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I think about that report on American DNA a lot, the one that discovered Black women's DNA being extremely over-represented in Black American people. It breaks your heart in a way that can never be repaired.
I probably think about it everyday.
To explain: Black women's DNA being extremely over-represented means that a massive, massive amount of Black children were not conceived from an enslaved Black woman and an enslaved Black man reproducing. If that were the case, Black men's DNA would have similar representation.
[TW: Sexual Violence]
It means so many Black children were conceived from Black women being raped that it shifted our entire gene pool.
It means so many Black children were conceived from Black women being raped that it shifted our entire gene pool.
It's a long, hard study to read, but here it is: Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas. Several decent publications also wrote articles if you'd like smoother language and commentary on the study. https://www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltext/S0002-9297(20)30200-7?utm_source=EA
And it's not even a matter of enslaved Black men simply choosing to reproduce less. Most enslaved Black men died from hard labor before they had an opportunity to reproduce. Less than half of Black male slaves had a child! That type of shit takes a thousand years to catch up to!
That is why I believe we must organize around Black women (upon which Black men's liberation also depends). Because going back to the origins? The measure of your humanity, or lack thereof, was a matrilineal matter. A BW's child was always a slave no matter the child's father.
