Its a Family Affair...

No one hates like family

Paul Mooney

At a Harlem Reunion, a Rancher From Missouri Meets His ‘DNA Cousins’
Mr. West’s ancestors owned slaves, and his grandfather fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. But there he was, wiping tears from his eyes and bowing his head in prayer, thanking God for his black cousins.

“Dear God, thank you for this beautiful night and this great family we got here,” he said in his heavy drawl. “My prayers have been answered. We just found the roots. It’s in the DNA.”

As genetic testing for ethnicity and ancestry has become more available to the public, more Americans are seeking information on their lineage. And many are confronting surprises in family background, racial makeup and newfound relatives.

A recent genealogical study indicated that ancestors of the Rev. Al Sharpton for instance, were once slaves owned by ancestors of Senator Strom Thurmond, who ran for president in 1948 as a segregationist. A genealogical researcher has said that the white mother of Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, had ancestors who owned slaves.

-NY Times, 3/14/07