The DNA Journey: Time To Make Manifest

It's time to go from the page to moving images.

Ten years ago, when I took my first DNA test, I got some surprising--dare I say, earthshattering--results. And since then, I have been on a mission to know my personal truth and to help others who have also discovered that they aren't who they've always believed themselves to be. What started as a blog series on Facebook and then grew into a publication on Medium.com is now being developed into a full production web series. And, if we play our cards right, it can then make its way into a full-length documentary for PBS or other forms of streaming distribution.

I encourage you to visit my website to learn more about my creative professional career. You can also check out The DNA Journey in written form here , so you can get a feel for how I have processed and shared what I've learned thus far. For the video series, I'll go back over a few of these essays visually, introduce you to some of the places and family I've come to know since my big discovery, and I'll show you firsthand how my story fits into a much larger narrative about the Black Experience in America. Who we are, what was stolen from us through the acts of enslavement and institutional discrimination, some of the organizations that are doing the hard work of recontructing this history, and how DNA research is one form of reparations that is owed to American citizens of color. All of the anecdotal data in the world, though, means nothing until you know exactly who you are.

My late father was known to offer this quote when I would come at him with a million questions: I can show you better than I can tell you. Though I will continue to write about this work, this is the moment when I've decided that it will be more impactful if I can show you what this journey has meant for me, on film. And, as I've learned throughout the past decade, my journey has intersected with so many others who are also struggling to get at the truth...even in my own family. By producing this video series, I'm giving everyone a chance to watch, digest, rewind, and absorb the work that has helped me construct a family tree that I didn't see coming. To be incredibly thankful for the family I have and the life I've been given. This series will help me reach back and pull up others who are completely overwhelmed and underwater, trying to do this research on their own. I intend to be their sherpa and their emotional support.

The truth is your birthright.

**Special acknowledgment to Lacey Schwartz and her film, Little White Lie, for being the wind in my sails to keep pushing on my own path.