Race Reversal Man Lives as Black for 50 Years ? Then Finds Out He?s Probably not

[Missouri Mule]

This is different.
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Race Reversal
Man Lives as ‘Black’ for 50 Years — Then Finds Out He’s Probably Not
By Jim Wooten
ABCNEWS.com

Dec. 28— Wayne Joseph, the principal of a big suburban high school in southern California, had an unequivocal sense of his black heritage, having written extensively about race in America.

But after seeing a TV story last April about a Florida company, DNA Print Genomics, which marketed an ancestry-by-DNA test, he began to wonder exactly how much of him was African, how much wasn't, and what else there might be in his genes.

"I sent away for their kit and received the kit, happened to swab both sides of my cheek and sent the swabs in," Joseph said.

A few weeks later, the results arrived at his comfortable Claremont, Calif., home.

"I just glanced at it, just a cursory glance initially — didn't really notice it much," Joseph said. "Then, I went back to it, because all of a sudden it hit me exactly what I had read. And it read, 57 percent Indo-European, 39 percent Native American, 4 percent East Asian and 0 percent African.

After a lifetime as a black man, Wayne Joseph discovered he probably isn't black at all...

(SNIP)

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Nightline/SciTech/racial_identity_031228.html

[EvilTwinFelicia]

Interesting, to say the least. I don't believe I'd personally get all "freaked out" over such a DNA test-- I've read and heard on various court shows DNA testing for race is far from an exact science. Even the esteemed Dr. Michael Baden doesn't believe DNA can prove race, since the genetic difference between each human is less than 2 percent.

[Missouri Mule]

I wondered about that and posted it only because it was from a reputable news source.

I do know that DNA is absolute proof of paternity.

[EvilTwinFelicia]

Originally posted by Missouri Mule
I wondered about that and posted it only because it was from a reputable news source.

I do know that DNA is absolute proof of paternity.

Indeed, it is-- of paternity. That is because there are at least two samples to compare. Mitochondrial DNA can also be used to prove maternal relatives, since mitochondria have their own DNA source. This DNA is passed from mother to child. Again, at least two samples are needed to compare.

I think DNA Print Genomics is marketing a bit of snake oil. I'd have to see someone of fantastic reputation speak about finding out one's "true" race based on DNA. And-- from whatever the original "control" samples are to determine race-- how does science know those people were "pure?"

I sure hope this business markets themselves to all the white supremacists. I bet less than five percent of the so-called "white" folks associated with such groups would test even 95% caucasian!

[Blueangel]

I find this area of research fascinating, but I have concerns about the psychological impact that such information can have on people.
I remember cases in South Africa, when apartheid was still rampant, of white couples parenting black children. Nature has a funny way of throwing our past back in our faces, in the form of the genetic make up of our offspring.

As for the psychological aspect...
I remember reading an intriguing interview with US singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega. She had been raised as the child of a white mother and Hispanic father and had been part of a Hispanic community. This had an obviously marked impression on her sense of identity.
This was destroyed when her mother made a death bed confession that her biological father was also white, but had left her mother before she was born. This information took Vega to the edge of a breakdown.

I'm one of the lucky ones who can trace my ancestry back a few hundred years. I know I'm a hotchpotch of nationalities, and quite probably, races. It doesn't bother me in the slightest but some people could have a problem with it.

[Missouri Mule]

One encouraging thing about our 10 year national census is that more and more people do not wish to declare their race. I've seen remarkable progress in race relations during my lifetime and it will continue, IMV. To be sure there will always be those who have a different agenda but to go the full mile requires the first step. We've made a number of steps already.

[Quincy Wisdom]

wow, that's very interesting...where do I get this kit? ;)

I am not sure I would be too down about it...all I would care about is that my US citizenship is intact...not what I thought was my race.