Well, well, well. It appears that many "pure White" people are not as "pure" as they believe. Dr. James Watson, the Nobel laureate who discovered the double helix structure of DNA,( along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins), made headlines several months ago by proclaiming that individuals of African descent are inherently less intelligent than Whites, ( a fact that he claimed was plainly observable to anyone who interacts with Black employees), is, in fact, an Afro-descendente. In the United States, many will now view Dr. Watson as Black. In Latin America, however, this revelation will have little impact on Watson's public racial identity.
Dr. Watson, who likely did not know about his African lineage at the time his anti-Black statements were made, also claimed that the prospects for Africa's future as a relevant player on the world stage are dim and that Western nations make a mistake in presuming that Whites and Blacks can interact as partners of equal intelligence. It now appears that the one making the mistake was dear old Dr. Watson. A cavalcade of secrets regarding his family's racial make up have come tumbling out of Dr. Watson's closet, no doubt to his huge chagrin.
Scientists who have evaluated Dr. Watson's DNA genome have discovered that Mr. Watson has 16 times the level of Black ancestry than does the average White person. Not only that, Dr. Watson also has significant East Asian ancestry as well. To break down the numbers, Dr. Watson was found to have a genome in which 73% of his genes reflected European ancestry. Further, 16% of the genes reflected African ancestry and 9% of the genes reflected Asian ancestry. The scientists who conducted this analysis of Dr. Watson's ancestry indicate that he most likely has a Black great-grand parent. Extrapolating that analysis, we can safely assume that he also has an Asian or Native American great-great grandparent. Does this mean that Dr. Watson should be deemed to be 25% less intelligent than the average White person? (lol) Needless to say, Dr. Watson has not yet responded to the release of information about his African and Asian heritage.
This is all very interesting, but what does this have to do with Afro-latinas you might ask? I decided to blog about this topic because I've been involved in a blog debate, on another site, with a Brasilian about the extent to which Blacks and Afro-descendentes are represented in the Brasilian population. He, like many other Brasilians, are quick to assert that only 6% of the Brasilian population is Black and that, at most, only 34% of the Brasilian population is Black or Mulatto. Using this logic, unless a person is classified as Black or Mulatto, these people attempt to wipe the genetic slate clean and thus, with a waive of their hands, any and all African ancestry in the population magically disappears. Hence the discussion of Dr. Watson's racial identity. Not withstanding Dr. Watson's relatively large degree of African ancestry, these people would deny that Dr. Watson is of African descent.
Contrary to the assertions of these deniers, DNA research reveals that at least 50% of Brasilians have Black ancestry. While it certainly is true that not every person with Black ancestry is considered to be Black in Brasil, it is certainly not true that the only people who have Black ancestry in Brasil are those who "look" Black or Mulatto. This same debate is had regarding the African ancestry of Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Argentinians, Peruvians, Panamanians, Colombians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Cubans, etc. Like good old Dr. Watson, many people in these countries claim to be, or believe themselves to be "pure" White, but they are not as White as they believe themselves to be or as White as their appearance would suggest.
Though on the one hand, this whole racial discussion is silly, tired and demeaning, on the other hand, we must talk about these issues because of the serious life consequences that race and racial dominance have on the quality of life of many Afro-Latinos. We are being discriminated against because we are Black by people who, more likely than not, are also of Black ancestry. Just as Dr. Watson aggressively espoused theories about the alleged inherent inferiority of people with African ancestry, not realising that he, himself, is of African ancestry, many of the "White" Latin Americans who discriminate against Afro-Latinos because they believe Afro-Latinos are inferior because of their African heritage. They discriminate unaware of (or intentionally choosing to disregard) the African genes coursing through their DNA.
Due to his public exposure as an Afro-Descendente, Dr. Watson will likely recant his racist theories, if only to prevent his being viewed as less intelligent than other Whites. Its amazing how quickly public exposure can force a hateful liar to come clean. Unfortunately, the Dr. Watsons of Latin America will continue their aggressive efforts to suppress Afro-Latinos and deny our existence, not withstanding their own African heritage, simply because they don't "look African" and thus, presume themselves to be "pure White". 90% of the discrimination, and persecution facing Afro-Latinos could be wiped away in an instant if everyone in Latin America was forced to take a DNA test. Until then, the charade continues.
What a crazy mess.
Alessandra
To read more about Dr. Watson's African ancestry check out:www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3022190.ece
Scientists who have evaluated Dr. Watson's DNA genome have discovered that Mr. Watson has 16 times the level of Black ancestry than does the average White person. Not only that, Dr. Watson also has significant East Asian ancestry as well. To break down the numbers, Dr. Watson was found to have a genome in which 73% of his genes reflected European ancestry. Further, 16% of the genes reflected African ancestry and 9% of the genes reflected Asian ancestry. The scientists who conducted this analysis of Dr. Watson's ancestry indicate that he most likely has a Black great-grand parent. Extrapolating that analysis, we can safely assume that he also has an Asian or Native American great-great grandparent. Does this mean that Dr. Watson should be deemed to be 25% less intelligent than the average White person? (lol) Needless to say, Dr. Watson has not yet responded to the release of information about his African and Asian heritage.
This is all very interesting, but what does this have to do with Afro-latinas you might ask? I decided to blog about this topic because I've been involved in a blog debate, on another site, with a Brasilian about the extent to which Blacks and Afro-descendentes are represented in the Brasilian population. He, like many other Brasilians, are quick to assert that only 6% of the Brasilian population is Black and that, at most, only 34% of the Brasilian population is Black or Mulatto. Using this logic, unless a person is classified as Black or Mulatto, these people attempt to wipe the genetic slate clean and thus, with a waive of their hands, any and all African ancestry in the population magically disappears. Hence the discussion of Dr. Watson's racial identity. Not withstanding Dr. Watson's relatively large degree of African ancestry, these people would deny that Dr. Watson is of African descent.
Contrary to the assertions of these deniers, DNA research reveals that at least 50% of Brasilians have Black ancestry. While it certainly is true that not every person with Black ancestry is considered to be Black in Brasil, it is certainly not true that the only people who have Black ancestry in Brasil are those who "look" Black or Mulatto. This same debate is had regarding the African ancestry of Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Argentinians, Peruvians, Panamanians, Colombians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Cubans, etc. Like good old Dr. Watson, many people in these countries claim to be, or believe themselves to be "pure" White, but they are not as White as they believe themselves to be or as White as their appearance would suggest.
Though on the one hand, this whole racial discussion is silly, tired and demeaning, on the other hand, we must talk about these issues because of the serious life consequences that race and racial dominance have on the quality of life of many Afro-Latinos. We are being discriminated against because we are Black by people who, more likely than not, are also of Black ancestry. Just as Dr. Watson aggressively espoused theories about the alleged inherent inferiority of people with African ancestry, not realising that he, himself, is of African ancestry, many of the "White" Latin Americans who discriminate against Afro-Latinos because they believe Afro-Latinos are inferior because of their African heritage. They discriminate unaware of (or intentionally choosing to disregard) the African genes coursing through their DNA.
Due to his public exposure as an Afro-Descendente, Dr. Watson will likely recant his racist theories, if only to prevent his being viewed as less intelligent than other Whites. Its amazing how quickly public exposure can force a hateful liar to come clean. Unfortunately, the Dr. Watsons of Latin America will continue their aggressive efforts to suppress Afro-Latinos and deny our existence, not withstanding their own African heritage, simply because they don't "look African" and thus, presume themselves to be "pure White". 90% of the discrimination, and persecution facing Afro-Latinos could be wiped away in an instant if everyone in Latin America was forced to take a DNA test. Until then, the charade continues.
What a crazy mess.
Alessandra
To read more about Dr. Watson's African ancestry check out:www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3022190.ece
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