When I was in Chicago, I ran into a group of young Black men near the Harold Washington Library preaching on the street that they were part of the lost tribes of Israel. I went over and talked with these brothers and tried to explain to them that there is nothing wrong with being of West African descent and to stop being ashamed of their ancestry. It is hard to reason with people who are basing their claim upon biblical prophecies so I walked away after about 30 minutes of arguing but this exchange has stayed in my mind.
I recently saw a Facebook post where some woman was claiming that Black people were already in America when Spain and Portugal came over to the Americas in the 1500s. Now there might have been some Blacks who sailed from West Africa on their own and settled in the Americas but this woman was proclaiming that all Blacks today are the true Native Americans.
This is just an attempt by certain Black people to lay claim to something that helps them deal with current life in America and the fact that slaves were taken from Africa and forced to labor in the Americas for white Europeans. I recommend a thorough DNA test to find out what your percentages are across the spectrum. Most Blacks that do get a DNA test are shocked to find out that the family myths and biblical prophecies are not true.
I was one of those whom was told the myths that we have Native Americans in our family tree but my DNA test from Family Tree DNA put that myth to rest. My breakdown was 75% African and the other 25% was European. There was no Native American ancestry. My paternal ancestry (Y chromosome) has matches in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen and my maternal ancestry (MTDNA) has matches primarily in Senegal and Mali.
These results were shocking to my mothers side of the family who were told by my great-great grandmother that her mother was a Native American. They didn't want to believe it but it is hard to argue with DNA tests. I also found a census record for my great-great grandmother's mother and she was listed in the 1880 census as a Mulatto. Back in the 1800s when the census takers could not determine what you were, they listed you as Mulatto. She probably found it easier to claim she was Native American and chances are this is where that myth came from.
I recommend a DNA test to those that can afford it and want to learn their genetic makeup. One thing I can tell you that you will find is that you are not from any of the so called tribes of Israel or the Americas.
