The great thing about running a blog is I get to rant about anything that I want to. AND, since I actually run this bitch I can say whatever I want with no constraints.

So guess what?

I got another rant for ya’.

So What Had Happened Was…

Iight, so I was on IG scrolling when a sponsored ad for Ancestry.com popped up.

Let me pause right here real swift since this is a rant…

Bruh, imma need Instagram to chill with all the sponsored post.

Like wtf.

I can’t go three pics without seeing some IG jump off trying to promote the vacation she went on the other day.

I mean everybody and they momma got sponsored ads on IG nowadays smh. IG, get that shit in order bruh, please. At least show me sponsored content that matches my interest.

Anyways…

I was scrolling on IG and a sponsored ad for Ancestry.com popped up with a graphic that was promoting a sale they had going on at the time. I believe that shit said 40% off, but don’t quote me on that cause I honestly can’t remember the exact sale. Just know it was a healthy size discount. Enough to make me pause for a minute.

Now, if you didn’t know I’ve been on a real African history kick lately. Mainly because for most of my life I believed the lie that Africa had no history and that black history (at least for us African Americans) began as soon as the first African slaves stepped foot here in the so-called land of the free.

Since I’ve been on this African history tip, I’ve ordered hella books that shine a light on the glorious achievements of some of Africa’s most successful high-cultures like the Monomotapa and Songhai Empire. During my research I oftentimes caught myself wondering exactly which part of Africa my ancestors might’ve come from. I mean, which part of Africa my ancestors were stolen from.

So with that in the back of my mind, I decided to hit the “learn more” link at the bottom of the sponsored ad to see what this sale was all about.

No cap, I was two seconds away from ordering my DNA kit before I had a change of heart and started to question if this was something I really wanted to do. I decided to keep my little change for my next order of books about African history instead of taking Ancestry up on their deal.

So what changed my mind?

1.) DNA Test Have Racist History

The first thing that popped into my mind was the dark history tied to genetic testing here in America. I couldn’t shake the fact that shit like the one-drop rule was a real thing here in America, and that DNA testing is the offspring of ugly movements such as the English Eugenics Movement that gave birth to forced sterilization laws that spread across this country like racist wildfire. Which is also one of the many movements Nazi German studied when they began their genocidal campaign against the Jewish population of this world.

One-Drop Rule |

The one-drop rule is a social and legal principle of racial classification that was historically prominent in the United States in the 20th century. It asserted that any person with even one ancestor of sub-Saharan African ancestry is considered black.

2.) The Legacy of Mass Rape & Plunder

Speaking of racist history…

One of the things that’s rarely brought up whenever the history of American Slavery is taught or discussed is also one of the main reasons why I had a change of heart during checkout…

I couldn’t help but think about the horrific history of mass rape that took place in this country for centuries with no legal constraints or repercussions. That ultimately, I’m a product of one of ancestor’s worst moments in this heartless country.

James Baldwin said it best when he said, “We talk about integration in America as though it was some great new conundrum. The problem in America is that we’ve been integrated for a very long time. Put me next to any African and you will see what I mean. And my grandmother was NOT a rapist.”

3.) Solidarity 

Growing up in America and being a student of history I’ve become far too familiar with all the tricks and strategies the powerful have used, and continue to use, to maintain their grip on power. One of those strategies being, divide and rule.

Knowing this, and knowing that colorism still plagues the black community til this very day, I decided it’s best for me not to get caught up in the specifics of which parts of Africa I “belong to.” Instead, I decided it’s best to see myself as a child of Africa. A child of Africa belonging to all of her history as well as her future.

Colorism |

Discrimination based on skin color, also known as colorism or shadeism, is a form of prejudice or discrimination usually from members of the same race in which people are treated differently based on the social implications from cultural meanings attached to skin color.

That’s It Bruh

So there you have it. These are my three reasons why I can’t fuck with Ancestry.com or any other company that does DNA testing. Plus I heard some of y’all work with the Feds anyway…

Related source: Customers Handed Over Their DNA. The Company Let the FBI Take a Look.

Anyway, I will say this.

If Ancestry is looking for someone to send DNA kits to, they should try…