NABJers discover roots through DNA

By BLISS DAVIS
nabjconvention.org

NABJ President Kathy Times has Nigerian roots according to a DNA test.

Today at the “DNA: The 21st Century Tool for Retracing Your Roots to the Motherland” session, NABJers learned actor Isaiah Washington is dedicated to more than just acting.

Washington, in conjunction with The Africa Channel, collaborated to create the documentary, “Isaiah Washington’s Passport to Sierra Leone.” The documentary follows Washington as he discovers his Sierra Leonean heritage through special testing that determines if the person is related to a particular ethnic group in Africa. Since the test, Washington has become the first person to be granted dual citizenship from DNA results. He is also a humanitarian and ambassador for the country.

“I believe that where you’re most comfortable in the world is where you’re from,” said Washington. He also says he feels a connection and responsibility to the people.

Washington said while obtaining citizenship was exciting and he embraced his ancestry, being African American was a difficult road even before the results. He recalled being turned down for a fraternity via the “paper bag test” while in college. His skin color was darker than a paper bag, and he was referred to another fraternity. While his citizenship was pending, he said the Sierra Leonean president’s decision to grant citizenship was negated by Sierra Leoneans who saw him as no more than an African American.

Even so, Washington believes getting past the superficial and helping his people is his prime goal.

“We need to remove ourselves from various nomenclatures,” he said, adding that African Americans have gone through many titles throughout history.

As part of the session, NABJ President Kathy Times, television and radio personality Jacque Reid, and NABJ founding member Les Payne were among those who discovered their African origins.

Times discovered she is Igbo Nigerian and Reid has origins in northern Cameroon as well as Payne, making the two “genetic cousins.”

“I feel honored to know we’re Nigerian,” said Times’ mother, who was also in attendance.

Genetic tests were raffled off to session attendees as well. Leslie Adkins of NBC Universal in New York City was one of the winners.

“I honestly have no idea where my African ancestry is,” she said, “through research I found out I have a lot of Native American, so I look forward to knowing.”