Comments on: Rebuilding The Family Tree
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- part 1
The fashion of which the subject of genetic genealogy was presented raised several issues that I would like to share with you. First, let me say that your introduction was very insensitive towards all African Americans that were watching. For it to be mentioned that this country is %u201Ca nation of immigrants%u201D and not include %u201Cslaves,%u201D distorts the reality that many Americans are the descendants of slaves.
America is not simply %u201Ca nation of immigrants,%u201D it is a nation of immigrants and slaves. The failure to indicate, within the introduction of the story, that Americans also come from slaves is appalling. By having had disregarded this crucial fact you have added to the deception that functions to hide the impact of the institution of American slavery on American people. African American%u2019s have been displaced in American history, mislead by American media and miseducated by American schools, because certain institutions have been careless when attempting to uncover America%u2019s past and discussing the subject of miscegenation. This point was even raised by the African American geneticist that you interviewed in the report: imagine what American history has done to the psyche of African Americans. Sadly, 60 minutes did not explore this issue.
t 1 - Reply to this comment
- Are you serious? Once again, I sat and watched a sneaky report about a brilliant discovery. Listen, there is no need for the good law professor Hank Greely to ''worry'' about the people who don''t realize ''just how many ancestors they actually have.'' PLEASE! What is that about?
Even in its complexity, the various DNA connections that were discovered for Vy Higginsen are not mysterious nor wrong and certainly not to be worried about. Those findings are proof through science of the nefarious business of slavery.
Africans from various tribes and African countries were BRED to produce the best product for slavery, therefore the DNA punch. Not only were they bred with one another, many female slaves were impregnated by white slave owners to produce a breed of slaves that brought in a higher price because of their lighter skin. Love had nothing to do with it, so the idea of blacks being in the bloodline of a white family or whites being in the bloodline of a black family should not be shocking. Because that practice was a business, it gives clear reason as to why family stories do not include such infoBefore you decide to tell the story again, tell it right. What a sad presentation. - Reply to this comment
- Having had great success with both Y-DNA testing and mtDNA testing in locating missing family members and in discovering my true surname I was disapponited not to see a more positive light on this wonderful new means of genealogical verification. It is certainly more than the rumors and legends we relied upon before DNA came along. Cudos to all the hard work of the research!
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- I was disappointed in Lesley Stahl''s superficial and formulaic treatment of genetic genealogy. She picked an interesting, but slightly sensational, example (the Wests) and then brought in the predictable academic "expert" to cast aspersions on companies whose work he does not know firsthand. From my own extensive dealing with FamilyTreeDNA, the company that West used, I know that its president never overstates the significance of his results. Had Stahl really chosen to inform viewers about the genealogical useful information that may be gleaned from DNA testing, Bennett Greenspan (president of FamilyTreeDNA)could have provided numerous examples, one of which was published in AVOTAYNU, the International Review of Jewish Genealoy in its Summer 2007 issue.
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- To the lady about Native American Heritage. Go to Trace Genetics. They have the largest Native American database and then don''t forget the autosomal test from DNAPrint Genomics, Inc. It''s called AncestryByDNA. You can find your tribe with mito (female) and y-chrom (male) tests. So you will need a male on which ever side of the family you believe your Native American originates. Good luck.
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- Too bad, 60 minutes always has to go for the cheap shot. Leslie, a very poor piece and 60 minutes producers, you should get your facts straight. Autosomal testing, that the stuff between the mito and y-chrome, tells the percentages of Sub Saharan, Native American, Indo European and Asian and that would have shown that those two people, although related by mito and y, were very DISTANT cousins. Shame on 60 minutes. Furthermore, did you ever think to stop and explain how this testing is being used in health and forensics? Like tracking down serial killers???What''s wrong with you guys?
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- Hopefully, Leslie Stahl will consider another program showing the real benefits of DNA comparision. Most of us consider DNA testing a tool to verify what we do know and also what we might find out. Anyone with a mixed background has a clue as to where they came from, however there are surprises as well. We could learn from these examples of meeting others and forget the racial, ethnic, religious bias. We are genetic mixtures and we are Americans. We are blessed because of our forebears, wherever they originated, came to form a new country for everyone. We haven''t been perfect, but we can learn to accept different backgrounds.
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- Did you ever consider early migration patterns when the DNA companies found several results for Ms. Higginson in Africa ? If you didn''t the staff at 60 Minutes should have, and it appears you didn''t. That is exactly why there were several results because people moved from one location to another. In other words the DNA companies were giving all matches found with Ms. Higginson''s DNA. I would have thought the investigative team at 60 Minutes would have thought of that. What does that mean ? It means the DNA companues gave Ms. Higginson every bit of information they could give her. As more people test their DNA and do the full genome sequences there will be a chance in the future with new technology by the scientific community that we will be able to pinpoint results better than today. DNA has only been on the horizon for about the last ten years. This could be compared with John Glenn making his first trip to outer space. It takes hard work and developing better technology to make advancements in DNA. This means that the DNA companies were not giving Ms. Higginson false information. 60 Minutes messed up on this story. Repition is the essence of learning and I think the 60 Minutes staff needs to study more on the DNA subject matter before a half-baked program is presented to the viewing public.
Marianne Dillow - Reply to this comment
- Interesting program...it would have been nice if they mentioned more about The National Geographic Genographic Project https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html and the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation http://www.smgf.org/
My question, does any of this offer valuable information to those of us who have been adopted? - Reply to this comment
- I would like to know how to find to get dna results, if you have indian hertiage. Could someone please help.
margaret - Reply to this comment
