On December 26, 2010, over 50 African Ancestry family members traveled to Cameroon as part of the first ever, Ancestry Reconnection Program. The ARK Jammers Connection, an international group of musicians and music lovers who perform Acts of Random Kindness, sponsored this journey for DNA descendants of Cameroon to return to their country of origin.

There is no way to describe the impact of the 10-day experience in a single blog post. So, throughout the month, we will be sharing reflections of the trip here and on facebook.

One of the highlights for me was our visit to the primary school, Cite des Enfance in the city of Kribi. We were greeted by the 2-year old students who sang the national anthem with everything that they had.

The program that followed was a combination of poems, recitations, singing, and dancing. These primary school students are amazing. Their program was in English and French.

One of the members of our delegation, Sharon Dennis Wyeth, is a highly acclaimed children’s book author. She read her book, “Something Beautiful”, to the students and later donated 100 copies to the school.

But let me tell you….the dancing stole the show! As one member of our group put it, we are born with rhythm. It is in our DNA. Check out this showstopper.

dancing boy at school – kribi, cameroon from ralston smith on Vimeo.

Each of us was invited to leave an inspirational message for the students and plant a tree with two students to leave a legacy of something beautiful from their Cameroonian American brothers and sisters.

The entire ceremony was humbling and deeply moving.

View more photos of our experience at Cite des Enfance on our Flickr page!

AFRICANANCESTRY.COM UNLOCKS ANCESTRAL ROOTS OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. AND MARCUS GARVEY USING DNA AND THEIR LIVING DESCENDENTS

Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau identified as present-day countries of origin for Descendents of Renown Leaders

WASHINGTON, DC (September 2010) – For the children of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and social justice icon Marcus Garvey, DNA roots tracing has confirmed they have something genetically in common:  Both their paternal ancestries trace to Europe; and both their maternal ancestries connect them directly to Africa. AfricanAncestry.com, the pioneers of DNA-based ancestry tracing for African Americans, recently revealed the paternal roots of King and Garvey through their sons — Martin Luther King III and Dr. Julius Garvey respectively – during a special DNA Reveal Dinner hosted by the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation’s African Policy Summit in Atlanta on Sept. 26.

For the King Family, AfricanAncestry.com’s results complement the paper-trail research they’ve done on Dr. King’s paternal side, which traces to Ireland.  Martin Luther King III’s test also revealed his mother’s line, the late Coretta Scott King, who it was determined shares ancestry with the Mende people of Sierra Leone.

“One test can reveal the lineage of an entire family,” said Gina Paige, co-founder and president of African Ancestry. “As an African American, I’m personally proud and passionate about all the families we’ve been able to help since our inception several years ago.  It is of the highest professional honor that we’ve contributed to history by tracing the ancestries of these iconic families. This is truly a milestone for us.”

While Dr. Garvey’s paternal lineage traced to Portugal and Spain in Europe, his maternal line traced to present-day Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone and Senegal.  “It is actually not uncommon for paternal lineages of African Americans to trace to Europe due to the number of white male slave owners fathering children with enslaved African women,” said Dr. Rick Kittles, co-founder and Scientific Director for African Ancestry.

In addition to the Kings and Garveys, African Ancestry.com revealed the roots of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who shares ancestry with the Igbo people of Nigeria, and Dr. Carlton Brown, president of Clark Atlanta University, who shares ancestry with the Yoruba and Fulani people of Nigeria.

Contacts:

Nichole D. Taylor

ntaylor@africanancestry.com

The second to the last stop on the Road Tour was amazing! We were hosted by Joann Price and the Seniors Ministry of Union Baptist Church in Hartford, CT. The church was such a beautiful backdrop for sharing and learning about history from the seniors of the community.

Union Baptist Church

We revealed the ancestries of 10 members of the group and their results were met with much enthusiasm and excitement!

Excited Reveal!

Very Happy!

Now I have to tell you, I absolutely love JoAnn. She is a longtime supporter of African Ancestry. So I could not figure out WHY it was taking her so long to do her own test…until I got to the church. She has such a generous spirit that she kept giving hers away to one of the seniors! So, with their help, we got her to FINALLY do her test. I hope that she is my Fulani cousin!

JoAnn Takes the Test!

It wouldn’t be a church Seniors event without lunch. Woo-hoo!

Not everyone was a Senior…

Not Just for Seniors

We enjoyed meeting all of the families that joined us too. Ramona and John O’Neal have been following us online and we finally got to meet them in person!

The O'Neal Family

One more stop to go. Boston, we are on our way!

Victoria Reflects

Click here for more photos or video from Hartford.

We Are Africa 2010 road tour – Dr. Menzies – Fisk University & ancestors

Yep. We’re taking We Are Africa to the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia! Many know Richmond as the birthplace of Black Capitalism. But did you know that Richmond was the largest source of enslaved Africans on the east coast of America from 1830 to 1860? This part of the city’s history is documented along the Richmond Slave Trail, a walking trail that chronicles the history of the trade of enslaved Africans from Africa to Virginia until 1775, and away from Virginia to other locations in the Americas until 1865. (source: www.virginia.org) 

African Ancestry Family Member Dr. Shawn Utsey has made sure that Richmond is well represented on the We Are Africa Road Tour 2010.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of African American Studies,

the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, and the Library of Virginia will co-host the Road Tour. We are also honored to have the African Connection Network on board to help provide a diverse perspective.

Franklin Military Academy

701 North 37th Street

Richmond, VA 23223

August 8, 2010

4 – 6 pm

Join us for an engaging afternoon with an African Ancestry presentation, performance by Elegba Folklore Society, and heritage reveals of Virginia State Delegate Delores McQuinn and Dr. Maureen Elgersman Lee.

Virginia State Delegate Delores McQuinn

Dr. Maureen Elgersman Lee, Director, Black History Museum and Cultural Center of VA

Don’t forget! Bring your friends and family! And tell those who can’t make it to follow us here on the blog or on Facebook.

Dr. Dorothy Height was a tireless advocate for me. For 76 years, she led, defended, spoke out, represented, stood up, built, marched, loved, organized, and fought so that I would grow up healthy, safe, educated, employed, empowered, and successful. She didn’t just do this for me either. She did all of these things for all girls and women around the world. By clicking on her photo, you can view a photo gallery of her legacy.

Dr. Dorothy Irene Height

Dr. Height received numerous honors and distinctions, including 36 honorary degrees. We were honored with the opportunity to give this iconic woman the gift of her ancestry during the NCNW Black Family Reunion in 2006. She was delighted to learn that she shared ancestry with the Temne people in Sierra Leone. Believe it or not, Sierra Leone was the first African country to which she traveled! You can view her reaction here.

I spent four years in the Bay Area for college. During that time, we’d make an occasional road trip into San Francisco. Our perspective was always a tourist one. You know, cable cars, the wharf, eating, shopping, driving those steep hills, and things like that.

Queen Califia

Had I asked a real touristy question, “Where does the name California come from?”, I wonder if I would have learned that it is named after a mythical Black queen, Queen Califia. When I think of Black people in the Bay Area, honestly, I think of Oakland. I had no idea of San Francisco’s rich African American history.
For example, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett was a medical doctor, activist, and publisher. As the publisher of the Sun-Reporter, he built a weekly SF paper into an influential newspaper chain and fought tenaciously for civil rights in San Francisco for over forty years. San Francisco’s City Hall sits at One Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place!

Last weekend, I was invited by Rev. Dr. Amos Brown to present the African Ancestry Experience to the community at Third Baptist Church. It was the first Black church west of the Rockies has been a place of spiritual rejuvenation for Black San Francisco since 1852.

W.E.B. DuBois speaks at Third Baptist Church in 1958

I gave a presentation on the African Ancestry Experience to an engaging and diverse group. Several of San Francisco’s Black leaders were there as we revealed Rev. Brown’s Yoruba ancestry.  I think we may even have convinced Danny Glover to find his roots.

Actor and Activist Danny Glover

It was a wonderful afternoon in which I got to connect with African Ancestry family members who go back as far as 2003! I’m looking forward to welcoming some new Bay Area folks into the African Ancestry family in about six weeks. Thanks to everyone who attended that afternoon. I’ll see you in June!