African-Americans trace roots back to Africa

As Sanchez and her daughter prepared to fly home from Ghana, Sylvester talked excitedly about her hope that black people in the diaspora might eventually take subsidised trips back to Africa similar to the “Birthright” program that offers Jewish youth from around the world a free trip to Israel.

“Everyone has a homeland. People go, ‘Oh I’m from Ireland, I’m from Scotland.’ Being African American, I tell people I’m from New Orleans, like that’s where I was born, you know?” she said.

“There’s something healing about being here, eating the food, meeting the people – it’s the missing piece of the puzzle that connects you to who you really are.”

Sitting side by side, the pair mused over what they would be feeling as they flew back over the Atlantic to the United States. They were still dressed in the white clothes worn for an earlier ceremony, where they had received a traditional name and sipped schnapps from a cup proffered by a local chief wrapped in a robe of densely patterned cloth.

No matter the flight conditions, their ancestors would not be far from her thoughts, Sylvester said.

“They went through all of this hardship so that I wouldn’t have to, but I need to acknowledge that every day that I’m alive.”

Sanchez said she was still processing everything she had seen and learned on the trip, but felt a sense of closure. When asked if she planned to continue her genealogical quest, she replied, “I’m actually kind of satisfied.”

Nevertheless, her book on the family’s history may need to be updated.

After the durbar ceremony in Kumasi, Sanchez seized a chance to talk to the chief and asked if he would be willing to be tested to find out if they share any genetic links. He agreed, and she kissed his hand.

Later she said she hoped to find someone to do the test. “And then find out,” she said. “Why not find out?”