Talk:African American Lives

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Criticism section

The Criticism section doesn't make sense, and I'm not sure how to fix it. First of all, it says:

...a test may show the person to be 64% African American and only 36% Native American resulting in the person believing they have little ancestry when in fact they may have much more than that.

It seems extrememly unlikely that a person who is told they have 36% Native American ancestry would then believe "they have little" Native American ancestry. If you only need 1/16th degree of Eastern Cherokee blood for tribal membership, then finding out you are more than 1/3 Native American seems like a huge amount.

Secondly, there are two kinds of genealogical DNA tests. One is an autosomal test. It is the kind of test that would tell you your percentage of Native American ancestry. The other kind of test (Y-DNA or mtDNA) only traces your paternal or maternal line. The article says:

The genetic tests done only research a few ancestors, resulting in false negatives being given to the test taker. .... The genetic tests do not present a complete picture, as argued by numerous geneticists, because tests trace only one bloodline and thus exclude most ancestors.

If the program deals with autosomal tests (i.e. percentage of Native American ancestry) then these subsequent arguments about Y-DNA and mtDNA tests are moot. If the program only deals with Y-DNA and mtDNA tests, then the discussion of Native American ancestry is moot. Could someone clarify which tests are used in the program?

If you are familiar with this topic, please help the Criticism section. Thanks! — Reinyday, 03:04, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

I dont think they did and that's what's frustrating about the whole thing. I mean sure it's been proven that the genetic tests are not completely accurate but what type are they using also adds into the equation of it all.Mcelite (talk) 05:09, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

1 per cent at least 50% European?

In what way are the 1% of 'African Americans' who are 'at least' 50% European then African Americans? If they are 50% African American and 50% European American (like Barack Obama, if 50% Kenyan counts) then OK, one can argue. But why 'at least'? Surely if they're 52% European they are actually European-Americans who are 48% African-American? And if they're included, why not included all the Whites who have a bit of Black ancestry? That must be quite a number - at least comparable to the number of Black people in the US by census standards. Was this done by census self-identification, or what? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.145.80.189 (talk) 17:51, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

The problem is finding people who have more European bloodlines then African American and testing them. They will not be so quick to claim their African heritage because a large part of it came from slave women being raped or hidden relationships. It is far more difficult than testing people we would call African AmericanMcelite (talk) 04:49, 2 November 2009 (UTC)

ANSWER

Even if an African person is three quarters White and a quarter Black, one cannot state that individual is European ONLY because the individual who may have a light coloring,the facial skeletal features and hair appears more African. Racially/genetically Black features are more dominant than other races.-

Here are some examples of race mixings where race has completely erased -  Vivian Leigh (quarter asian Indian), Gabrielle Anwar (quarter - Asian Indian), Rhonna Mitra (quarter Asian INdian).  These women are referred to as White, English, ONLY because the Asian Indian is not dominant in their outlook!!! TO completely erase African heritage I am sure it would take almost four to five generations of race mixing to erase Black features, hair and coloring  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.119.149.199 (talk) 01:43, 6 March 2013 (UTC) 

1. There's no such thing as race. It is a specious term, cultivated as a sociological weapon to pigeon-hole and stratify human beings. Nobody, not even those with albinism, is "white" and nobody is "black". People are, factually, of European descent, African descent, etc.

2. In the United States of America, there's was a nasty history of classifying a person as "Negro" if they "have one drop to Negro blood" (whatever that was supposed to mean). Many people, Southerners especially, did not want to acknowledge that persons of varying melanin levels intermingled. (For an example of this in action, see one of the Showboat films.) For a long time, if a census taker suspected that a person was the product of a so-called mixed relationship, they were instructed to classify that person as "mulatto". Therefore, even with a percentage of 50%+ European DNA, many people will still refer to the individual with that result as "black". This attitude, though is fading away in fits and starts. Thank you, Wordreader (talk) 05:01, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

"Criticism" section edits

1. I tagged some weasel words and places where citations are needed.

2. I find this sentence to be confusing and awkward. It needs help, but since I don't know exactly what's being said, I didn't fiddle with it. Writer - please clarify: "Due in part[clarification needed] to a centuries-old history within the United States, historical experiences pre- and post-slavery, and migrations throughout North America, the majority of contemporary African Americans possess varying degrees of admixture with European ancestry."

Thank you for your time, Wordreader (talk) 05:37, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

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