DNA undermines David Duke’s brand of separatism

According to recent reports, an estimated 12 percent of European Americans in Louisiana have at least 1 percent African ancestry in their DNA. In the Southern States of this country, by most standards, this makes them African American. Viewed from another perspective, 328,186 people in Louisiana, who self-identified as white on the last census, are actually black. On a larger scale, 6 million people who consider themselves white in the United States of America, carry African DNA. This makes it almost impossible for David Duke and other separatists to accurately assess eligibility of their desired membership. As more people join the throng of those seeking to know and understand their genetic background, Duke’s challenge will become more daunting.

Modern social scientists conclude that race is merely a sociopolitical construct. If we examine race scientifically, all humans are from Africa. In other words, if you are human, the source of your humanness is African. Mitochondrial Eve, the mother of all humans, lived in Africa 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Is Duke’s fatal flaw his rejection of his humanness? Within the recent past, geneticists have concluded that blonde and red hair, light eyes and freckles are Neanderthal traits. All persons of European ancestry share Neanderthal DNA. When Homo sapiens sapiens, known as anatomically modern humans arrived in Europe from Africa about 50,000 years ago, they mixed with Neanderthals.

Many historical Europeans the world views as white share African DNA from the recent past. Queen Charlotte, the wife of England’s King George the III, and an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II and her grandchildren and great grandchildren hailed from African ancestry. Beethoven, Alexander Pushkin, Carol Channing and many other historical and modern persons descended from African ancestors.

America has become a land of blended families and multi-ethnic mixtures. More wholesome, informed and scientific viewpoints on religion, government, ecology, global warming, and scientific findings about DNA are readily available. Not being informed is a travesty.

On another note, most of us who consider ourselves Christian find it laughable Duke refers to his doctrine of hate and separatism as Christian family values. A basic tenet of Christianity is to love thy neighbor as thyself. As further study into DNA is revealed, we may all come to understand scientifically that all men are truly brothers.

The Mormons of Utah, and who may very well be some of Duke’s forebears from Beaver County, Utah, kept impeccable genealogy records. There must be some evidence of his humanness. The past is never dead. It is hidden in our entire autosomal DNA. DNA Scientific laboratories can test for genetic ethnicity estimates made within the last 200 to 300 years. We challenge Duke to take a scientific and monitored DNA test to prove to the world that he is conclusively 100% Neanderthal. Otherwise, if he is human, he is African like the rest of the world.

Quite simply, if Duke would accept this dare and go to a state-approved and licensed laboratory for a saliva swab, which can be forwarded by the lab to a credible DNA company such as Ancestry.com, his results would prove to the world his recent DNA ethnicities.

As the browning of America escalates, we who are the real Americans who built this country and love freedom and democracy advocate. This is our country. We will be happy to find another place for Duke and his followers where they can have their own cities and towns and neighborhoods and school as he stated in his 1998 autobiography: “We shall work for the separate homeland for African Americans, so each race will be free to pursue its own destiny without racial conflicts and ill will.” We, the black and brown people are here to stay. We love the ethnic diversity of our country. If you are unhappy with this reality, Mr. Duke, you may leave. 

Sandra McCollum is a part of the Hurricane Katrina New Orleans Diaspora. She currently lives in Chicago.

Ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr is the founder of Doley Securities, LLC, the oldest African American owned investment banking firm in the nation.

The views expressed by Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.