I think you are jumping to conclusions. I never suggested that anyone ignore ANY part of their ancestry. My comment was about the degree of importance some african-americans were attaching to the recent Jefferson/Hemings so-called revelation. The fact that many of us have white slavers as ancestors is nothing for black people to be ashamed of, but it's not exactly cause for celebration (although I am enjoying watching certain white historians squirm right about now). alanametis@aol.com (AlanaMetis) wrote: > >I find the insistence that some black people make that their white ancestry >should be ignored very disturbing. If one is a genalogist, one must take all >ancestry equally, however sordid and unpleasant it may seem. Also, many people >(of all ancestries) do not realize some "black" were free during much of the >period of slavery, and practiced the same abonimations (i.e., slavery) as did >some whites. > >Since we are referring to Jefferson/Hemings here, we do have a specific point >of reference; I understand. The tendency to jump to conclusions about ancestry >based on race, however, is at the least detrimental to the pursuit of >genealogical truth, and at most dishonest to oneself. > >>I find this obsession with White ancestors rather disturbing. It's sad >>that some black people attach so much more importance and status to >>the bloodlines of slave-owning rapists than to our African heritage.