The Truth of American Slavery Is in My DNA
With a last name like Feldkamp, I fully expected my DNA results from 23andMe to confirm what I thought I already knew. My ancestry is predominantly German. But it turns out that no, it isn't. I'm mostly British and Irish with less than 2% of my DNA coming from French and German ancestry.
That's not all. According to my DNA, I'm actually more sub-Saharan African than I am German. I have ancestry linked to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- countries in West Africa where people were captured and brought to the Americas during transatlantic slave trade that persisted for more than 400 years.
I do not pass the "one-drop rule," and I'm not surprised.
This does not change the fact that I am a white lady whose life has been full of all the privileges that being white in this world affords. However, as an American, it's undeniable that slavery is part of my history. It is part of my country's history and shows in my lineage. I may not have any specific family stories of plantations or slave owners, but that doesn't make the evidence any less true.
Slavery is embedded in our country's DNA and fully understanding its role in the creation of this country and its modern-day implications should be important to everyone.
Instead, since the moment slavery was abolished it has been downplayed and whitewashed. From the United Daughters of the Confederacy to Moms for Liberty and the Trump administration's aim to end so-called "radical indoctrination," the facts of chattel slavery in America have been understated and minimized in favor of the white hero narrative of colonial conquest.
A popular accusation from those who oppose teaching the painful truth of our history is that learning about racial inequities and white privilege is somehow a ploy to make white people feel bad about themselves. The perceived purpose of education is to shame. But shame is the tool of the oppressor, and it's because I've taken the time to deepen my understanding of racism that I do not feel shame. What I feel is the urgency to keep learning so I may act in meaningful ways to counter persistent racism.
Is slavery painful to learn about? Absolutely. The centuries-long atrocity of enslaving human beings is deeply disturbing. But the prevalence of white supremacy that depended on its existence still lingers and it is why racism and discrimination persist to this day.
It's not about shame. When people feel shame, they tend to hide the thing they feel ashamed of so as not to be subjected to judgement or ridicule.
I don't want to keep hidden the fact that our systems were set up to benefit white people like me. These systems include legislation and policies such as redlining, the GI Bill, restrictive voting laws and common police practices. You don't have to scratch very far beneath the surface to see that systems have not equally benefited a huge population of people in this country.
Ongoing efforts to forbid diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while banning books and undermining public education is what's shameful. Manipulating access to information is an act borne out of fear that our founding American truths will become abundantly clear to the masses. The more people truly understand the far-reaching tentacles of white supremacy, the more anti-racism will take hold. People-power is real and in light of honest education, the people will demand action.
Sub-Saharan African lineage showing up in my DNA only serves to strengthen what I know for certain. If you are American -- period -- then slavery is part of your family's story, and you deserve the opportunity to learn and understand its roots along with its generational fallout.
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