Their ancestors came to the United States – in slave ships – from Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Senegal.
They share genes with the Mafa and Kotoko, the Mende and Temne and Kru.
Fifteen prominent African-Americans who swabbed their cheeks and sent the samples to a Washington genetics company learned this week about some of their relatives as part of a Thursday night fundraiser for Denver’s Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
“It’s been exciting, exhilarating,” said Grant Jones, director of the Center for African American Health. “I’ve been imagining this is what it is like for someone who is adopted to discover one of their birth parents.”
While genetics experts urge caution in interpreting the results of such DNA tests, those who participated in the Denver fundraiser could hardly contain their enthusiasm.
“I’m from Cameroon,” marveled the Rev. James Peters of New Hope Baptist Church in Denver.
“My mother’s line traced to Sierra Leone,” Jones said.
“I share ancestry with groups in Cameroon, too,” said Helena Haynes-Carter, a diversity manager at Xcel Energy Inc.
About 500 people attended the fundraiser at New Hope Baptist Church. Dr. Rick Kittles, scientific director for African Ancestry Inc., the company that performed the genetic tests, treated the crowd to a lecture that mixed science and humor in explaining how the tests work.
Others spoke about how important it is for African-Americans to know where their ancestors came from.
“So many African-Americans think their history started in slavery,” said local radio personality Gloria Neal, who learned her ancestry traces to the Mafa people of Cameroon. “What this does for me and so many others, it helps remove that blockage so I can see where I came from.”
Some scientists have cautioned that these kinds of tests aren’t perfect.
“It’s very difficult to know for certain how accurate this information is,” said Matt Taylor, director of the adult genetics clinic at the University of Colorado Hospital.
The accuracy of these tests depends, in large part, on the size of the database used for DNA comparisons, Taylor said.
African Ancestry, based in Washington, boasts the largest African DNA database in the world, representing more than 30 countries and 25,000 lineages.
“Certainly, we don’t have every country, every population, but our database is very strong in the countries and populations that contributed to the transatlantic slave trade,” said Gina Paige, president and co-founder of African Ancestry.
Staff writer John Ingold contributed to this report.
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-820-1910 or khuman@denverpost.com.
