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415
1. Any African American who can trace their roots to slavery (assuming she can) should consider that they very well may have had white relatives and may be some part white.
2. Any American who actually thinks they are part Native American should use their brains and realize that few people actually are part Native American, since like 90% died off after exposure to European diseases alone, and the rest were slowly killed off through the years, leaving a very small number who were forced onto reservations. AKA... no, you're probably not part Native American, and if you are it would be a teeny tiny negligible amount, like maybe one NA or part NA relative three generations back, because there weren't that many Native Americans left to mix with other people, who largely disliked them and wanted them gone.
3. Anyone who is "ashamed" to be any part white should be ashamed for being ashamed. Idiots.
Why are you asking me this and how is this relevant?
I don't care what an ancestry test says I am. It won't make me a different person than who I though I was and have been my whole life. If I'm 31% black... then I'm 31% black. Wouldn't change a thing, and it shouldn't.
Why are you asking me this and how is this relevant?
I don't care what an ancestry test says I am. It won't make me a different person than who I though I was and have been my whole life. If I'm 31% black... then I'm 31% black. Wouldn't change a thing, and it shouldn't.
Because some folks want to group you so they can assign feelings/perspectives/etc to you.
It's called identity politics.
If you resist being grouped and insist that you're an individual it ruins their collectivist dream utopia.
Why are you asking me this and how is this relevant?
I don't care what an ancestry test says I am. It won't make me a different person than who I though I was and have been my whole life. If I'm 31% black... then I'm 31% black. Wouldn't change a thing, and it shouldn't.
I'd be surprised if there is a single African American living today whose ancestors have lived in the United States since before the Civil War that doesn't have any white people in their family tree.
I'm willing to bet that they exist, probably in the rural deep south. It's certainly not the norm, though.
On a sort-of-related note I read recently where the 'world's oldest DNA' was found recently in a black guy from South Carolina, whose ancestors originated from a tribe in Cameroon. The guy's Y chromosome was somehow determined to be 338,000 years old.
I don't hold a grudge. It's just wise to keep up with your enemy. That's all we're doing here.
As far as the ancestry stuff I've never understood it. Randomly going back x amount of years to "see what you are" is kind of narcissistic/self-important.
Race is a social construct. Human is the only race. And in the beginning we were all stardust.
That's one of the more ironic things about science. Religion, its often-enemy, never came up with a cohesive & uniting origin narrative to make ourselves better. Hence Jews vs Muslims, Muslims vs Hindus, Christians vs Muslims and so on and so forth for all of history.
Then science comes along and says that not only are we all the same (basically), we are all connected to all living AND non-living matter in the universe.
That's the ultimate religion if you ask me. It's all-encompassing, non-judgmental and completely benign meaning free will is the greatest of importance (which promotes individualism over collectivism thus explaining why people often shun it).
And yet what do we continue to do? Pick out our "races", our "religions", and even our political parties (red team vs blue team) because life has to be "us vs them". It's how we fill ourselves up with self-importance and purpose.
It's how we justify the worst traits within us. Theft, violence, and general rottenness.
Maybe it's time to just let it go.
LOL so now I'm your enemy.
You are pretty hilarious.
And I stated I got interested in genealogy based on being interested in history. Do you also not believe that history has any relevance in the lives of present day people or that we can learn from history to avoid similar mistakes that were made in the past?
Genealogical research is just specific history research. I stated, I've never had a DNA test done. I honestly don't want to have it done. Both my parents do though as they think it would be a cool thing to do and my mom wants her dad to do it to see if he is any "part Indian" because that line is the only one that I've found recent mention of there being NA ancestry.
Genealogical research and DNA actually proves that we are all the "human race" and that race is a social construct. I am not a member of any religion, I am not a member of a political party and I don't have an "us vs them" attitude about any party or religion or socially constructed race and that is primarily due to the fact that I study history and I research genealogy and I know, based on my interest an work on these subjects that we are all "one people" so to speak and that we all, no matter where we live have similar needs, wants, and desires in life as human beings. I wish more people were interested in historical research and genealogical research without the goals, as you mentioned to "prove" something about themselves and their group and use it only to learn and see how much alike and similar we are and appreciate the current time period that we are in. That is basically what centers my research - being appreciative of others who laid a foundation for me and for my current status in life.
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Even Thomas Jefferson had children with his slave. It's honestly fascinating history. 
