I am African: Identity Formation

Identity formation is a crucial part of building your self-esteem. It is easier to understand your identity when you are a part of a larger group and you are able to discover your role and/or connection to that group. That connection gives you a sense of belonging and pride, which in turns help build your identity and self-esteem; this is why it is necessary for us to understand our heritage and origin which can be a large part of how we identify ourselves. This is the same concept as someone joining a sorority or fraternity in college; to be a meaningful part of a larger “experience.” Have you ever seen an AKA or Delta out with their sorors; you see the colors, you see the pride, you hear the chants– whether it’s the AKA’s “Skee-ee” or the Delta’s “OO-OOP” you know what they are reppin. They are reppin not just for the colors, the calls or the strolls they are reppin for what their organization stands for; the values, the culture and the principles the sorority was built on. The same goes for us in relation to knowing our heritage and origins. Do you know what you’re reppin? Do you know where your ancestors come from; their traditions, beliefs and values?

I do not know what I am fully reppin and most of us do not. I’m not talking about just being from a Caribbean island or born in the Americas. These places are only a fraction of our history. Our history also lies in the places our ancestors were from, Africa. They were stripped of their customs and traditions, so they can be brought to the West Indies and the Americas to be slaves. Years after slavery and after us making these places our home, we deal with a world that has created an atmosphere for us to hate our identity and aspire to adopt European looks, customs and traditions. Our beauty lies in our heritage, origins and culture which has gotten lost from generation to generation. Now I’m going to ask you again, do you know what you’re reppin?

*FacetoFaceAfrica.com

I have to say in the last ten years I’ve seen more and more black people really connecting to their roots and culture. Growing up, you got teased for being black (dark skin); you were called an African booty scratcher as if it was so horrible to be African. And someone please tell me how the scratching booty became associated with Africans?  Back then you had people disassociating themselves from being African, so they can fit in but now with the rise of black culture, Afrobeats, African dance and natural hair pride, it’s a “trend” to be African. I say a trend because out of no where everyone jumped from “eww, I’m not African” to wearing African garments and indulging in the culture. Understanding your roots is deeper than just dressing up for a trend, but if it’s just a trend I’ll take that too. It is positive at the end of the day! It is mentally moving us in the right direction.  Instead of aspiring to be different we are finally showing love for ourselves and culture out in the open. We are showing the world black is beautiful; black skin, black hair and black culture. I am definitely here for it!

We still have some black people who are not with it, even if it is a trend. I remember having a conversation with a friend the other day and I happen to mention all black people have African origins. My friend replied “Nah I’m Jamaican, I am not African” with a look of disgust on his face. In my head I’m like here we go. The African diaspora is real. As I stated earlier, our ancestors were taken to places like Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Americas for free labor. These places were built on the backs of our people but it’s not where our lineage starts. Yes, more recent generations of our family are from these places but where do you think your great great great great great grandma came from? I did not have the energy to debate so I just said “okay,” but then he asked me “if you are African what part are you from?” Just then I realized I was a part of that “trend” I spoke about.  At that moment just saying I am African was not good enough for me. There are 54 countries in Africa and I have no idea where my family is from. Often times I get stopped in the street and asked if I am Ghanaian. It makes me wonder if my ancestors were from Ghana. Needless to say, I never answered his question because I had questions of my own.

In recent years DNA testing has become really popular. I told myself I would try it so I can find out where in Africa I am from. Based on my results I plan on conducting a little research about the country and/or countries, cultures and traditions. In the near future I will travel to that/those place(s) to discover more. While I think the DNA test maybe able to help me on my journey, I do find myself questioning its authenticity. I am a little skeptical on the accuracy of the test results but why not try it anyway. I feel it will get me one step closer to answering my question and exploring another part of me.  Because of my skepticism I did research and I ask people who have taken DNA testing  about their experience.  I have a friend who is all black everything and she made it a point to discover her roots so she has taken multiple DNA test so she can compare her results, which were basically consistent across the board.

In my search to find the best DNA test I heard that African Ancestry was the cream of the crop. I really wanted to do African Ancestry but that $300 price tag for the kit made me think twice. Unfortunately,  $300 is a good bill or two or three in my household, so I had to seek elsewhere. My friend told me I should look into Ancestry because they have sales often.  I checked them out and guess what, they had a sale. I purchased the test a few months ago (back in March, which is a lot of months ago) but I haven’t taken it because I want to share my experience with all of you and do this video, which I’ve been procrastinating on. Below is part I to my identity video. Once I get my results I will do a part II to share my findings. I will then follow-up with another blog post really getting into the research I conduct based on my results and how I feel it has helped me with identity formation, self esteem and all things related. I am super siked to share this journey with you. Stay tuned. At the end of this post I listed a few companies who provide DNA testing. If you haven’t tried it yet give it a shot.

DNA Testing Kits:

African Ancestry

http://www.africanancestry.com/home/

23 & Me

https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=search_generic&utm_campaign=US_evergreen_sales_prs_shopping_ao&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInYW2sf3N4wIVhp6fCh2hXQyvEAQYASABEgJh3PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

myheritage

https://www.myheritage.com/dna/?currency_name=USD

Ancestry DNA

https://www.ancestry.com/dna/?o_xid=55534&o_lid=55534&o_sch=Paid+Search+Non+Brand

Family Tree DNA

https://www.familytreedna.com/?idev_id=1859&utm_source=1859&utm_medium=affiliate