I wanted to trace my DNA so I sent away for the Ancestry Project Kit.
All humans share some common bits of DNA, passed down to us from our www.ted.com African ancestors. Geneticist Spencer Wells talks about how his Genographic Project will use this shared DNA to figure out how we are — in all our diversity — truly connected.
Do you think you know who you are? Maybe Irish, Italian, Jewish, Chinese, or one of the dozens of other hyphenated Americans that make up the United States melting pot? Think deeper—beyond the past few hundred years. Back beyond genealogy, where everyone loses track of his or her ancestry—back in that dark, mysterious realm we call prehistory. What if I told you every single person in America—every single person on earth—is African? With a small scrape of cells from the inside of anyone’s cheek, the science of genetics can even prove it. Here’s how it works. The human genome, the blueprint that describes how to make another version of you, is huge. It’s composed of billions of sub-units called nucleotides, repeated in a long, linear code that contains all of your biological information. Skin color, hair type, the way you metabolize milk: it’s all in there. You got your DNA from your parents, who got it from theirs, and so on, for millions of generations to the very beginning of life on earth. If you go far enough back, your genome connects you with bacteria, butterflies, and barracuda—the great chain of being linked together through DNA. What about humanity, though? What about creatures you would recognize as being like you if they were peering over your shoulder right now? It turns out that every person alive today can trace his or her ancestry back to Africa. Everyone’s DNA tells a story of a journey from an African homeland to wherever you live. You may be from …
Gina Paige of African Ancestry on the Russ Parr Morning Show. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit www.africanancestry.com.
Watch Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, Leonard Pitts find his roots and travel back to Niger, Africa. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit www.africanancestry.com.
Meka Nichols and 4 teens discover their ancestral roots and talk about the significance of this knowledge in this 2-part Channel One special. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit africanancestry.com.
Watch as India Arie discovers her African roots and talks about its importance. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit www.africanancestry.com.
Watch Judge Hatchett find her African roots while helping a troubled youth change his criminal ways. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit www.africanancestry.com.
Watch as Susan Kidd (Emmy-award winning news anchor) discovers her African roots. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit www.africanancestry.com.
Watch as Dr. Dorothy Height (Chairman of the National Council of Negro Women) discovers her African roots. To trace your DNA and find your roots, visit www.africanancestry.com.