Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

The legendary reggae superstar, Peter Tosh, once bellowed, "No matter where you come from/As long as you’re a black man/You’re an African.” Add to these lines,"..As long as you're a white man/you're an African". Most people know (or should know) that the Africans were the first modern human population, but paradoxically lose sight of the fact that the Africans also gave rise to the Asian, European & Middle Eastern as well. Scientists have known for a while through human genetic research in mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome haplotypes that Europeans and Asians have distant African ancestry. Modern humans evolved in Africa 200,000 to 100,000 years ago. Many left Africa around 60,000 years ago and migrated around the world giving rise to the people that you see today.

Yesterday it was reported that one of Britain's leading forensic scientists reconstructed a face from fossilised fragments of skull and jawbone from 35,000 - 40000 years ago (discovered in a cave in Romania). The picture above represents one of the earliest known anatomically modern Europeans. I have to admit that this reconstructed face looks a lot like Boston Celtics' Ray Allen.

In any case, BBC will be airing a fascinating series entitled. "The Incredible Human Journey" on 5/10/09 which will document human origins and evolution, from our cradle in Africa to the long journeys that led us to populate the most distant lands.

I am sure many "white" people will be dismayed, perhaps angered as the notion of white superiority still permeates through the culture. A lot has been invested in maintaining the differences between whites and people of color--from standards of beauty to notions of intelligence, power & 'high culture'. Indeed "black" still rings loud and clear as a negative signifier in spite of President Obama's achievements. The concrete scientific evidence of Africans being the earliest European ancestors is bitter tonic, but as Churchill once stated, "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” (Or as Miami's Tag Team once chimed, "Whoomp! There it is!")

One Love!

:::MixMasterE:::