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Feb
Blog Contest: Why Is It Important For Our Kids To Know Their Roots? (Week 2)
Post your response in the comments section of our blog and you’ll have the chance to win a free African Ancestry Test Kit!
Each year, February is a big month for African Ancestry. We are fortunate to have opportunities to share the African Ancestry Experience, meet new people, and engage in conversations across the country. This year, we thought a contest would be a good way to reach even more people and hear your perspective on finding your roots. We will pose a question each week and reward the most thoughtful and insightful response with a free MatriClan or PatriClan Test Kit.
One of our dreams for African Ancestry is that every black child know their ancestral roots. We have begun 2010 with two steps towards that goal. We’ve partnered with the Search for Common Ground Foundation on the True Roots Project. And, we’ve partnered with George Mason University on the Science, Technology, Ancestry and Me Project (STAMP) that will hopefully receive funding from the National Science Foundation. For our second contest of the month, please share your thoughts on kids and ancestry for the chance to win a free test kit for the young people in your family.
This week we’d like to know: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR OUR KIDS TO KNOW THEIR ROOTS?
Post your response in the comments section of our blog between February 8th through 14th and you’ll have the chance to win a free African Ancestry Test Kit!
The winner will be announced on February 19th and will be chosen by President, Gina Paige and Scientific Director, Dr. Rick Kittles! See full contest rules here.
UPDATE 02/15/10: This contest is correctly closed. But enter our Week 3 contest to try and win a free test kit.
UPDATE 02/19/10:
My dream is for every Black child in America to know their roots. Voting for the True Roots project is one way that you can help make this dream a reality. We were excited by how many of you agree with us on the importance of young people knowing their roots. Over 60 of you shared your perspectives. We were particularly moved by Monique B’s entry and selected her as the winner of last week’s contest. Congratulations Monique B. on winning an African Ancestry Test Kit!
Read Monique B’s Response:
It is important because by knowing their roots a child can truly understand that, their past history is the roadmap to their future. What they learn in school is history, but who’s history is it? Our history has been cover up by a veil of false pretenses and hidden doorways. Our children have become the product of these injustices and shackles of the mind. They look at TV, magazines and billboards, then look at their own appearance and feel ashamed of their own features. Then to offset this they attempt to live as and share the same history with a people they feel have a true history. These roots they do not know are the same as a beautiful youthful tree being uprooted then toss aside, all hope is lost. Slave stories, and the spilled blood of slaves to the youth who does not know his roots, becomes a burden that they try to hide by portraying themselves as a soul who cares not at all about his history but more about his present. But if they open there minds to what was and not what is, they can follow the trail of tears, back to the footprints in the sands, back to the villages and centers where their ancestral people once stood with their heads high, loving the place they called home.
So once again to answer that question, “Why is it important for our kids to know their roots?” This analogy puts it in simple terms: That youthful tree that was discussed earlier and was described as being tossed aside with all hope lost, has been given a second chance by being rooted again, so now all hope is regained. So the same should be with our kids, not knowing their roots gives them the sense of all hope being lost, but by knowing their roots, hope of a better day is regained.
To everyone else, thank you for your responses. There are still more chances to win a FREE TEST KIT. Answer our Week 3 question to enter for a chance to win. Our Week 4 question will be posted on 2/22. Plus, you can also sign up for our mailing list in February and be entered for a chance to win a FREE TEST KIT.
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I am eighteen years old, I am surrounded by mostly teenagers all of them just like me, we know that our ancestors were brought to America from Africa, that’s it. That’s where it begins and ends. Words can’t even describe the mental pain and struggle that, that type of bondage does to someone, especially growing up in a society like today’s. When you feel as though you have no real foundation you begin to build without it, with influences from your surroundings. Now you become even more unstable, you can easily be broken, you can easily be manipulated. From the conversations I have with my friends about Africa, I get the feeling that they really don’t care because they feel no connection to the continent and this is because they only know I come from Africa but that’s it, no country, no tribe, just Africa. If someone could tell them what country and possibly what tribe they come from sure we will take interest in it because we long for a feeling of belonging to something. We will gravitate to that, we will be empowered. I know that if the we the African youth in America knew our roots our world as African people would change, it would have to, this change would be so, I don’t know words can’t even describe it! Just beyond beautiful! I can only imagine it, and just by imagining it I feel that this has to happen. It HAS to! This way we can begin to teach ourselves about ourselves and not just learn it in public education or any other non African educational program that chooses to teach us what they feel should be taught to us about ourselves. This is why it is important for us to know our roots.
“To know where we come from, is to know our potential as a family”. This is the phrase that my grandmother, mother and other family elders used when teaching me how critical it is for me and the generations that follow to know our history. Whether it be as personal as family history or as broad as world history, it all ties together the fabric of who we are. It is critical that our children know where the root begins, the journey of the roots as they spread, the growth of the tree that sprouted and the understanding that they are the fruit that carries the seed. Our children must have an appreciation of who they are, so they may gain an intricate understanding about the potential that lies within each of them. They must understand that it is not a dead story, but they are the story that lives each day.
Our children understanding their roots allow greater self-esteem to grow in our children at each glimpse in the mirror. Our children understanding their roots allow greater focus and an increased level of determination within each tasked embarked by them. Our children understanding their roots allows for each child to create a greater future for themselves, by knowing what could be done with limited resources in the past and with an enormous resource base now. The roots carry nutrients that feed. Roots are what keep plants anchored in the ground. It is our responsibility to give our children access to their roots that they might be feed with their history and grow into strong men and women that can achieve, accomplish and attain great feats in all areas of life. If we give our children this foundation, they will be filled with the responsibility that they must give their children and grandchildren the strength found within their roots.
In response to our young 18 year old in the audience. I am delighted to hear your perspective on knowing your roots. When I traveled to Ghana some 10 years ago, Before touring the slave castle, I thought I know all there was to know about Black history, I hail from Harlem and really immersed myself into our culture, and it wasn’t until I visited there and went through the El Mina Castle experience, did I understand what a GREAT people we were and are.
For those of us who are decendants of family members who made it here through the Middle passage, because there was truly no other way we could have made it here …unless we came from London as an “indentured servant”, we should feel nothing but pride that we still exist today. And we exist today to reinforce into our our young generations and to future generations —- NEVER AGAIN — NEVER AGAIN. Yes, it was degrading, YES it was humiliating, YES it was dead wrong, but look …we are still here.
SO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP! Be proud of the accomplishments that have been made under such conditions. And because you are alive today, gives us all hope that we will continue.
Kristen, thanks again for sharing and I am sure that other young people feel the same way you do and this helps me/us to understand. I hope that what I just shared helps you.
If you can, try to visit West Africa and experience it.
Peace,
Sister Jolyn
It is important for young African Americans to know the people that they came from so they can have more pride in what it took to get to the point that we are at now. They need to know that though many of our ancestors were brought here in slave ships before that a lot of them were kings and queens of great Tribes across Africa. Many had fought great battles and many had lived in peace. There were many that fought in this country to be free from slavery and lived great lives so that we all could share this dream that God has given all of us. Many do not know this so they have NO PRIDE in what struggles it took for so many Proud African Americans for centuries. I feel this is what seperates African Americans from all others. It is a GIFT to know about yourself and your people!!
It is important for our youth to know their history because a house without a foundation cannot stand. Our history is a rich and diversified one. One cannot know where they are going if they don’t know where they come from. From the great African American inventors to the kings and queens of Africa. We must know so that we can collectively build upon our legacy.
We as people and especially as a race need to identify our heritage and, learn where we come from. In order to move forward, and help more of our kids find their identities, we need to look back. Many of us are descended from great, strong people, and a lot of that gets lost with the youth today. So far there haven’t been many successful attempts at raising our kids’ awareness, self esteem, or self pride, and a lot of our children get caught up in what society, or mainstream american says is right or wrong. If more of our people and children knew where they came from, they wouldn’t be lost and floating in a world, and trying to fit in where they can. We could build ourselves, and learn to show truly how great our race and our people can be. But first we need to look at where we come from and map from there.
You ask why our youth need to be familiar with their roots? The answer is simple, if you don’t know your history, how can you have a successful and complete future. This knowledge will empower the young generation and enable them to break stereotypes and prejudices that not only are placed upon them by other cultures but by their own as well.
Children need to know that our lineage began with the beginning of time, not with slavery! Some of the commercial media seem to only mention the people who were active in the Underground Railroad or Civil War. Many teachers go along with this concept, also. I think we should not only continue to tell our children our wonderful history but, also let our children’s educators know our history. There is so much more of our history that needs to be told and shared.
You want to know why Is It Important For Our Kids To Know Their Roots? I’ll tell you why. It is important so that they do not fell ashamed of being Black. They see all around them every thing negative concerning Black people. They do not see Black people being praised for their inventions, knowledge or accomplishments. Having a black man for President has not changed the way Black people are viewed in societyeither. On the other hand, if they learn about their roots, they will see that they come from Kings and Queens and do not have to make excuses for being Black. It will be a beginning of a new era of self awareness and Black Pride.. My grandmother used to say to me.. “If you don’t know where you come from, how can you know where you are going?” The children have to know about their roots.I am West Indian born from the twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. We have African, European, Asian and Indian in our blood line..we need to know everything about each race..It is very important to know your roots especially since they grow in so many different directions.
Exposure to the world will give them a sense of being.. the past holds the answers for their future. The roots of an American of African descendant reminds them that the world is theirs and they are not separate. We have ruled tribes, countries and continents forever. They come from a legacy of strong wills and strong thinkers. Their history shows them not only courage and the ability to survive, but the power to forgive, encourage and heal and of course, inspire others.
It is important we help our children to know their roots as a foundation for building a better and stronger future for themselves. As a mother of three (18, 16 & 11), I believe that our background & circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. We have come a long way from where we were even a short as 1 year ago. We can do anything!
They need to take their root as an example of breaking the cycle and breaking the chain. We can no longer hold anyone responsible for our conditions except ourselves. Our root is a reminder of what our ancestors went through, not an example of what we should repeat or allow to be repeated. We have the power to create change. To help each other move forward. Instead of having a competitive spirit amongst our people we need to display a cohesive behavior. Qualities shown by our ancestors.
I believe that knowing your roots is the foundation for our existence. We must know where we have come from. I also believe that it will help us appreciate where we have come from. It would help better us as people when we know our history.
It’s important for our kids to know their roots because the knowledge of our roots will extend the knowledge of our growth. Let’s take a plant for example, if we place a seed on fertile ground, its roots will extend as far as possible as long as it receives water and is taken care of but if we plant that same seed in dry, drought stricken soil, it may take root but it will never grow to it’s fullest potential. That’s what happens in our community and our families when we don’t know the base of where we come. If we don’t show our children who they came from and the accomplishments that were acheived in the family, they will not be able to recognize their own gifts as they are and sometimes the gifts will never come out because FEAR may keep them from blossoming.
I feel we should all have a wall of fame in our homes, pictures of great, great grandparents and Uncles and Aunts with a small synopsis of who this person was and what they did in their lifetime. If nothing else the children will see where there height, body structure comes from but also will give them a basis of understanding who they are.
It is important for youth to know our history because as I see each generation pass, it feels as though something is being lost. It takes a child to know where they come from to appreciate how far we have or even have not come as a people.
They can see that although some things seem far fetched and hard for them to imagine, it did happen and they can take pride in their history as a people.
We are a society of great people and althought the news may portray our race as different, at times, we have a race to be proud of.
In my own family, I see less and less people of color with so many of my relatives marrying outside of their race. Although love has no color, it is essential for me, as an individual to be able to to provide my nieces and nephews with their history. This way if they choose not to show interest, it is not due to a lack of information.
I’m a person who doesn’t know enough about my roots, and therefore it’s something that I can not pass on to my children. Will the cycle continue? The circle is broken, but can be unbroken. It is important that my children know their roots, because otherwise they can not truly ever completely know who they are.
Genealogy family descent, genealogy is a great learning tool for today, helping other to understand who they really are, tracing back ,help the unleaned to, Identify the mix of people heritage, awareness to our youth to respect, generation to embrace the natural of history
I think it’s important for our children to know their roots so they can have a since of pride of where they come from. No one really told me much about my background and just last year I started to put together my family tree at age 26, but hit a wall as with all this technology it still doesn’t replace the education & knowledge that comes from one’s mother/or father’s story! It’s hard sometimes to accept yourself without knowing your true attribute and beauty you and your ancestors’ posses, the strength and courage of black history and history as a whole is an admirable honor! I am encouraged now by the love of my family to continue to search for the things they missed as a child and to seek the knowledge they never possessed, but think of how great it could be if we all knew of our roots, we must continue to encourage our children and enlighten them of our knowledge, doing so will give them a since of belonging and pride of history in the making!! So the next time your child is made fun off for rocking their kinky hair, they will already have knowledge of true beauty and can hold their head high…and say MY ROOTS ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!:)
I am a work-at-home mother and I homeschool my daughter. She is in Kindergarten and we have already begun teaching her her family history and incorporating it with US geography. I felt that it was VERY important for her to know where her grandparents and great grandparents were born and all the states they lived in before settling where they are now (or that last place they lived before death). She is learning what jobs and positions they held, how her grand and great grand parents migrated to different areas of this country. It allows her to connect with stories and news in a real way. Once she was playing and overheard a news broadcast that mentioned Florida. She stopped and yelled, “Did he just say Florida? That is where Poppa was born!” I think it is making her feel that this country is OURS as African Americans and I hope to one day know where we have come from in Africa to connect her and our future children further to our roots. Thank you for this contest, it will make some dreams come true!
I think it is important for our children to know where they come from because as a whole our country has lost its sense of family. Familys no longer get together for the most part the way they used to as they once did when my parents were coming up or even my grandparents. I am 37 years old and my kids are 11 and 15. I knew each and everyone of my cousins first counsins and on down. My kids as well as my cousins kids do not know many of their aunts and uncles because family does not come first and we have lost the value. Family used to be the center of everything and in todays society it has fallen to the end of the to do list. Households get together for holidays but brothers and sisters aunts and uncles cousins and on down the line do not gather to tell stories of where the family started so our kids have no knowledge of where and how the family came into existence. My grandmothers family has a reunion every year and it gets smaller and smaller every year not because the people no longer exist but because it is no longer a priority to the younger generation. We must make it a priority to our kids and to be able to explain to our children the history of where we came from can make a difference and they will have more of an interest. My grandfather was from a small town in Kentucky and he had three siblings we have no idea who his parents were if they had siblings or where those branches extend to. Our kids should have this information to pass down for generations to keep the history as it is important.
Knowing your roots shapes your Identity on how you live,move,eat and go through life dealing with situations that you my face in life. Knowing your roots helps you to prosper as a nation as well. When knowing your roots it allows you to become a better person for society as well, when faced with not knowing your roots people tend to start trying to identify themselfs with different things in the world that they can relate to, but instead it ends up being that the IMAGES of the world starts to shape thier reality due to a race or nation of people trying to find thier true roots to identify themselves as a person with purpose who thn can hold thier heads up and be proud of where thier roots stemed from.Once knowing your roots thier is a scence of pride that comes along with it. Knowthyself by learning yourself and who u are as a race and a nation. Your roots are in your DNA. it will never leave u.
As a mother of two it is important that my children know their roots, so they can use information to determine how they best can contribute to their own development. They also will use their knowledge to contribute to the history of the family. When you know your ancetry and where your roots begin, the children learn to identify with cultural developments that have taken place over the years. They can use the knowledge of their past to determine how to proactively respond to their futures. They can identify point people and events to reference for thier own knowledge. This will help to build the self-esteem of my son and daughter and encourage them with direction as they continue to grow.
They will be able to see themselves as attached to specific facts about themselves, instead of being attached to stories that hold no direct connection to their pasts.
It is important for our children to know their roots because it helps then to define themselves, it builds self-confidence and character! How can children reach their full potential except that they know what qualities and traits they already possess; characteristics for them to expand upon. Also, it cuts down time for children to find out “Who they really are!” Alot of time you hear young adults say they’re searching for “who they really are” or they’re “trying to find themselves” That’s because they don’t know about their foundation, their roots.
If any apple fell off a tree, and a gust of wind blew it far away from it’s environment and it landed in an orange grove; that apple would be confused. But the need for acceptance, the apple would then try to act like the orange. It might even call itself a red-orange, trying to “find itself” That apple will get overlooked by the pickers who only came there to pick oranges. That will affect the apples’ self-esteem and self-worth causing it to roll over to a corner tree and hide being left unnoticed. Until……..another apple, who understands that it was blown away from it’s environment, meets up with the red-orange and says “Hey apple, what you doing over here?” And the apple, with an insulted and confused look says, “Who you calling an apple, im a red-orange!” And the patient apple then explains to the red-orange why he must not act like an orange, and tells it the story about all the apples that look and act like him on the apple tree across the way, bringing clarity to the red-orange’s understanding of its purpose.
Our children must learn about their roots because in the event the apple does fall too far from the tree, it is and will always still be an apple!
It’s very vital as well as important for our children to know the their roots as well as the mere journey of their ancestors. When our children learn what strong spirits existed amongst their long gone ancestors, then will they have faith that they too are strong and important. Life can be hard and discouraging, knowing the events that took place so that their lives would be enriched and enhanced. Children would gain insight on how the treament of their ancestors change the world for every race. They would know the honor and pride from which their roots grew. How their people loved their land and the country where they came from. It’s important for our children to understand the unique details that there for-fathers bestowed. The importance of understanding how far away from home their blood flows.
I am so very excited to find this blog and website. I love history and I am an amateur geneaologist. (As my insane schedule permits, I am actively searching for missing relatives in the DC area). I am the one in my family that makes sure everyone knows everyone. One of the saddest things I encountered was my cousin, standing in a school picture with her half brother, and the two of them did not know each other. Thankfully, that has been remedied. This along with my love for my family and history fueled my interest in our heritage. I have been actively encouraging my relatives both young and old to get and stay connected. Talk to your grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle….ask questions. Your family can be a wealth of information.
Not only our kids but we as a people need to know more about where we came from, how came to be where we are, and who we are. We need to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror and love who we are….as we are. Instead, our youth use the television as their mirror. Many of our African American youth determine their worth by that mirror….their television set. We have to do better. Black history should be more than one month a year. Our history is rich with information….information about our struggles, our achievements, our accomplishments, our ups , downs, …I could go on. Our heritage is not rich in terms of monies, but rich in terms of love, truth, achievement, struggle, and triumph. We have overcame to a degree, true enough, but we have yet to reach the top of the mountain. Please keep up the great work. This website is wonderful.
It is important for children to know their roots. By knowing their roots, they will be able to appreciate who they are. They will develop pride in themselves. Having to generalize who you are and where you came from is like having no identity. When you are able to pic out and identify those specific qualities mean more. My family is very artistic and musically inclined. We always point out that trait to the children in our family. They strive more in those areas because they know it’s in them. By knowing where we came from and those other special qualities, we can walk tall and proud and embrace who we are.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR OUR KIDS TO KNOW THEIR ROOTS?
When our children know their history and the legacy of greatness from which they have come, they work harder and try their best at everything they do. It helps them to recognize that they/we did not come this far on our own, but in part because of the blood sweat and tears of their ancestors. Knowing our history also instills a sense of greatness within us and our children, knowing that people in our family lines were doctors, lawyers, kings, queens, artists, etc. and that because of this they (our children) can also do all those things and so much more. I believe that as we teach our children about their heritage we are building their self-esteem and confidence. This is why it is important for our children to know their roots!
It is important for our kids to know there roots because it gives them an identity. It gives them a name. A name is more precious than rubies, worth more than gold. There is power in a name. I don’t believe that the almighty creator discovered us in America. I believe he/she knew us at our youth. To know where you come from is knowing God. When you know who you belong to it gives you power to overcome the many obstacles the world throws at you. Our youth need that weapon in their life.
This is just a response to Sister Jolyn Walker. I just want to say thank for taking the time to write me, I have recently watched someones video on youtube about their trip to Ghana and visiting the El Mina Castles. At that point I made up my mind that I have to go, it’s my mission, I have to take that pilgrimage back to Africa and just breath the air walk on the original land of my people. I can only imagine, just thinking about it makes me nervous. You are very correct, you said that we made it, we are still alive, I find that very inspirational, it made me realize that I do have a lot to be proud of. My ancestors didn’t let this kill them and they are still alive through me.
I will hold my head up I have nothing to be ashamed of I am a proud young African woman and once again thank you Mrs. Walker your words are very appreciated. 
It is so very important for our children to know their roots because they will know that they came from strong, powerful people. They will know that our people struggled to stay alive so that we could continue. They would know of the determination to survive as many of our ancestors were brought here in chains on slave vessels. They would know the pain and the triumphs of our people carving out a place for themselves and ultimately for us in this country and know that they were willing to fight for the right to walk, sit, stand eat, and work beside those very people who were their oppressors. I think there wouldn’t be so much black on black crime if our young people knew where they came from as there would be pride and self love instead of the self hatred that is so apparent, even today. They would have something sturdy to connect to instead of the shaky foundation that many of us have tried to build upon. I have tried researching my ancestry and I can only get to a certain point before my family line seems to just evaporate (how sad that a part of me is lost forever). It is so important for us to pass along our history and lineage so our up and coming generation can remain connected not only to family, but to us as a people. To take pride in our uniqueness and embrace our similarities to our brothers and sisters in Africa. I look at my sons when they dance and they seem to not even know that some of the same movements that they do are moves from people we descended from. I ask this question: What would our ancestors expect of us? Would they expect us to kill each other? Hate each other? Live a life of mediocrity? Or would they expect us to learn from their struggle(s) and make them proud that their lives were not lived in vain? It is my hope that all young black people and some older ones as well read David Walker’s Appeal, it was self published by him around 1829, but still so relevant in 2010.
My mother passed away when I was 10 years old and all her siblings and parents preceded her in death. Because I was so young, I had no way of trying to track down any surviving cousins to help piece the puzzle together. That has always been a desire of mine to locate other members of my mother’s family. I have two children who I am unable to give any information about their maternal grandparents, maternal great-grandparents or cousins. I took my kids to the America I Am exhibit just to give the insight on what our ancestors endured so that we/they could have equality. The exhibit answered some of their questions, but there are still the important questions about our family history/tree. I do not want to leave my kids with the unanswered questions of their heritage.
To have a better understanding of where they come from, the struggle, the victory and all. To have more respect of themselves and others
Our kids represent our greatest hopes and dreams. In order for them to be better and do better than we ever hoped for, they must know where they come from. Researching my family history for the past thirteen years, it pains me that the people who could’ve made acquiring information easier are no longer here. Those stories, the memories, the people are cold in the ground. History only remembers the great and powerful; I want my children to be proud of the people in their family because they shaped the course of our personal history. They lived and laughed and sacrificed and thought and acted and worked hard for their family. I work hard now to codify that history so my children will be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor and continue researching and learning about those who came before them so they may honor their legacy and be inspired to create their own.
Our children need to know where they come from for one simple reason: they need to know what’s expected of them. When they know what their family has accomplished or what their race has accomplished, I believe that it can give our kids a sense of pride never seen before. While MLK, Malcolm X and Rosa Parks are all good people, we should expose our children to more. Let’s tell them about Addison Scurlock and how he changed the way the world viewed African-Americans by photographing our middle class in D.C. Let’s educate them about Black Wall Street and spin that into learning to manage money. Let’s even tell them about the cowboys/cowgirls and our presence in the Wild West. I’m only 25 years old and my daughter may be only three, but my husband and I are determined to let our daughter know where she comes from and essentially where she fits in. She will learn to honor and respect those that come before her and in turn create a niche that’s all her own.
Our children are growing up in a time when black and white issues have turned into gray issues. Their friends are of all races and nationalities. That is not a bad thing, but it sometimes lessens the importance of who we are as black people. I remember when Obama won the Presidency and everyone went crazy with joy and my 9 year old son asked why everyone was so happy that Obama won. I explained how historical it was for an African American to win and he just shrugged his shoulders and said “I don’t get it, why wouldn’t he win, he was the best person.” That blew me away. The world is changing. For the first time, my son’s school is teaching them about other people besides Martin Luther King Jr. I was shocked and pleased at the same time. I try to expose my kids to the many accomplishments of Blacks and Africans, but sometimes it is forgotten from one year to the next. Our children need to know how excellent it is to be black. My father is from Panama and two years ago I visited the town he grew up in. I felt renewed; I felt a connection to something bigger than me. I realized that the hardship of black people is all over this world and I also realized that I sometimes (a lot of times) forget that my roots run deep in two locations- here in the USA and in Panama- with the commonality being Africa. On my mother side, she doesn’t have a clue as to where her ancestry begins, she know she was born in Texas. She grew in a household where no one shared and now that she is older and I ask her about her family, she can’t tell me much. I want my kids to know who they are and be proud of who they are. I want to be able to pinpoint a place on the map to show them where their history begins. If I won the kit, I would share it with not only my kids, but my family as well. It’s important to teach them where we came from. I believe if we have pride in ourselves, children today will be less destructive.
Why is it important for our kids to know their roots? Because there is a comfort in knowing who you are and who’s you are. I know that it takes more than blood to make a family but there is something powerful and empowering in knowing your people, where they come from, the journeys they’ve taken, and the triumphs they’ve experienced. I believe that it is something else to learn that you are a natural caring, compassionate, and giving person just as your great-great-great aunt was. Or perhaps you are the “misunderstood” artsy one in your family and you learn that one of your relatives was a very talented poet or painter. Maybe you wonder why you tend to run away when you feel trapped and then you discover that there was a life altering situation, hundreds of years ago, with a past family member that set this type of behavior in motion. I believe that one of the reasons that some of our children today feel so lost is because they have no real sense of their history. They have nothing to look back on and feel as if they have to succeed or press on because they come from a people who have perservered. With some many broken and displaced families, our kids today are not afforded the opportunity to take pride in who they are and where they come from. I believe that when you know your roots, it avails you the chance to believe, way down deep in your being, that you matter. When you believe that you matter, you make better choices. When you make better choices, you are provided greater opportunites. When you are provided greater opportunities, you can see a brighter future. Knowing your roots, is like being a mighty tree in the midst of a drought. Even though there is no moisture on the surface and things make look rough, those strong roots that are buried deep in the ground are able to sustain it until rain comes. And our kids will be like that. When adversity comes….when drought comes…..because they know that their roots run deep, they will be able to survive and thrive.
Everyone should know where they come from
Our children take for granted many things in life for example obtaining an education, going to integrated schools,dating outside their race & not being the property of another person.Our children must be educated that life was not always the way it is now. They have to know where they come from & how many selfless ancestors through many generations endured hardships, humiliations, persecution & trials & tribulations so that their future generations could live a life of freedom. All our ancestors have one thing in common they knew that God’s love was stronger than life itself & that an education was the key to a better life.
It is important that we pass down a legacy to our children. That legacy is the knowledge of our African heritage. Our children must know who they are, because they need to have a sense of belonging. Black children in the Diaspora, especially America, are struggling to survive without a cultural foundation. It is important to belong to a family. Your family gives you comfort, peace and keeps you rooted. It is the same with knowing what African family you descend from. I believe it will provide comfort, peace, and a spritiual and cultural ground that has been missing in their lives and is much needed. Not for just our children, but our childrens’ children.
THE REASON OUR KIDS SHOULD KNOW THEIR ROOTS IS BECAUSE THEY NEED AN FOUNDATION WHERE THEY CAME FROM WHAT GREATNESS THEY HAVE INSIDE THEM, AND THEY CAN GO FAR IN LIFE. I OFTEN ASK MYSELF THESE QUESTIONS WHO I’M I? FROM WHAT CHARTHER OF PEOPLE HAD GOD CHOSEN TO CREATE ME.THEY ALSO NEED TO KNOW IF THERE IS HEREDITARY ILLNESS WHEN THEY CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN HAVE CHILDREN THEY CAN AT LEAST TRACE IT BACK.LIKE MYSELF I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT BOTHER SIDE OF MY FAMILY WHEN YOU START TO ASK QUESTION THEY SHY AWAY FROM ANSWERING.WHEN MY KIDS ASK I CAN ONLY TELL THEM I DON’T KNOW.SO I WOULD LIKE TO WIN THIS KIT TO GET MY FAMILY TREE STARTED SOME WHERE. I ONLY HAVE FEW OF MY FATHER SIBINGS THAT LEFT TO TALK TO.
I would love for my children to learn more about their African roots.
My son attended an Africentric school and was taunted about his mixed-heritage.
He would boldly respond with, “Most of us are mixed”. He also once said to a group of kids, “You behave like you do because you don’t know who you are, if you knew you came from Kings and Queens you wouldn’t do the things you do”. My son is ‘aware’ of his Blackness, but I know he would be so proud to say beyond a doubt where his roots are!
All children would benefit from knowing their roots because it would empower them, it would help them develop a personal sense of history, and a strong sense of identity. Here in America, it is especially difficult for African American and mixed race children to find a cultural identity.
When my kids were expected to participate in cultural awareness month at school, we were really at a loss and it was hard on us as a family. If my children were to know their African roots, I know this would be a life changing and meaningful experience for them. I know they would embrace their roots and their ancestors.
We depend upon our elders to pass down stories, however, due to slavery and other disparaging conditions, most African Americans have lost their connection. Knowing, beyond a doubt, your genetic lineage and ties to Africa can change your life.
My children speak proudly of the Dogon people, the Akan, Ashanti and ancient Egyptians. I could only imagine the even greater sense of pride they would have if they could say, “I am ______”.
If you don’t know where you came from, how can you know which direction you are heading?
As I work with children (teens) everyday, I see how their lack of knowledge and understanding of who they are and whence they have come has left them without a sense of purpose.We teach them how to do things, and tell them how they should act, but they don’t understand how to have pride in themselves while respecting others.
I grew up hearing the stories of my family. Much of my family’s knowledge came from the oral passing of the story, until we were able to look up old census and property records. As the fort-five year old great-grand daughter of a man born enslaved in the U.S., I yearn to know about those that came before his mother and to have the ability to pass that information to my sons and their descendants. But, what I’ve also learned, and try to pass on to my students and my own sons, is that we can take a collective pride in the accomplishments of those that came before us, not just the great inventors, civil rights leaders and activist that we read about. There have been ordinary people who’ve made a difference in the lives of their families and neighbors by doing things that were sometimes small and sometimes courageous, but had an impact. If our children can learn that they descend from people like that, I believe it can shape their sense of purpose and have a positive impact for generations to come.
It’s important that our children, my children and grandchildren know their roots so they don’t feel the way I feel. As a 45-year old grandmother who’s lost both grandparents and a mother, I’m struggling with simply knowing. I remember things my mom told me as fact but can’t be validated by anyone else. Most African Americans have been told, there’s Indian in our family. Whether that’s true is another story all together. As each generation passes away, so does a large piece of our history. The unfortunate part is there is no way to recover it outside of DNA testing.
I sit today and wished someone had compiled enough information that could be passed on, added to, protected and shared for the generations to come. No one did it before me so I feel like it’s my responsibility to find out. To share, to encourage this knowledge with my children and my grandchildren. It’s my “responsibility” to not let another generation pass without getting the history and information that would otherwise die with them.
I’ve taken two trips to South Africa. The most recent trip I took on my birthday. While visiting the Apartheid Museum, there is a plaque with a saying that I love. It goes something like this. “No matter where you’re from, where you are or what your race, EVERYONE originated from Africa.” My heart is with the African people. I’ve never felt more at home anywhere else in the world than Africa. With my first visit, it’s become a place I will explore from bottom to top.
For my children and grandchildren to know their roots? It’s my responsibility to ensure that they know, protect and share it with the generations to come.
Teaching children their roots is the most important thing that you can do for them. I am a sixty year old interracial woman who up untill a month ago knew nothing of my African American hertitage. I was raised by my mother who is Italian and sadly for me that is the only culture that I knew. Of course I knew that I was also Black but I had no family to relate to. Miracle of miracles was when I found grandparents, aunts, uncles and more on Ancestry.com. I was estatic to finally belong to someone whose blood was flowing thru my veins. Children need to know who they came from in order to be able to love themselves.I felt shame and a sort of detachment from other blacks who I felt would not accept me. I was so wrong but honestly that is how I felt!! Self hate will destroy you over time and hurt you tremendously. All the years that I spent in therapy were a waste of time for me. The day I found my African American relatives was the day I finally felt complete.A child needs to know where he came from in order to be happy in this life.
I use my own personal experience as a testimony to why it is important for our children to know their roots. One of my early childhood memories was the elementary school geneology project. Year after year each teacher would have their students present out whatever information they had on their family history. I remember the parade of family crests originating in Ireland, England, and Scotland. I remember the stories from my classmates on how their great grandparents escaped from some tyranny or overcame some obstacle and arrived here in the United States. I remember the pride in their faces. It was in sharp contrast to the confusion that I felt. All of the books and African American games depicting the contributions of our people that my mother bought me could not change my feeling of being a decendant of nothing more than slaves. I knew there was greatness in Africa, but I could not ever find a connection to it beyond my skin color. As I matured I intellectually came to know there was more to me than just a history of slavery, but emotionally I longed to know my story. It was a story I would not know until a year ago.
My children now have the gift of knowing their story. They are proud to be able to speak of their ancestry and know where they are from. They are strong in their beliefs that their ancestors overcame adversity and to know where that adversity began. Most importantly they are priviledged to be able to one day provide to their children the gift of knowing the answer to the question I so wanted to know as a child. Where did I come from? They have knowledge and knowledge truly is power. Knowing their roots has empowered them. Every child deserves this.
It is important because by knowing their roots a child can truly understand that, their past history is the roadmap to their future. What they learn in school is history, but who’s history is it? Our history has been cover up by a veil of false pretenses and hidden doorways. Our children have become the product of these injustices and shackles of the mind. They look at TV, magazines and billboards, then look at their own appearance and feel ashamed of their own features. Then to offset this they attempt to live as and share the same history with a people they feel have a true history. These roots they do not know are the same as a beautiful youthful tree being uprooted then toss aside, all hope is lost. Slave stories, and the spilled blood of slaves to the youth who does not know his roots, becomes a burden that they try to hide by portraying themselves as a soul who cares not at all about his history but more about his present. But if they open there minds to what was and not what is, they can follow the trail of tears, back to the footprints in the sands, back to the villages and centers where their ancestral people once stood with their heads high, loving the place they called home.
So once again to answer that question, “Why is it important for our kids to know their roots?” This analogy puts it in simple terms: That youthful tree that was discussed earlier and was described as being tossed aside with all hope lost, has been given a second chance by being rooted again, so now all hope is regained. So the same should be with our kids, not knowing their roots gives them the sense of all hope being lost, but by knowing their roots, hope of a better day is regained.
When I was growing up, I knew I was different than many of the boys and girls I went to school with. I had 11 siblings and I saw so many variations among us. I knew there were more reasons why I like the things I did. Why I liked reading novels about slavery and African American history when my classmates had no interest. Why I was so drawn to and hypnotized by Cuban music and dance. I knew it had something to do with the seed that I grew from. When I asked my parents about our heritage, I got very limited responses. So I’ve always lived my life feeling like there was some part of me waiting to be found, to be freed. Can I really be myself if I’m missing some of the pieces? As I write this tears are streaming down my face because it really hurts. It hurts struggling to educate the people around me on our culture and history when I don’t fully know my own. I have two daughters, and lots of nieces and nephews. I don’t want them to feel the same way. I want them to be proud of who we are as a family, as a people, as a culture. That’s the only way they can be REALLY successful human beings. THAT is why knowing their roots is important!
My son is 17 years old and has only met his father once. He has no knowledge of his paternal side. On my side, he has a close relationship with his grandmother and remembers his great-grandmother, who died when he was 4 years old. Even for myself, the family is limited in the knowledge of our maternal great grandmother’s family because when she married our great grandfather, it seems she did not keep in contact with her family – a sister moved to Illinois. But it would mean the world to connect the pieces to the puzzle of my son’s family history to give him a real sense of belonging, despite the negelect of his father.
It is important for our youth to know their roots so that they can TRUELY reconnect to themselves. I work very hard to make it a lifestyle for my 2 homeschooled children to grow up in an “African Centered” educational environment. Living in Oakland, California, where there are over 100 homicides per year, the majority of them unsolved, and being committed on and by our young black youth, I find that this knowledge of self is often one of the only escapes our youth today have from the gang violence and inherited oppression. It is not hard here to feel like a “prisoner” of the neighborhood. There are constant sounds of gunshots, sirens and police helicopters with their accompanying blinding lights.
I make very little money. I am frequently disabled by chronic pancreantitis and liver complications. I make sacrifices for my children to be able stay at home with me. They have become true scholars and we dedicate all of our time to learning our history and culture. It is imperative to me that my children know the greatness of where they came from and therefore are not limited in their thinking. We do not belong to this particular block, we do not belong to these particular streets, or this particular part of town, or any particular gang color. Our people and our culture is much, much BIGGER than these petty things that too many today’s youth are willing to fight and even kill for, and knowing where we are truely from will instill that greater world view and sense of purpose in these children. They in turn, can help their peers in changing the tides of this community, and this country.
This year we have just saved enough money to take an “African Global Presence” online course with Bro. Runoko Rashidi, where mine is the only youth amounst a network of elders. We, as a family, spend countless hours on the internet and in the library guiding the children through history, math, science, and culture lessons so that they may be made well-rounded people and better contributing members of the global community.
I myself have been blessed enough to have been sent (as a recovery gift from a dear friend) to Ghana in 2006, at the age of 26, to watch the festivities of Ghana’s 50th Independence Day celebration. I traveled as a part of the UNIA and kept the company of the Hon. Marcus Garvey’s youngest son, Dr. Julius Garvey. I could not afford to bring my family, or really to eat out, or go on the tours, but I did get a strong sense of the people and I have the story of the journey to give to my future grandchildren. That is my greatest achievement besides the birth of my two little girls.
Children are the most important thing to me in the world, and knowing their history will help them tremendously in boosting their self confidence, and their sense of belonging that so many yearn for. Before I became a “Homeschool Mom”, I taught second grade at Marcus Garvey School in South Central Los Angeles. I dedicated all of my days and nights to this cause, and I still do today. Winning this contest would be the greatest gift I can give my family and the biggest blessing. It is truely the gift that keeps giving. For my children to be able to educate their children on their ancestry, not only would they benefit, but their great-great grand children would benefit as well.