DOC How To Trace Your African-American Roots: Discovering Your Unique History by Barbara Howell in History

Description

2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (Finalist)The unexpected story of how genetic testing is affecting race in AmericaWe know DNA is a master key that unlocks medical and forensic secrets; but its genealogical life is both revelatory and endlessly fascinating. Tracing genealogy is now the second-most popular hobby amongst Americans; as well as the second-most visited online category. This billion-dollar industry has spawned popular television shows; websites; and Internet communities; and a booming heritage tourism circuit.The tsunami of interest in genetic ancestry tracing from the African American community has been especially overwhelming. In The Social Life of DNA; Alondra Nelson takes us on an unprecedented journey into how the double helix has wound its way into the heart of the most urgent contemporary social issues around race.For over a decade; Nelson has deeply studied this phenomenon. Artfully weaving together keenly observed interactions with root-seekers alongside illuminating historical details and revealing personal narrative; she shows that genetic genealogy is a new tool for addressing old and enduring issues. In The Social Life of DNA; she explains how these cutting-edge DNA-based techniques are being used in myriad ways; including grappling with the unfinished business of slavery: to foster reconciliation; to establish ties with African ancestral homelands; to rethink and sometimes alter citizenship; and to make legal claims for slavery reparations specifically based on ancestry.Nelson incisively shows that DNA is a portal to the past that yields insight for the present and future; shining a light on social traumas and historical injustices that still resonate today. Science can be a crucial ally to activism to spur social change and transform twenty-first-century racial politics. But Nelson warns her readers to be discerning: for the social repair we seek can't be found in even the most sophisticated science. Engrossing and highly original; The Social Life of DNA is a must-read for anyone interested in race; science; history and how our reckoning with the past may help us to chart a more just course for tomorrow.From the Hardcover edition.