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Thirteen: Genetic maps
Africa is the birthplace of humanity. If we go back far enough we all have grrrrrreat grandmas who lived in Africa. As tribes moved north to Europe, Asia, and North America about 60,000 years ago, genetic pools were diversified. You may have taken a genetic heritage test through 23andMe or Ancestry.com that tells you the populations you share genotypes with.
Skin color is one of the obvious traits controlled by our genes called phenotypes that changed as people moved around the world. Another trait was lactase persistence, the ability to digest human (or other animal) milk past the age of weaning. It is more likely that a person with lighter skin will be lactase persistent than a person with darker skin. But for years we categorized lactose intolerance as a disease, when it was actually the original trait. Now doctors know that if you can't digest milk, you are the "normal" one.
How many other traits do we think of as "normal" because they occur in the population that left Africa first? How about the kinks in our hair? Do you think of straight, thin hair as normal, and kinky curly hair as out of the norm? If you look at Michele Obama's hair throughout her life, she has definitely changed her look to have straighter, smoother hair. Are there other physical, visible traits that you believe are "normal" in whites that you see Black people trying to emulate in order to conform to popular notions of normal? Think of all the changes Michael Jackson made to his appearance before his death. Why do you think he did that? What message did you take from that? Do you think Beyonce looks better with blond hair? Do you think she is expressing her personal freedom of expression? Or do you think she is sending a message to young Black women that they need to look more European to be accepted as beautiful?
Your practice today is to think about that grrrrreat grandma of yours in Africa. Would she recognize you as a child in her family tree? Would she love you just as much, even though you look different than her? You are still African regardless of how much your appearance differs from your ancestors. Think about relatives you have that look very different than you do. Does their appearance affect your love of them?
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By Edie Milligan DriskillAfrica is the birthplace of humanity. If we go back far enough we all have grrrrrreat grandmas who lived in Africa. As tribes moved north to Europe, Asia, and North America about 60,000 years ago, genetic pools were diversified. You may have taken a genetic heritage test through 23andMe or Ancestry.com that tells you the populations you share genotypes with.
Skin color is one of the obvious traits controlled by our genes called phenotypes that changed as people moved around the world. Another trait was lactase persistence, the ability to digest human (or other animal) milk past the age of weaning. It is more likely that a person with lighter skin will be lactase persistent than a person with darker skin. But for years we categorized lactose intolerance as a disease, when it was actually the original trait. Now doctors know that if you can't digest milk, you are the "normal" one.
How many other traits do we think of as "normal" because they occur in the population that left Africa first? How about the kinks in our hair? Do you think of straight, thin hair as normal, and kinky curly hair as out of the norm? If you look at Michele Obama's hair throughout her life, she has definitely changed her look to have straighter, smoother hair. Are there other physical, visible traits that you believe are "normal" in whites that you see Black people trying to emulate in order to conform to popular notions of normal? Think of all the changes Michael Jackson made to his appearance before his death. Why do you think he did that? What message did you take from that? Do you think Beyonce looks better with blond hair? Do you think she is expressing her personal freedom of expression? Or do you think she is sending a message to young Black women that they need to look more European to be accepted as beautiful?
Your practice today is to think about that grrrrreat grandma of yours in Africa. Would she recognize you as a child in her family tree? Would she love you just as much, even though you look different than her? You are still African regardless of how much your appearance differs from your ancestors. Think about relatives you have that look very different than you do. Does their appearance affect your love of them?