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I just watched the show. I think it is OK to focus on the widespread racial mixing that happened in former times. American families that have been here awhile are invariably mixed, with multiple heritages....
Widespread color mixing? That's just not the case. They did not "invariably" mix.
Most American families who have been here since the U.S. was founded and before may have heritage mixing in the sense that English and Germans intermarried and had children, then some Irish and or Dutch, perhaps Italian, Portuguese, etc. Whites from Europe did mix, after they had been here for some years.
It is extremely uncommon for whites and blacks to have had children together, especially if whites never lived in areas where blacks lived.
Interesting read. Just wondering what percent of something on a DNA test actually makes it legit versus background noise? I'm guessing at least one percent or more?
My 23andme test was mixed European as expected. The only surprises were...
2% Italian
1.2% Spain/Portugal
0.1% Sub-Saharan Africa
Would be cool if those were legit...not sure if traceable or how to even do that if so?
Widespread color mixing? That's just not the case. They did not "invariably" mix.
Most American families who have been here since the U.S. was founded and before may have heritage mixing in the sense that English and Germans intermarried and had children, then some Irish and or Dutch, perhaps Italian, Portuguese, etc. Whites from Europe did mix, after they had been here for some years.
It is extremely uncommon for whites and blacks to have had children together, especially if whites never lived in areas where blacks lived.
I was posting about general mixing of heritages, which is widespread in the US. But the fact that Gates finds numerous cases of mixed race relationships in family records tells me that it happened more often than we generally acknowledge.
I do know that not every family with roots in the South has had racial mixing. Apparently mine does not. When I had my DNA checked via 23 and Me, no sub-Saharan DNA was detected. But honestly, I would not have been shocked if it had been.
Wow, I'm surprised this thread was allowed to go ahead! If I've ever mentioned race, or even if anyone's ever thought I was referring to race, I've had my posts or threads deleted, and even been given infractions for saying things I haven't said.
This has normally happened when someone has known I'm English, so I'm assuming it was out of prejudice that the accusations are made. I'm not sure if any on here have a clue that most English, are mixed race, or if it's American supremacists trying to make a point by accusing others, but, it's hate crime, all the same.
Do I dare admit to having a mixed race wife, or a mixed race child, or even being mixed race myself? It's a sick world.
Dr. Gates has never shied away from emphasizing the relationship between whites and blacks in America.
If you are not comfortable with that, there are probably better shows to watch.
More critically... he makes a point of using solid research methods to "throw off the cloak"
that so many families used to hide and deny the specifics of THEIR lineage and history.
The truth will out. Even if some, the OP f'rinstance, would rather it all stay hidden in the closet.
Interesting read. Just wondering what percent of something on a DNA test actually makes it legit versus background noise? I'm guessing at least one percent or more?
On a continental level, yes, about 1-2% or more.
Sub-continental regions are less reliable and people can get high percentages in areas they have no ancestry in, but that's not "noise", it's just the result of neighboring regions having so much genetic overlap.
Quote:
My 23andme test was mixed European as expected. The only surprises were...
2% Italian
1.2% Spain/Portugal
0.1% Sub-Saharan Africa
Would be cool if those were legit...not sure if traceable or how to even do that if so?
The SSA is probably just noise, I wouldn't spend time looking for that - anything under 1%, especially if it's a completely different continent you don't have known ancestry from, it's highly likely to just be noise.
The combined 2% Italian and 1.2% Spain/Portugal could theoretically indicate some kind of Southern European ancestry, but there's no assurance of that, it could just be coming from neighboring regions where you might have known ancestry. DNA ethnicity is definitely not an exact science - it's more like an interpretation of your DNA.
Widespread color mixing? That's just not the case. They did not "invariably" mix.
Most American families who have been here since the U.S. was founded and before may have heritage mixing in the sense that English and Germans intermarried and had children, then some Irish and or Dutch, perhaps Italian, Portuguese, etc. Whites from Europe did mix, after they had been here for some years.
It is extremely uncommon for whites and blacks to have had children together, especially if whites never lived in areas where blacks lived.
That's not exactly true. It obviously depends on what time period and context we're talking about here, but broadly speaking, blacks and whites have been mixing in the US for centuries. It's just that the resulting child/children are considered "black" and generally grow up in black communities. Studies show that it is indeed uncommon for white people to have black ancestry, but that doesn't mean whites and blacks haven't been mixing for centuries, because it's the complete opposite vice versa. Most, if not all African Americans (who have been in the US for many generations) have some amount (in varying degrees) of European ancestry. Granted, much of that is the result of slavery, not consensual relationships, but it's still "whites and blacks having children together", and it still means that some black Americans are light skinned enough to be able to "pass" for white and in history, frequently did so. And addressing that topic is totally appropriate for the historical/genealogical TV show.
I've still never seen an episode. I guess I'll look on demand to see if I can cue it up. I was reading her wiki page, of course all of their wiki profiles have been edited to include her AA ancestor.
I've still never seen an episode. I guess I'll look on demand to see if I can cue it up. I was reading her wiki page, of course all of their wiki profiles have been edited to include her AA ancestor.
So they're already changing the historical record. Now, people will claim that Johnny Cash's wife was a "woman of color" in the 60s.
So no, Skip Gates is not different from Walter Plecker or Naomi Drake.
So they're already changing the historical record.
Yes, they've changed the historical record to make it accurate. She did have an African American ancestor, so it's historically accurate to mention it. Why do you seem to think that we should all be pretending that's not true?
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