Who's Your (Irish) Daddy? Henry Louis Gates Jr. Reflects On An Unknown Irish Ancestor

The Root:

In one of my favorite Malcolm X speeches, the brilliant rhetorician asks, "What's your name? It isn't Smith or Jones or Bunche [as in Ralph] or Powell [as in Adam Clayton; Malcolm is playing the dozens here!]. They don't have those kinds of names where we come from! What's your name?" It might have shocked Malcolm to learn the complexity of the answer to that question, an answer buried deep in our collective DNA.

Read the whole story: The Root

Comments

[natturnerx]

03:06 PM on 03/17/2010

gates witness : "i see a black guy breaking into a house, i better call the police."

or...

gates witness : "i see a guy with .01% irish dna breaking into a house, i better call the police."

hmm.. i wonder which scenario is more probable..

[kk78]

02:56 PM on 03/17/2010

I think my ancestors intermingled with everyone.. Im english with Irish, Scottish an German in me. My Fathers ancestor who came over had an Irish mother and English father. My mom's side are Scottish/German. Fun stuff looking into your past!!

[Believein2012]

02:12 PM on 03/17/2010

Now I don't have all the facts, but I think it's safe to say that this man is full of crap.

[rorschach1973]

02:17 PM on 03/17/2010

DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid. It's been a proven science for decades.

Did'ya hear? We went to the moon in the 60s? Neat, huh?

[ZenSufi]

01:55 PM on 03/17/2010

Vote Irish. Vote Barraigh O'Bamagh.

[ladydragon]

01:45 PM on 03/17/2010

My slave masters on my grandfather's side were Irish - last name Malloy

[Hazelnut]

01:32 PM on 03/17/2010

Saw Professor Gates on PBS with African American Lives 2, and Faces of America, both programs explored ancestry through DNA. Fascinating stuff! Thoroughly enjoyed both programs, if they re-air them at any time I would encourage everyone to watch.
A very Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

[Scentedflower]

01:04 PM on 03/17/2010

this is why we are world citizens.

[The Albany Kid]

01:00 PM on 03/17/2010

Hmmm....perhaps some of the folks who fought against each other during the Boston busing riots of the 1970s were related.

[WhatsLeft]

12:54 PM on 03/17/2010

I visited Ireland several years ago, not to find "dead relatives" but to see the country that my ancestors left behind. I wanted to see the hills, the shoreline, the valleys they had seen. What I didn't expect was to feel "at home". For the first and only time in my life I felt comfortable in my own skin. I also, unexpectedly, found some "dead relatives" in Dingle. The history of Ireland is a sad one. The hardships endured by them leaves me in awe of their determination to survive and thrive. There are more Americans who claim an Irish heritage than Irish living in Ireland. I told that to a young Irish lad and he was quite suprised at that claim.

I hope that Prof. Gates questions are answered. Who knows? We might even be related.

[Hazelnut]

01:34 PM on 03/17/2010

Loved your post, thank you so much for sharing it!

[kylennblack]

12:59 AM on 03/21/2010

Very famous Irishman Bono called America the promised land for his people because they left starvation and other hard circumstances in Ireland and have thrived in their new home across the pond.

[Papasito]

12:46 PM on 03/17/2010

An Irish ancestor? Of what animal species?

[Papasito]

12:45 PM on 03/17/2010

Great so now every black person now has an irish ancestor. Ridiculous. Did he get that from ancestry.com too?

[kylennblack]

12:55 PM on 03/17/2010

This will come as a great shock to you since you aren't that bright but more than 40 million Americans have Irish ancestry and that includes people of color.

[Papasito]

01:09 PM on 03/17/2010

It's actually less than 40m (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_American) but still, the concentration of Irish immigration is in the North East black concentration is in the South (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County-1396x955.png), so it's hilarious that you'd think blacks would mix with irish bypassing the entire german population between them. OK

Feeling stupid yet?

[JTHC75]

01:26 PM on 03/17/2010

Um, what? Gates took a DNA test that shows he has an Irish ancestor. Let me guess, you think DNA is a lie propagated by satan?

[EnPointe]

12:42 PM on 03/17/2010

Happy St. Parick's Day, Mr. Gates.
I have much respect for this man, and love his series on PBS, Faces of America. And his almost ninety? year- old father is too funny. :))

[danusgram]

12:36 PM on 03/17/2010

Being a brown , colored african american I was at my local convenience store where I daily get my morning coffee, and the white manager smiled and said happy st patricks day and then went on to say you probably dont have any Irish in your family and I said well actually I do I told him my grandfathers grandmother was full blooded Irish married to a Blackfoot Indian and they were out of Canada...he was astonished loved the look on his face by the wa, y I went on to tell him that my mother was born with red hair and my own hair color is off black and I contribute that to her...told him so you never really can tell just by looking at someone what they are he said well a lesson well learned...happy St. Patrick's day Huff posters!

[EnPointe]

12:45 PM on 03/17/2010

And same to ye... : )
My GGrandparent's came over from Ireland. Hey, we're all Green today. Cheers!

[kylennblack]

12:53 PM on 03/17/2010

Yup! I'm part Irish but even if you are one-ten-millionth Irish you're still Irish. And even if you don't you're irish anyway. We'll adopt anyone. :)

Happy St. Patty's everyone.

[balloonloon]

12:58 PM on 03/17/2010

And to all: Saol fada chugat!

[Trance2010]

12:21 PM on 03/17/2010

No wonder Gates looks like a leprechaun!

[Papasito]

12:45 PM on 03/17/2010

Oh snap!

[texhall00]

12:10 PM on 03/17/2010

May I first comment on Mr. Gates attire what a chic dresser! And a Happy St. Patty's Day to all. I went online Ancestry.com because I've kept documentation (paper trail) for years. I joined after I became curious of his show and the show," Who do you think you Are",? Well let me say, I'm not the person the though I was! What appeared on my screen was nothing more then a W H A T moments to chill down my down and a lot of OMG. Wow.