Bridging the Gap with African Ancestry
June 27th, 2008
Almost one year ago, my partner and I launched MyAfricanDiaspora.com. We launched the site because we felt a void that needed to be filled. That void was the separation, no, the isolation of people of African descent. Our shared blood roams the continent of Africa, the new world of the North America, the shores of the Caribbean, the gray skies of Europe and the fertile lands of Central and South America. In truth, we’re sprinkled around Asia too - special shout out to the native Black people of Australia.
The only problem is, many of us don’t know anything about each other. The link has been severed as cleanly as if a shark had bitten off a limb. We toyed around with the idea of a nonprofit aimed at serving members of the Diaspora, and will probably still do that at some point, however we felt the easiest way to bridge that gap now - was through the use of the Internet. The dream is beginning to blossom, one connection at a time.
I’ve talked about what obtaining my ancestry has meant to me in the past, and I was determined to make sure someone else received the same benefit. We chose Black History month to award our first free African Ancestry trace to one of the registered members of the site. Check out the interview and article here.
With the help of African Ancestry, this will be the first of many such awards. Now, you can certainly register and wait for your chance, but I do hope that many of you will take the plunge, forgo purchasing that next designer bag or hold off on the rims and invest a little money in something that will fill up that hole - even if you’re not even aware its there, it is.
I’ve interviewed a lot of folks - most have been some of the most enjoyable and enlightening conversations I’ve had and Ms. Lane was no disappointment. This sister got it. She understand the value of making that connection and had already begun to fill in the blanks of her family tree long before learning that she’d won the contest.
Another subject near and dear to me is entreprenuership and I was pleased to learn that Carmen was also a business owner. She runs a diversity and orgnizational development consulting firm in Lansing, Michigan. What a coincidence that a person that has dedicated their time to helping others understand the value of diversity would be the beneficary of our contest. If you’re in the market for this type of service, what could be better than supporting our sister? You can email her at: thelaneleotagroup@comcast.net or phone 517.580.7656.


In college I discovered Claude McKay, one of the many famed Harlem Renaissance writers. Mr. Mckay was born on the island of Jamaica, but came to the US to attend Tuskegee Institute and also attended Kansas State University. He spent his life dedicated to writing and editorial pursuits, winning the Medal of the Institute of Arts and Sciences in Jamaica and The Harmon Gold Award for Literature.
Throughout my life, I’ve always had the feeling that something was missing - and harbored a certain anger because of it. Early on, I wondered if it was something internal, something a little off in my make-up, some lack in my soul that was my fault.
I was wrong.
Today I read an article on CNN entitled “
Like many, one of the turning points in my life was reading the autobiography of Malcolm X. The transformation and growth are themes that still strongly resonate with me. His story is one that should demonstrate the power of two things: education and a willingness to change.
Apparently the nature of the relationship between LeBron James and his mother is vastly different than that of my relationship with my mom.
As some of you may know, I’m an aspiring writer. My genre - hold on to your weaves and wave caps - is science fiction/fantasy. I know that some of us have no place in their lives for whatever isn’t “keeping it real“, but I’d argue that science fiction may be the true mother of invention.