Discovering America's Black DNA
Wonder Cabinet
Wonder Cabinet Productions
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2021
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
DNA tests are uncovering family histories. In some cases they're also revealing mixed bloodlines and the buried history of slavery. For African Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? And does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice and social healing?
Original Air Date: March 10, 2018
Guests:
Alex Gee — Erin Hoag — Annette Gordon-Reed — Anita Foeman
Interviews In This Hour:
How Do You Know Ruben Gee? — Searching for America's Racial History in a Graveyard — Uncovering America's Buried History: The Story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings — Changing Our Conversation About Race Using Genetic Testing
Further Reading:
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's to the best of our knowledge from PRX. |
| 0:05.5 | What happens when you discover you're not just one race? |
| 0:11.0 | Your genes hold a very complicated story. |
| 0:15.4 | I mean, we grapple over who's oppressed and who's the oppressor. |
| 0:19.4 | If you dig back into your past, you have both. |
| 0:23.3 | I'm Anne Strange Champs. |
| 0:24.9 | Today, untangling America's complicated racial roots, |
| 0:28.6 | one family at a time, beginning with a road trip. |
| 0:32.7 | I was afraid of what I would feel. |
| 0:35.1 | Would it be awkward? |
| 0:36.3 | Would he be distant? |
| 0:37.3 | Would I be angry? And he opened the door and he hugged me. Would it be awkward? Would he be distant? Would I be angry? |
| 0:39.3 | And he opened the door and he hugged me. |
| 0:41.2 | He said, well, cousin Alex, |
| 0:43.9 | this older white guy in his early 70s hugged me |
| 0:46.8 | and invited my whole family into his home. |
| 0:49.5 | Root-seeking, genetic ancestry, |
| 0:51.7 | and the legacy of slavery. |
| 0:53.9 | Are we ready for new conversations about race? |
| 1:00.9 | Wisconsin Public Radio. |
| 1:09.1 | It's to the best of our knowledge. |
| 1:11.0 | I'm Anne Strange Champs. |
... |
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