DNA & Black Heritage

The Motherland Group

The Motherland Group held its inaugural on September 2003 meeting in London.
The group is made up of people from African-Caribbean background who participated in the BBC TV documentary ‘Motherland’ shown on 14 February 2003. The event was co-ordinated by Arthur Torrington (Secretary of The Equiano Society), Conrad Peters (Chair of the Black Cultural Archives), and Jacine Cooper. The Group met to discuss the links DNA reveals about ancestry and heritage.
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A PowerPoint presentation was given by Dr Clinton Monfries, of the Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology (UCL). Clinton, whose parents are from Jamaica, explained how science could determine the links with our ancestors, using Mitochondrial DNA (which is inherited from our mother). His own results showed that he and members of the Mandenka Tribe in Senegal have similar ancestry. But, he concluded that other participants in the Motherland project might not have had clear-cut results. Some of them had links with people from more than one country in Africa, Asia, or Europe. He also showed that many Africans from Senegalese, Benin and Bantu backgrounds migrated to other parts of the world, and that most Black people have roots in one or all of these groups.

The event was attended by Dr Neil Cameron, Archie Baron and Tabitha Jackson, of Takeaway Media that produced the Motherland Documentary. Further meetings will be held to discuss the latest research on DNA, ancestry and heritage

The Motherland Group will network with UK and USA companies that offer DNA tests, and will liaise with geneticists and genealogists. Also, the Group plans to provide advice on DNA to prospective members.

Further information from arthurtorrington@hotmail.com

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