The Roots Project

The African-American Roots Project is a non-profit, collaborative effort of Dr. Bruce Jackson of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Dr. Bert Ely of the University of South Carolina Department of Biological Sciences to reunite African-Americans with their ancestral roots in Africa. The African American DNA Roots project uses publicly available data so that all conclusions can be independently verified. 

During the slave trade in colonial America people were kidnapped from their homes, primarily in areas of western Africa and brought to the US. They were forced to forget their homes and where they came from. In essence, to forget who they were. Now, thanks to DNA technology, it may be possible to reconnect some African-Americans to their ancestral roots in Africa.

No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place. -- Maya Angelou