Back by popular demand in 2022 is the Connecticut Science Center’s Straight Talk series, virtual interactive discussions on some of today’s hottest topics. The first Straight Talk of the year The African Ancestry Identity Experience was hosted in February in celebration of Black History Month. The program was led by Dr. Gina Paige, Co-founder and President of African Ancestry Inc. (AfricanAncestry.com), which was founded to help people of African descent pinpoint missing pieces of their identities using genetics.
Dr. Paige reiterates that our roots are the foundation of our family trees, helping to define who we are and where we’re from to enhance the course of our futures. However, she explains that most African Americans are at a loss due to the breach in heritages and connections upon arrival of enslaved Africans to America more than 400 years ago.
The program explored the important role that identity plays in the holistic wellness of Black people today and how genetics can be used as a tool to empower us through knowledge of self. It covered family trees, DNA, and cultural and historic nuances that provoke new thoughts on who we are in today’s America and the world.
In this highlight video, Dr. Paige covered the following:
- Genetic Ancestry researches the origin of a person, family, or a group by using genetics, or biology.
- DNA is found in every cell of our bodies, with 99.9 percent of everyone’s DNA being the same — it’s what makes us human. However, it’s that .1 percent of our DNA that is different.
“Our DNA determines our hair texture. It can tell us our height; our weight; our skin color; the shape of our nose; whether or not we have disease. It also can tell us about our ancestry. And this is when genetic ancestry tracing really gets good.”
In the second highlight video, Connecticut Science Center’s Tyler Green, noted African Ancestry’s twofold mission of helping to fill in the gaps of an individual’s story in finding out about where one is from, and its larger effort of reclaiming history. When asking Dr. Paige where she would allocate scientific and financial resources to continue to help to do the work that African Ancestry is doing, she noted the following:
- History and science education
- Ability to use DNA to help people with their physical wellbeing
- Train more Black scientists, Black researchers, Black physicians, and then creating an environment where we can use this research to help Black people
“As a community, we’re not participating in the research that would result in personalized medicine that works for us. And so, that’s a problem.”
Straight Talk: The African Ancestry Identity Experience was part of the Science Center’s adult programming to encourage life-long learning. For upcoming programs, click here.
Jennifer Carmichael is a Contributing Writer at the Connecticut Science Center with a degree in Journalism from the University of Rhode Island. She’s written on lifestyle topics for magazines and newspapers throughout the state. A mom of two teenagers, she can’t promise that parenting is a breeze, but she can offer easy tips, tricks, and advice on all things about the Science Center.
