Now I know this is going to be controversial and I assure you it is not racist. It is just plain observant and not meant to be negative. Please take it in that vein.
I watch shows like “Finding Your Roots” and other genealogy-based shows. Quit often, when there is a black person on there you will see them hit a “dead end” when their ancestry gets to pre-Civil War years. I know that is a travesty and a disappointment. But, truthfully, while I understand the desire to get the names of those who came before, there is only additional tragedy going back to the day their ancestor was captured and enslaved in Africa. Even if they were able to track those wretched generations and individuals (and I understand the desire), the story would end there. There is no “lost” ancestry in Africa to explore. When their ancestors were enslaved, they were taken from peoples who had no records of who they were and who they came from. Forget Kunta Kinte for most everyone; it is not happening. So the wall they encounter is a wall, assuredly, but not a wall they would give much if breached.
Another thing I find strange is the troubling way Black treat their White ancestry. I have hear Black people say they are a product of White rape. Probably. Most likely. But possibly not. It does not matter. You genealogy says you are part White; pure and simple. From a genealogy standpoint you are a product of the White person or persons (notice I did not say MAN) in your background, You are every bit a part of that ancestry as you are Black, maybe not culturally, but racially. Own it.
As a side note, that brings to mind a thing that has troubled me for years. When Halle Berry won the Academy Award, in her acceptance speech she was effusive in her praise of her father, who was Black, and did not mention her mother, who was White. I do not have a problem with this except for something I discovered; her father abandoned the family when she was young and she was raised by her mother. I have a new spelling for hypocrite.
