what a coincidence. i'm writing a series of articles about the growing interest of AA to trace their roots. i'm a journalist.

i've spoken with nearly 100 AAs over 2 weeks who have been researching their genealogy. what state do you live in? nearly every state has genealogical societies for blacks. they'll teach you how to start. i've spoken with AAs who've been able to trace back to the 1700s with official documents (national census records, birth/death certificates, marriage documents, slave owner's wills, property rights, etc.)

it's cool that your interested. let me know if you'd like to read the first article in the series i'm writing so u can get some tips. it will be published online tomorrow.

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that's a good step to take - know your root man.

Way to go. If only u knew nigeria and its people you wouldnt worry about being accepted cos the answer to your question is an emphatic YES. Nigerians are known and said to be very hospitable and accomodating people so feel free to come visiting when youre ready.

1forall:

Way to go. If only u knew nigeria and its people you wouldnt worry about being accepted cos the answer to your question is an emphatic YES. Nigerians are known and said to be very hospitable and accomodating people so feel free to come visiting when youre ready.

well said.

Good for you. Keep us in the loop on your journey.

can i know u?am online now maybe we can have a chat, jone2002ys@yahoo.com

Any positive movement towards becoming 'rooted' is great. It's worth understanding why you feel 'lost' though, is it through your parents lack of understanding of their culture or is it because of your environment, really be honest with yourself, is it external or internal, is it an inner feeling or are you fully sure, it is purely because you don't eat African food, can't cook it, can't speak the language etc. but you look like an African or like someone who is black??

What's getting you down, narrow down the root of the cause, because I would hate for you to do something rash like move into the depths of Africa to only feel like you don't belong again, it's not too late to become rooted, anyone can, you just need the right approach and the right mentality, willingness to learn, willingness to persevere (sp?), willingness to make mistakes and make corrections to those mistakes also matter greatly.

You are not alone, you are attached to us, as we are all attached to one another, African, non-Africans alike, we are all human being, and we all speak the same language of wanting-to-belong.

Are you close with your family, do you have siblings, how do you relate to your family, is there a place or person you can go to find out more about your direct (not necessarily your historical) heritage.


After you've figured out what is the source of this feeling, you can begin taking courses in language, dance and history, finding like-minded people, maybe travel and live in different places in the world, and really defining for yourself what it means to be you, and if that means it's your direct heritage then fine, if that means your future legacy in any family you create, then that's fine too, just do what feels right, and know that you're not alone.

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JMAN, there's an AA genealogy society in VA. it's a big one.

first start by joining that group. they'll teach u how to trace ur family genealogy. the research does take time.

secondly, if you want shortcut, do a DNA sample test for $300. it's really popular nowadays. africanancestry.com has the largest database of DNA samplings of indigenous africans. celebrites are now doing this: oprah, danny glover, forest witaker, chris rock, chris tucker, t.d. jakes

DNA will give you an idea of what ethnic groups in africa share some of ur DNA.

Did you know that there is a specialized DNA test that you can have done that can assist you in your quest? I don't know exactly what it is called but i know that lots of people are having it done on their quests to find the true ancestry. Your DNA is collected and compared to samples form all around the world. This helps you narrow your search.

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africanancestry.com actually tells you what ethnic group u may be from.
other DNA testing company just tell u what continent u may be from.

let me know if u want a link to my article. it tells how some folks got started in their roots search.

i suggest you contact national geographic. hear me out. they are doing a project i dont know if there is a fee involved but you can have your DNA tested and they will give you a detailed listing of the genetic markers of your DNA which can be used to trace your roots to a particular group of people. all regions of the world have specific genetic markers in them. only hitch though. men can only find out thier male relatives and women thier femal relatives due to the nature of the dna profile. its called the genographic project and you can order it from thier website. this is your best bet for finding out because otherwise your only guessing

Lost sheep finding her way home

I checked http://africanancestry.com/

Most AA are from Nigeria 

I don't know why some of you'all are acting so surprised that most of us AA are of Nigerian descent, because I've been telling you this ever since I first came on this board as Hero years back. Beyond just being of Nigerian descent, studies have pinpointed the fact of that the majority of us are SE Nigerian ethnic descent and more specifically Igbo descent. Nearly 60% of us are fully so and or of some significant amount of Igbo descent, making us the second largest holders of Igbo descent in the world behind the Nigerian Igbo population itself.

KB1:

I don't know why some of you'all are acting so surprised that most of us AA are of Nigerian descent, because I've been telling you this ever since I first came on this board as Hero years back. Beyond just being of Nigerian descent, studies have pinpointed the fact of that the majority of us are SE Nigerian ethnic descent and more specifically Igbo descent. Nearly 60% of us are fully so and or of some significant amount of Igbo descent, making us the second largest holders of Igbo descent in the world behind the Nigerian Igbo population itself.

just because MOST are nigerian doesnt mean all are. this poster seems to want to find out EXACTLY where he is from and obviously already has the general knowledge of most slaves were brough from the nigerian area

KB1:

I don't know why some of you'all are acting so surprised that most of us AA are of Nigerian descent, because I've been telling you this ever since I first came on this board as Hero years back. Beyond just being of Nigerian descent, studies have pinpointed the fact of that the majority of us are SE Nigerian ethnic descent and more specifically Igbo descent. Nearly 60% of us are fully so and or of some significant amount of Igbo descent, making us the second largest holders of Igbo descent in the world behind the Nigerian Igbo population itself.

you should limit yourself to Virginia when you make claims of this nature.

And most slaves were[b] NOT[/b] brought from Nigeria. You can say during a particular time frame certain slave ships travelled between Nigeria and Virginia plus a couple of other states. Thats the version you prefer so stick with that.

however, when your DNA gospel gets busted we'll see which other part of Africa gets the spotlight.

KB1:

I don't know why some of you'all are acting so surprised that most of us AA are of Nigerian descent, because I've been telling you this ever since I first came on this board as Hero years back. Beyond just being of Nigerian descent, studies have pinpointed the fact of that the majority of us are SE Nigerian ethnic descent and more specifically Igbo descent. Nearly 60% of us are fully so and or of some significant amount of Igbo descent, making us the second largest holders of Igbo descent in the world behind the Nigerian Igbo population itself.

I beg, stop lying! Enough already.

poster and kb1
If you want to find out your roots, i think they have DNA test for African Americans in the USA to discover there roots. I saw an amazing show on PBS a couple of years ago about it and it was incredible.

Poster, read this: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077132/

Nwaka77:

I beg, stop lying! Enough already.

Pls educate yourself.

hey @ poster

look up AFRICAN AMERICAN ROOTS PROJECT. they can tell u where ur from "technically"

Africhika, I have an authentic story line for you to do research on if you are interested. Get with me.

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