African Ancestry – Building a Family Legacy
by Veronica Henry
MyAfricanDiaspora.com started because of dream fulfilled. The vision was that after discovering our own ancestry, we could use technology to connect not only with our new ancestral homes, but with the larger community – the African Diaspora. One of the first things we wanted to do with the site was to pass along this gift, this thing that changed our lives, on to another person who would understand its weight, its value and the responsibility.
We found that person in Carmen Lane. Fittingly, at the end of Black History Month, she became the first of what we envision will be many winners of an African Ancestry trace. The contest was sponsored by African Ancestry. Founded by Ms. Gina Paige and Rick Kittles, PhD., the company uses a DNA swab to compare your results with samples obtained from the continent, in order to match ancestry to locations in modern day Africa.
For Ms. Lane, tracing her ancestry was something she had already considered. “I saw the contest on your site, and of course didn't think I would win,” she laughs. In fact, using only data, she was able to trace her paternal lineage back to Angola. Adding the maternal piece, using this new science was the final piece to a puzzle she had already been constructing.
Her test results revealed a shared ancestry with the people of: Guinea-Bissau (Balanta), Sierra Leone (Mende) and Senegal (Mandika). When asked if there was one word that could describe what this knowledge means to her, after a pause, Carmen says, “awesome”. She also notes the irony of how she's always felt an unexplained connection to Senegal, seems it really was in her blood.
Reactions from friends and family were mixed. Some friends were dismissive, others non-committal. But the elders in her family really got it. Carmen recounts a story of her grandfather who recently suffered from an illness that actually served to strengthen their family ties. “The first thing he said to his brother was, Carmen traced our ancestry, she knows where we come from.” That was all the validation she needed.
Adding this information to an already impressive arsenal she's built detailing her family history, Carmen feels like this just increases her sense of intimacy with the African continent, reinforcing some of what she already felt. “The one thing that is fascinating is that although we don't know what exactly we do that is African, African people can take one look at us and tell where we're from.” An artist, Carmen also saw similarities in her work to those in her ancestral homes. “When I looked at some of the art of the people of Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone - their style, how I see the world is connected to those people who are my ancestors and cousins.”
As for the future, Carmen looks forward to making her first trip to Africa. She believes that as her education on the culture and history of the Balanta, Mende and Mandika people continues, she'll find ways to support, serve and build the connections that previously only existed by blood into solid, mutually beneficial relationships.
M. Carmen Lane is founder of the Lane-Leota Group, a diversity and organizational development consulting firm located in Lansing, Michigan. She may be reached at thelaneleotagroup@comcast.net phone 517.580.7656