Discovering Your Roots: Diving Into the African Diaspora (Pt.1)

Discovering Your Roots: Diving Into the African Diaspora 

(Part 1)

As a Black woman in America, I've always had a strong sense of pride in my African American identity and culture. But if I'm being honest, I never felt a deep, personal connection to my African ethnic roots - that side of my heritage always felt a bit abstract and disconnected.

When I first took DNA ancestry tests through companies like MyHeritage and Ancestry, I remember feeling a bit underwhelmed by just getting the broad breakdown of African regions my ancestors derived from. Don't get me wrong, it was powerful to get that scientific confirmation of my African origins after centuries of historical disconnect. However, the ethnic groups and percentages listed didn't really resonate with me on an emotional, or spiritual level.

Where I did find profound meaning and belonging was when I started diving deeper into the unique African American cultures that arose amid the resilience of slavery and life in the Antebellum South. In particular, learning about the proud traditions of the Gullah Geechee people became a pivotal part of grounding myself in the roots and folkways of my ancestors. Years ago, my great-grandmother on my father's side told me about our roots. Stating that we are from the Carolinas. Yet, I never really started connecting the dots, until I started to have an interest in discovering who I am.

For those unfamiliar, the Gullah Geechee are descendants of Central and West African peoples from various ethnic groups who were brought to the coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida during the Atlantic slave trade. Geographically isolated on islands and remote areas cut off from the mainland, they were able to preserve more of their African linguistic, artistic, and cultural heritage intact than any other Black community in the States.

From the moment I started reading about their incredible history and firsthand accounts of growing up in insular Gullah communities, I felt an awakening of reconnection and ancestral understanding.  The rich Gullah language they developed, combining multiple African linguistic roots with European influences, struck an ancestral chord as I listened to its unique Creole tones and cadences.

The craftwork - from the striking tradition of indigo-dyed cloth wrapping to the striking coiled sweetgrass basketry - showcased sublime artistic mastery and skills brought over directly from the motherlands of the Gullah ancestors. Even the foodways of the Gullah Geechee resonated deeply as I tried beloved staples like lokors (crunchy corn fritters) or compound rice dishes like Red Rice cooked in the same way Africans had prepared them for generations. For the first time, I could vividly envision and honor how my forebears lived, in ways both big and small.

Beyond resonating personally, I now feel a calling to share these discoveries surrounding Gullah Geechee heritage both within my local community spaces as well as online platforms. Too often in the universal journey of Black Americans embracing our roots, we put so much emphasis on distant African ethnic identities that we place them on a pedestal while neglecting the richness and diversity of regional African American cultures intertwined with our ancestral origins.

For Black women especially who take DNA tests hoping to find a deeper ethnic identity but come up short on that spiritual connection piece, I want to spread awareness of the empowering legacy found in tracing our distinct African American roots. From the linguistic mastery of Gullah Geechee to the blues cultures of the Mississippi Delta or the contrasted Creole voyages out of Louisiana - every regional piece of this diaspora holds keys to better understanding our ancestors and ourselves.

Moving forward, my mission is to honor and amplify the unique experiences and innovations of cultures like the Gullah Geechee people - not just through online storytelling but through more immersive study and travel to the remaining Gullah communities themselves. While the DNA tests can add genetic context, the true essence of who we are as Black Americans has been beautifully preserved in the mosaics of cultural resilience all around us, woven by our ancestors from the motherland's roots replanted on this side of the ocean.

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