Without family folk tales and intimate settings of stories held onto by elder relatives, many African-Americans would have no idea where their family’s history lies. Yes, many can guess that they have descendants from Africa but which area of the 11.6 million square miles did their family make ground? What type of lineage truly runs through the veins of a particular individual? With the swab of her cheeks, Recorder President Shannon Williams unlocked the answers to not only her lineage, but past and future generations as well.
“I have always been intrigued to learn more about both sides of my family’s history, so actually having my genealogy traced was very important to me,” said Williams. “Learning the exact country my family derived from gives me an enhanced sense of completeness.”
By sending in her DNA by mail, she was given the results of her maternal genetic ancestry. Her results concluded that she shares the same ancestry with people living in two different countries – Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea) and Cameroon. By choosing the MatriClan analysis provided by African Ancestry, Williams’ DNA was inherited through her mother and has been passed on from mother to daughter over the last 500-2,000 years. While both Williams’ sister and brother share her same DNA, only her sister will pass the maternal traits to her children. Williams’ brother will pass his paternal DNA to his offspring.
Williams says her newfound heritage has peeked her investigative interest even more.
“Since discovering my genealogy lineage I am now interested in learning more about Guinea and Cameroon including the spiritual beliefs, traditions and characteristics of those people. After that, I would like to have a PatriClan analysis done to learn more about my father’s side of the family,” Williams said.
The Recorder had an opportunity to sit down with African Ancestry President, Gina Paige to learn more about the process of tracing one’s lineage.
The Recorder: Why is it important for African-Americans to trace their lineage?
Gina Paige: It’s important for them to understand their ancestry prior to the slave trade because knowing where you’re from is a major component of knowing who you are and there is no other way for us to get that information besides using our DNA.
With so many sites promising accurate results, what makes your site different from others?
We are Black-owned. We have the largest database of indigenous African lineages in the world. We are the only company that can provide present day African country and ethnic group results for maternal and paternal lineages.
Your company has worked with prominent African-Americans such as India Arie and Erykah Badu. Explain the benefits of having celebrities work with your organization?
We partner with celebrities because it helps raise awareness but our goal is for every Black person to know where they are from.
How often do you find that someone is from somewhere other than Africa?
When we trace maternal lineages we find non-African results eight percent of the time and when we trace paternal lineages, we find non-African results 35 percent of the time.
Why do you think there is a gap between the findings?
Because white men were fathering children with enslaved women at a much higher rate historically then white women were having children with Black enslaved men.
Explain your confidentiality agreement for those who are on the edge about sending their DNA through the mail.
We don’t sell or share any personal genetic information. When a person sends their swabs to us they are sent to the lab confidentially. They are only referenced by a barcode number.
African Ancestry offers three types of tests; the MatriClan and PatriClan tests trace the lineage of one’s maternal and paternal family members. The myDNAmix test determines the various ancestries in one’s genetic family tree, providing a percentage breakdown of continental areas.
The process is simple and painless. The kit of choice is ordered online. The customer is asked to swab the inside of the cheek using the materials provided and enclose them into the confidential packaging before sending them off to the lab. Once the sample arrives to the lab, the DNA is extracted and compared to other genetic sequences. After about six to eight weeks, the customer receives their results in the mail as well as a certificate.
To learn more about African Ancestry visit their website at africanancestry.com.
