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Heritage at it’s best…

Monday, February 18th, 2008 |

Last night, I was watching PBS ( Georgia’s Public Broadcasting Station ). One of America’s great African American scholars, Henry Louis Gates Jr. was bringing to life our Heritage. Our African American History is so complex and interwoven in America’s history that we thought it not robbery to celebrate this February - Black History Month with seeking our roots. Mr. Gates television special - African American Lives, uncovered several forgotten stories for instance that during the Civil War, many blacks joined the Union Colored Troops. After the Civil War, the Reconstruction years; former slaves were able to secure acres of land in South Carolina & Mississippi. Not only were free slaves able to work & farm their land, but African Americans were in government. Did you know that in January 1868 African American delegates were the majority at the South Carolina State Assembly? Or that Hiram Revels, representing Mississippi was elected the first African American in the U.S. Senate - 1870.

The airing of the show showcase the legendary Oprah Winfrey tracing her ancestry back to West Coast of Africa ( present day Liberia, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast ) and Europe of course. What was so ironic that everything Oprah has brought forth in her life; the all girls school in Africa, love of land and her philanthropy had all been done by her great-great-great grandmother & father. I was blown away and I’m sure other viewers were as well. The essence of the this PBS special reveals to each person finding out what percentage of their DNA came from Africa vs. Europe, Asia or North America.

Now, I know that I am bringing a heavy topic to an online sports radio show, but haven’t you ever wondered where you come from?