Herbert Blackson & DNA

He sports a magnificant smile. Passed through his genes? Add him to me and the picture glimmers. Many paper trails lead to a “brick wall,” the term genealogists use to describe dead end leads or cold paper trails. The metaphor compounds around the beginning of the 16th century when Africans are scattered throughout the Americas, Caribbean, Europe and Asia (Diaspora). Brick walls are initially constructed via name switching, primarily by the clergy who sanction the business of slavery with blatant disregard for African naming practices. During the colonial era the practice evolves on the continent, with Africans adopting European first names while leaving their surname intact. The information in Lorenzo Dow Blackson's autobiographical sketch is crucial yielding more than most researchers discover in the beginning stages of the journey. What's in a name? Palice Abrutas Darram. Was it changed to Blackson? The science of DNA testing is ever evolving. I read arguments--both pro and con. Consider migration patterns and a relatively small database of samples from both Africa and its Diaspora for the evidence to be conclusive. Surnames and DNA are two ends that must be twisted together especially if your ancestors are African. I visit cousin Herbert "Herbie" Blackson, the family reunion chaplin. He tells me family stories and I dunk his cheek swabs into preservative. His DNA is submitted to a lab for chromosomal analysis of both Y and mtDNA (mitochondrial). I try not to be excited by the prospects of knowing our country (s) of origin. It takes several weeks for the results to come back, which reveal our lineage is rooted possibly in both Cameroon and Kenya. The results also show we have distant cousins in Antigua. Smile.