African-Americans are a very diverse group. Some have dark skin, others have lighter skin; some have brown eyes, others have blue or green eyes. This means that there are a diverse amount of countries and continents that we get our ancestry from. I, for example, consider myself full black since all my relatives are black, but if I took a DNA test, then I would estimate the amount of pure African within me to be about 60-65 percent. I would be mixed with White and Native American ancestry. Not being pure African is just a reality for me and many other African-Americans who have ancestry in America for a long time. Mine dates back to the 17th century, so there was a lot of opportunities for consensual and non-consensual racial mixing. Unfortunately, the majority of racial mixing was due to corrupt practices such as slavery so where slave-masters raped slaves. There was significant ethnic mixing as well because slaves had their nationalities taken away from them and became one group so marriage based on ethnic lines was wiped out. Therefore, I come from a diverse amount of countries within Africa as well.

I think taking DNA test results can be pretty heavy for some because they previously had no clue how high their specific racial percentages are. This applies to me, but the DNA test does not mean too much for me. I identify as black and that's all so no matter what my biological racial and ethnic percentages are, I will still identify as black. However, I think it would be influential to find out what specific African countries I come from. African-Americans should embrace their African heritage because it allows one to have a stronger pride in their identity. Remembering your roots also undoes the damage done by the institution of slavery. However, having pride with your African roots is hard because Africa is a continent with so many countries and ethnic groups. So being told that you are from Africa is not very specific and makes your heritage seem less real. Therefore, if you do not know where in Africa you came from, then it might be harder to appreciate your ancestry. Being able to pinpoint the specific areas in Africa your ancestry is from would make your African ancestry seem more of a reality and it would be easier to have pride in it!

In terms of identifying with my Native American ancestry, I would probably not. This is because I do not know what relatives in my ancestry were Native-American since it was such a long time ago. On top of that I have no clue if it was consensual intermixing with Native-Americans or rape. Also, there are a lot of black people who have a significant amount of Native-American in them, such as Snoop Dogg (30 percent, in fact). I just look at this mixing as a reality of being in the country for such a long time and not being able to maintain biological racial purity. However, I still think its important for me and others to learn more about the Native-American struggle and acknowledge their race.

I would not identify as part white either—even if I found out I was more than 40 percent. Identifying with whiteness should not take away from ones identity in blackness, but I feel like it can and would for me. Just like a biracial person struggles with being two races, identifying with more then one race will not allow me to focus on my black identity as much anymore. I appreciate French and British culture and understand that my lighter skin might give me more privilege then darker African Americans, but how these cultures have interacted with my ancestors makes me feel like like a traitor to black people in general for choosing to identify with them even if I have white ancestors. I am trying to wipe out the negative effects of being taken away from Africa and losing African ties such as feeling insecure in my blackness. I want to identify strongly with my African roots and Black-American ethnicity so identifying as part-white seems counter-productive.