DNA tests put blacks in touch with their roots

Library fundraiser lifts consciousness while aiding a cause

Daniel J. Chacón, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, February 10, 2006

As a kid in school, Robert Willis used to cringe when he had to talk about his roots.

"You had friends who could basically talk about what part of Europe they came from, and I couldn't," he said. "I'd make up stuff. I knew it wasn't true, but now my kids don't have to make up anything."

That's because Willis, former president of the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce, took a DNA-based genealogy test tracing his lineage to Sudan in east Africa.

The revelation was made Thursday night during a fundraiser for the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St. The event, which included a keynote by world-renowned geneticist Ray Kittles, attracted about 700 people.

Willis was among 15 prominent blacks in Denver who submitted their DNA as part of the fundraiser.

With sponsorships alone, the event generated more than $50,000, which will be used to restore operating hours at Blair-Caldwell, one of about a dozen Denver libraries affected by budget cuts this year.

The $16 million facility, which opened in 2003, is in the heart of the Five Points neighborhood, a historically black community. Its collection is centered around the history, literature, art, music, religion and politics of African-Americans in the Rocky Mountain West.

To raise money for the library, Willis came up with the idea of asking well-known Denverites to take DNA tests, an increasingly popular endeavor among African-Americans trying to trace their roots.

Gina Paige, president of African Ancestry Inc., which developed the genetic database used to test the DNA of Willis and the others, said DNA testing will have the most transforming effect on black kids.

"We know that so many of our children don't learn much about their African-American history, let alone our history as people of African descent," she said.

"Psychologically, knowing where you're from is an important component of your identity and knowing who you are.

"By connecting our kids with their African history, that gives them a more positive, prideful sense of self."

Denver Councilman Michael Hancock, who took the test, which revealed the same ancestry as Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, lauded genetic testing.

"Think about it," Hancock said, "African-Americans are the only people who have been disconnected from their history. You ask most African-Americans, 'Where are you from in Africa?', and they can't tell you."

No matter how successful African-Americans become, Hancock said, something is always missing.

"It's kind of like a child who grew up without his parents," he said. "You can be successful, but you look deep in their eyes and you say, 'There's something missing. There's something vacant about you.' "

The test helped him fill that gap, Hancock said.

It also proved that blacks are survivors, he said.

"If you think about the power of people who survived that long passage (from Africa) after being captured and brought over here, those many years of slavery . . .

"I think that's a powerful thing about the people who are standing in front of you today," Hancock said.

"We are descendants of folks who had the genetic makeup to survive all that."

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5099