To celebrate Black History Month, Milbank LLP hosted an event in the firm's Hudson Yards office in February to learn from Dr. Gina Paige, the co-founder of African Ancestry.
“Founded in 2003 by Dr. Rick Kittles and Dr. Paige, African Ancestry is the world leader in tracing maternal and paternal lineages of African descent having helped more than 1,000,000 people reconnect with the roots of their family tree. With the industry’s largest and most comprehensive database of over 30,000 indigenous African DNA samples, African Ancestry determines specific countries and specific ethnic groups of origin with an unrivaled level of detail, accuracy and confidence. African Ancestry is committed to providing a unique service to the black community by working daily to improve the cultural, emotional, physical, spiritual and economic wellbeing of people across the African Diaspora.” - African Ancestry Inc.
Dr. Paige noted that to define one’s own identity, a name and place of origin are the starting points. But for many African Americans, their names weren’t their original names, and their origin places weren’t documented. The United States didn’t record African Americans' names or ages in the census until 1870, although enslavement began in America in 1619. That is over 200 years of history lost.
Milbank partner Kamal Nesfield co-moderated the conversation with Dr. Paige as she explained the science behind ancestry tracing, utilizing one’s maternal or paternal DNA to discover their unique lineage.
Psychologists tell us that knowing where you’re from tells you who you are. “Most of the popular genetic genealogy test kits provide you with a percentage breakdown of your ancestry ... but we don’t need a percentage to tell us that we’re African,” Dr. Paige noted. “That’s why African Ancestry provides the specific African country and tribe of origin on a single lineage.” From our place of origin, we find the values, cultural beliefs, and heritage within our genetic story that shapes who we are.
Earlier in the year our Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer Mikeisha Anderson Jones sent her DNA to African Ancestry, and was kind enough to have her results revealed during the event.
Milbank extends our sincere gratitude to Dr. Gina Page, African Ancestry Inc., our aADAM Affinity Group, and everyone who made this event possible.
