How 3 Words Challenged My Ancestry
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
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Drawing from personal experiences and lesser-known pieces of American history, I share how our genealogy can reveal more about who we are-and why trying to simplify people or their identities never tells the full story.
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Come join me on a new docu-series that explores identity, racial tensions in the South during the 20th century, and the unique experiences of those who historically called Louisiana home.
My name is Danielle Romero, and all my life, I have romanticized Louisiana.
Growing up in New York, it represented a place where I could step back the sepia-toned life of my great grandmother, Lola Perot, who died before I was born.
Now, it was time to go back to Louisiana--although I had no idea what the truth would be or what questions to ask---who was Lola really? Who were we?
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If buy something through these links, we may earn affiliate commission. Thank you for supporting this project!
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Hon let it go and walk.
1950's: "We'll have flying cars in the future!"
2024: *Racism, but on the internet*
If we had flying cars you could leave at any time
Can't have that
hahahaha this spoke to me
Oh my gosh, this is sad but true😅
Racism is a big part of why we can't have "nice things" like flying cars and jetpacks.
Because we intellectually cannot get beyond name calling is what hinders science.
Good morning!! I used to get upset about these responses but I realized that the person who is that close minded is the problem and I pity them! They're the ones imprisoned within their own minds!
Very good point!
@@leotajackson5602 touché
You've become one of my favorite channels. You are fantastic, keep up the good work! But as you go forward you should know that they will stop you from telling the stories that are useful to create unity in our society. I would add other platforms.
thank you! I have a patreon now and trying to keep fresh with it
@nytn if you do not mind me suggesting, there is a platform called PeerTube that you yourself can host, that is very much like TH-cam, that you control. That can be made available to your members/Patreon/etc and do not have to worry about your videos being flagged. Might be something to look into...
I’ve read all sorts of comments the last 27 years of browsing the internet. You just learn to grow a thick skin & have gratitude for the positive people in your life. I doubt anyone taking the time out of their day to insult an internet stranger has much going on in their life.
yes! please do. Some things just roll off the tongue haha
I just avoid having a profile picture, people usually think your'e white.
" I didn't think of myself in racial terms. We weren't raised with that! I wasn't sat down and told I was white or not white!" As a black American, neither was I. Yet I was often reminded by the police telling me I fit the description, teachers telling me i need to go to trade school , and store owners that followed me around their stores. White women who clutched their purse when I walked by and whites neighbors who moved out of the community when my family moved in. No, my parents never sat us down to discuss our racial identity. They taught me to be resilient, and prepared for a world designed to challenge your resolve...
I learned a lot from Vince Everett Ellison.
Honestly it seems most people don’t raise their kids like that. Black families who do only do so as a form of protection for their children. It’s the other side that fill their children’s heads with all of these beliefs about superiority to others.
Wow, that’s was the same experience I had with the police, school, stores and White wonmen with their purses! They next year after I had that teacher ( she was my 1st grade teacher), I was placed in the Gifted program!!! The teacher literally called my Mom and said I was a dreamer or something like that for being outside her box! One of my college Professors, who published my first paper, said I was a writer!!!
Lucky you I see it & am reminded of it every time I look in the mirror!! Full lips, “kinky” Carmel color skin!!! We are admired, hated & loved all at the same time!!!
It's easy to claim Black and not look black - but to look black and be treated as such is an entirely different thing.
Damned if you do damned if you don't and it's not easy how would you even know.
@@wendyraby3134 Kamala Harris...
It's "easy" to claim black and not look black in the same way it's easy to claim you're Jewish or Palestinian or Arab without looking like it.
But then it's like, "Hi, how's it going, can you please just do as many possible hate crimes against me as possible? Thank you!!!"
Which NYTN just showed us is definitely one of the things that happens when you reveal your ancestry like that. When black gets added to your description, and it follows you, you get more crosshairs than you used to.
These things don't earn you more access and freedom and opportunity and safety. They're an unintentional political statement in a white supremacist society.
So, yeah, when Kamala Harris as a teenager identified as black and Indian and specifically went to a historically black college and joined the largest black sorority, she wasn't grabbing the golden ticket. She was setting life's difficulty setting to HARD MODE on purpose. She chose for people to know she's an Indian woman AND a black woman before she was old enough to live on her own.
And she looks black. It's not like she's going through life and black people aren't assuming she's black. Unlike the way whiteness POLICES its boundaries to exclude other groups and hoard access and resources under white supremacy, blackness is porous. It's why our community is generally so accepting and proud and curious about other groups and mixed-race children and doesn't tell them they can't be black. Because we're happy to have them.
Hell, NYTN and her dad LOOK black. If anything, the extra ancestry could have at best been used to convince people that think they're black that they aren't. And they're not avoiding the burden of their truth.
And that's brave. And it sure as heck shouldn't be brave in any society to be who you are, but it is.
They don't get it 😂😂😂😂
@tania0070 You have told no lies. Everybody wants to be Black, take and participate in our creativity, swag, and history of strength and struggle "until the police show up."
Danielle is such a courageous, honest, and committed woman. She is presenting some very important truths to the world, and she's not taking the "easy way out" by ignoring the uncomfortable parts of her personal history and ethnicity. She deserves our encouragement and full support.
Well, fair enough. I think she has strong beliefs hence her home schooling. I wouldn't home school even if the public school system was run by Communists, pedophiles are something different of course. I consider that she is too wrapped up in this non European ancestry thing, her Lola. It's like an obsession. It's futile, idiots and racists will always be with us, as a certain Middle Eastern chap said about the poor.
Great analogy with Irish identity; Even Italy did not become a unified nation state until the 19th century.
"Haters gonna hate." You speak from the heart. You're rocking it!
Yeah, right. Because the Roman Empire didn't exist.
Italy the modern country only existed because of the Risorgimento, but Italy existed long before that, the Romans unified Italy which they include mainland Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. There was a difference in being a Roman citizen and coming from ancient Italy.
What I've observed is that in the West "Whiteness" is propagated by the sum of its *best* attributes, and "Blsckness" is propagated by the sum of its *worst* attributes. Which explains why people make remarks steeped in banality that attribute what they perceive as a bad perspective by one person belonging to "Blsckness" to exemplify how they all are on a macro basis. It's a textbook compositional fallacy.
That's wypipo and those brainwashed by wypipo.
well murder statistics would say the blax are the worst attributes of our society.
It goes to show how people choose hatred based on lies over truth and peace. Their bias' make them feel better about themselves because their ancestors falsely made them believe they were superior. Deep down, they know they're not, but the hateful rhetoric is mostly to constantly keep themselves convinced, and to make the other person/group feel inferior
At the end of the day, White Superiority is just another name for "thin-skinned narcissism"
@@GudsurI believe that’s the real reason for such behavior inherently they realize they are not. They’ve been told they are the best for so long and yet they don’t see the truth in the results depending on where those results lie. I know hitler had an issue with blacks performing far better than Germans in the Olympics and caused an issue with his identity. The narrative of Germans being the superior race kinda got wetted on after that incident.
Danielle, I started following you because you do genealogy and cite your sources. You have been kind and genuine to all the people you host. Keep up the hard, good, work knitting people together! You’re making “good trouble!” 👍🏽
What I like most about your channel is your attitude coupled with your openness and honesty. I love the stories about your family history more than any other topic. They are so interesting. It's amazing how much you look like some of them from over 100 years ago, especially Lola. Love your hair in this video. 😍 And love how you keep things in perspective.
Thank you so much!
WOW! TY for being so couragous! You say the quiet part out loud and I salute you! Cheers! Yes racism is unique in America, and you nailed it when you said "Society was built to control Identity and would limit people based on their perceptioin of your race." So sad and accurate. i personally doubt things will ever get better, i am 60 and they have not gotten better, I would argue things are worse.
Unique to America, eh? How do you explain
the people who started radicalism and racism were immigrants their damned self?
NO, it's VERRRRY OLD......
I don't know if things are actually worse, or they're just more contentious. There may not be any more racists today than there ever were, but there are a lot more people willing to push back on them now. So the noise level is greater, making the battle seem larger, but that's not necessarily true. We just naively thought we'd kicked it in the 60's-70's because it largely went quiet in open society - we thought attitudes were changing. But it never went away - it was just waiting for affirmation from somebody with enough power. But yeah, I also don't know if we'll ever be rid of it - the human tendency to tribalism is too strong. For some reason we NEED "others" - a colossal failure of imagination.
i like how you said this, the noise level is louder.
When someone calls you stupid it is because they lack mental Health. If they were healthy in the mind they would actually articulate something useful that adds to the conversation. Thank you for discussing this. Your videos consistently add something to the conversation. That's difficult to do and requires great intelligence and diligence.
Not really. They want to hurt you. Why, well you'd have to ask them.
Oh, sister! Humans can be the most hideous of creatures! Your lessons in history are thoroughly enjoyed in this camp. You have got me digging back through my own, again. I take it by spells, and in between times, the information to glean increases exponentially. If your bored, I highly recommend The Appalachian Storyteller. Lots of history and social lessons in them.
Kudos on doing a fine job. Haters are gonna hate so just let them hate themselves into oblivion. They'll eventually come around.
Have a blessed weekend!
It's not just America, but there is a distinctly American version of it: people who are weak in their perception of their own worth need to have a perceived inferior.
It's economically desirable for some people that other people be artificially held down from opportunity. 🤷
But it can only work because ordinary, non-rich people with relative advantage have an emotional need to identify as "better than."
Or they just think black people are stupid. There doesn't need to be an inferiority complex to like a group or to think they are dumb. Edit: they are wrong to think that all black people are dumb.
I'm definitely going to use that Danielle quote of, "my history, my identity is too big for that kind of narrow-mindedness, that small-mindedness, and so is yours" that's a gem. DING! goes the magical bell. I imagine one of those big rectangular ones like in the Carol of the Bells. I've had TH-cam hide my comments when I don't demean or put anyone down, it's weird. And hey! Your hair looks dang amazing right now! Very cool. Keep on keepin' on. ✌🏽
I think this is why I vibe with your stuff: you and I both find the intricacies of our ancestry interesting. I've always been curious about my background, and the backgrounds of others. Which other people can find to be irrelevant, or because of people like the commentor you mentioned, they assume I am using those same labels and so it makes them defensive. FWIW that sentiment was very common where and when I grew up, and while I think the percentage of people who consciously embrace that sentiment is small, it is probably at least 10%. Where I grew up, the great migration brought a lot of folks up from Mississippi as "scabs" to break the back of a railroad strike. So we are talking about people who had been given little or no education in the deep South, and who probably spoke in that thick delta accent (which is difficult for me to follow and I lived with a person from that region for a short period of time). Even two generations after the migration, there were very few professionals of color in the world I grew up in. It has changed, but the push against AA/DEI shows how that prejudice persists in a more subtle form.
Killing it as always. Love seeing your journey, the rabbit hole goes deep.
Rabbit holes, I am Australian, Rabbits are pests here.
Love your channel, thank you. I walk around with an Asian phenotype with a family history of over 120 years in the “US” - quotation marks because Hawaii was a it’s own nation when my family arrived.
I certainly enjoy your analysis of , social and racial constructs. you are very wise for your age and this comes from a 70 years old man who watches you regularly.😊
that is a huge compliment!
The problem I believe here in America is the "suppression" of full American History. Some do not want the full history to be told. And that is sad. 🤔🤔
Yeah, but that full history still wouldn't be as one-sided the way you might think. Far from it. Thomas Sowell, for example, could tell you more on that.
You're right about this. America's suppression of its true history and living hypocrisy to the max has created this situation we are in today.
@@LennyCash777 Thomas Sowell simply tosses out facts that don't support his white supremacist narrative/America and the west have all the answers riprap like most black conservatives and their white supporters do.
@@LennyCash777 Notice how there’s only a handful of people who identify
as "blk American” but they speak rubbish about themselves and their community
as a way to appease the people outside of their community? You won’t find more than a handful of these Thomas Sowell characters; who these characters are the majority immigrants who are wearing a blk American identity like a disguise. But really they are NOT LIKE US they are not home grown black Americans- (Candace O.) but are claiming to be one of us. And it’s through these foreigners does the outside groups get the fallacious rhetoric and the appeasement of having their historical sins washed away; by the justification for the actions of their ancestors; on down to 2024 and the wilful ignorance of their descendants even today.
You’ll only ever find only a few…
If the full story gets told then they will lose everything. That is why they keep things secret.
You are a beautiful person of all of those people who came before you ignorance dies hard
So glad you’re here and sharing this content about identity. That comment is ridiculous. And btw, your Dad is so handsome. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! ❤
Thank you so much! he is always telling people he's my brother and they FALL FOR IT
The Cane River fair is October 12th and 13th. Hope you can join us, Danielle.
I miss seeing Louisiana!!
Thank you for your post, Danielle. It's a shame someone used racial comments to attack heritage.
Your comments addressing family are uplifting and at time thought provoking but never demeaning.
i LOVE the fact that you manage to infuse negativity like this with your light, your intellect and your positive energy! God bless you 💕🙏🏾
Thanks!
Thank you so much!!
I remember when you first started, and to see the growth of your channel is phenomenal 🙌🏿 that just goes to show how much people are interested in the human experience ❤ keep fighting the good fight
Do not forget this system we had in the states is a deeply rooted system that goes back centuries through European life, the Roman empire, and from Greek city-state values. It has never been the proper way to live, and we have a chance to finally change the narrative for a better future for everyone. Videos like yours will forever help inspire people into understanding the past slightly better, yet we will always have those fools who want to sew chaos and feel above someone when their daily lives are petty and pathetic. Never let the words of the uninspired bring you down to their low levels.
Good morning neighbor lady, it's rained for two and a half days here in Copperhill. Hope you are ok!!😊😊
Good morning! my roses are thankful :D
@@nytn I found your dad's doppelganger. Pic incoming of fb message soon.
Thank you for talking about this. This issue causes me a lot of anguish. I wish it felt safe to have conversations like this on a regular basis so we could understand and honor each other on a much greater level.
You're so welcome! Thank you for helping to make the community here a better place
@@nytn 💕
Love from Buffalo NY
Raised as a culture instead of with race. Wish we all had been raised like that.
I wonder if that is the reason for the diaspora wars within the Black community. African Americans have created a culture while existing with the constant reminder that they are not white. Immigrants of African descent exist in a bubble of their own culture without the daily oppression of having to be seen as a skin color. I see the people who identify as white as complicit in their own cultural erasure just so they can get some privileges. I remember asking a student to explore his culture and he said that he had none because he is just white. I kept questioning and he realized that he was Greek and some other culture. He began exploring this history. I think if we as a people shifted to identifying as a culture, things might be different.
I have to say I don't like that culture thing. Being Italian in America is stupid, you're American, that is that. Forget all those ethnic tags.
@@Ponto-zv9vf not of all us are allowed to do that. When I walk in anywhere, the first thing people see and react to is my skin color. From there, they will make positive or negative assumptions. The only time I am seem as an American first is when I am outside of u.s. and I open my mouth to speak English.
I enjoy watching your videos. I enjoy talking about our ancestors and getting to the point. People of mixed ancestry should be proud of their heritage and study as many branches or their roots as they can. Never be ashamed of being "white" or "black." Instead look at each and every ancestry branch you can. Most Americans are not of one ethnicity and or race.
Actually most are from 1 race but not ethnicity
BTW keep doing what you're doing I love it. Just a smart "black" person who sees you simply care about people and our self awareness. Thank you.
Thank you for opening the dialog and keeping it going. It is hard for many, yet, needed for healing our nation.❤
The USA has an unspoken about caste system that many are aware of, whereas some other countries have caste systems that are legal and out in the open for all to know and adhere to, e.g., India and South Africa. Racism is still very much alive and weaponized in the USA, however sometimes the real issue is caste not race.
I suggest you read the book CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson. It is excellent non-fiction and the audiobook, if that's your preference for consuming books, is absolutely excellent. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay made an Indie movie based on the book that's also excellent. It's called simply ORIGIN. It's compelling, telling, forthright, and well done.
No we don't. And there's no such thing as "wacism". What you're attempting to describe is Skin-Color Paranoia and the often desperate need to maintain the delusions of "whiteness". You don't understand this because you obviously still think along the superficial, hollow, and meaningless skin-color concepts created by and for "whiteness". America inherited a Skin-Color Identity and Division complex from our British colonial origins. But what you obviously don't know is that all of this was an Invention, a Fabrication, created in the late 1600s in British and Spanish colonies, specifically to DIVIDE the masses so they wouldn't rebel and overthrow the colonial authorities and land-owners. The KEY to the entire operation was US actually obeying the Skin-Color Identity rules created by and for "white" skin-color Identity. However, I am NOT in any way shape or form mad at the division or the strife and challenges created by the Paranoia. These were the conditions necessary for the Creation of what WE ARE, as AMERICANS. And what we are is One of One. "Black" nor "Africa" have a GD thing to do with US. The fact that you've literally NEVER thought like this only underscores my point that the key to the entire edifice of Skin-Color Identity is your OBEDIENCE to it.
The Caste System is no longer legal in India but it still exists. Just like racial discrimination is illegal here but still exists. Caste is a good book. And it has been banned some places in the USA.
@johnnyearp52 Thanks for the info about India's caste system no longer legal while also acknowledging that it still has an affect on its people. It's somewhat like the former USA Jim Crow Laws that included, for instance, the One Drop Rule Law that still persists in the hearts and minds and actions of many, and has created COLORISM, which can almost be as devastating to a person's well being as RACISM.
I agree!
Yeah, the "caste system" in the U.S. today is those spoken of in Revelation 2:9 & 3:9 at the very top, those such as yourself as the protected classes somewhere in the middle, and those such as myself at the bottom that everyone else can treat poorly with little to no repercussions compared to when it's the other way around.
We are all more than the labels that we have been given ❤. I say this all the time, especially when we try to live by the label of doctor, lawyer, custodian, teacher, etc. We were so much more than that before we obtained the job label. When we retire, we retire from those labels only to remember who we truly were/are. We are who we are because of our ancestors. And yes, there are so many layers. Thank you for sharing your journey!
I have to say, you gave a most intelligent and compassionate answer to a crude statement. The commenter might have just been a troll, but if so you took all the impact out of what he was trying to accomplish. And if not, if it was a simple expression of prejudice and anger, you addressed the underlying issue with wisdom and grace. We should be able to investigate the roots of our heritage without turning it into division.
I appreciate that so much.
Stay strong Ms. D. Love your work and how on point you are in the delivery of American ethnic reality..
Another great insightful video
Much appreciated
If you are anything, you are beautiful!! What I see is a delicate blending of your father’s heritage with touches of your mother’s history worked in. This what I have always loved about blending cultures, because the result is a piece of art that adds new depth and dimension to the overall story.
Hi Danielle. I love history and I enjoy your Chanel. I want to add that I believe most people have a mixture of different people. This mixture made you who you are. This mixture adds great beauty and intelligence. I teach my children to develop the characteristics of integrity, intelligence, high character and strength. I teach them the positive history of the ability to invent, scientists, builders, agricultural skills , teachers among many of the talents that were passed from ancestors. I teach them pride but I have to teach them how to respond to the police. It doesn’t matter how light your skin is or how curly or straight your hair appears. You are what the police sees so for your life act accordingly. For your own ability strive high and achieve. We are all children of the most high God .
Good job as always!❤
I was born in 1966 and raised in New Jersey, my parent’s were both born in Cuba and my grandparents were from Spain with the exception on my maternal great grandmother who was of English descent. I have always identified as white, but yet I have always been told that I am not white, when in reality I am white. After doing my ancestry DNA I’m over 80 percent Iberian, with the rest being English, French and North African. I have found that there are so many people who are ignorant and lack knowledge. I’m so happy that you are bringing up this topic because it truly needs to be addressed. I still feel that there is not only ignorance, but racism as well and although it’s gotten better, it’s still exist. That hidden comment, was from an absolutely ignorant person who should apologize for such a hateful remark. Have a blessed day!
Well I guess, not White means in reference to you, that you don't look like a stereotypical Swede. I am sure Italians, Greeks, Portuguese or any European who doesn't make the cut wherever they come from like England or Ireland or France or Germany, because they don't look like Scandinavians. My guess is that those who say you are not White, don't look Scandinavian either.
Hey cuz!❤❤❤❤
Not many like yours that was raised very well & most important Educated!! Universally!!. I can definitely see your topics as a documentary on Netflix or just simply Independent. I hope you definitely reach the future generations as well, hope they find your channel.
Appreciate you keeping it 💯 and bring the facts, truth needs to be told, school system never fully will,respect
Gr8 job, please keep doing what u are doing. This work is necessary. Knowledge is power.
Fascinating.
Why blur out the commenter's name in the thumbnail? Let him or her take responsibility for it. They posed to a public forum after all.
@nordicaliensfromthepleiades
You mean that he would want his name blurred?
@nordicaliensfromthepleiades
Then even better.
And in my original reply I said "him or her" even I did use the standard masculine assumption for the second.
@nordicaliensfromthepleiades
Why didn't you day that in the first place altjough I never heard even a rumor of a channel iwner being copyright struck because of a commentor's avatar but if that is a thing. Still at least the name could be shown.
@nordicaliensfromthepleiades
Yeah the xo your own research argument when the person making an assertion is not able to back up what they say.
As for "revenge and payback", I reiterate, he-or she-posted to a public forum with his or her handle was already shown. And he is already anonymous since he likely didn't use his real name anyway, as niether you or I do, so it is strange to anomynize somepne who is already anonymous.
@nordicaliensfromthepleiades
It is amazing you say I have hate and resentment in my heart while I ame calling out the person who questioned whether someone can
Sounds like the original person that posted that comment has the hate. Aim that thought and accusation at him/her. Or maybe you agree with him/her? I do have hate in my heart for racist.
Cultural identity is different than ethnic identity or lineage etc. I know a guy who’s mom is half Greek and half Black-American and her mom was Greek her dad was Black-American and his dad was Italian and he identified as Black even though he was 1/2 Italian, 1/4 Greek and 1/4 Black-American, because his mom was adopted by a Black-American family. With his dad being Italian he also learned some of that heritage, but he grew up with the Black side of his family mostly and his older brother was 3/4 Black-American and 1/4 Greek. So culturally he identified as Black-American even though he was 3/4 White-Mediterranean and 1/4 Black-American which is opposite from his older brother.
When it comes to identity, it can be complex and there is a difference between race, lineage, color, ethnicity, culture, nationality etc. so when people are identifying as something sometimes asking how or on what types of classifications helps. When it comes to you Daniel, the first time I saw your channel, you came off as mixed. So when you said Italian that was understandable as there are many mixed Italians as it’s an ethnicity and ethnicities are typically types of mixes, Italian is also a culture, language and nationality. When you did your moms dna haplogroups and pulled Asian groups I very much could see that in you as well and you also have some black and I also could see that. All over the world there are Black, Mixed and White groups and to me you came off as mixed.
Okay, but does your friend look like a Black African person or someone with Black African ancestry? A woman adopted by Black Americans obviously did not look European. So her children would not look European either, so it stands to reason that they would identify as Black American.
Ethnic identity, and cultural identity are different, but so is the identity you choose. My parents are Maltese, their first language is Maltese, their culture is Maltese, they follow all the beliefs Maltese people have, yet I, don't identify as Maltese at all, don't give a flying eff about their culture, language, religious beliefs, nothing about them. I identify as an Australian and that is that.
@
The mom looks mixed as she is mixed and Mariah Carey or Alicia Keys would be a good example of how she looks. Her son who is mixed with black looks black, but also has Greek features and her son who is mixed with Italian looks similar to Drakes son which is white leaning, he could just easily say he is Italian or Greek and Italian and people wouldn’t think anything, but he is mixed and more so identifies as black, because he grew up around Black family. All were exposed to the Mediterranean side through the Black family as well, so they are also very much in touch with that side too even though they consider themselves more Black or mixed-Black.
I knew there was something about your old man I liked. As a lifelong Cowboys fan, tell him to keep the faith! Bound to be a long season🙂 Keep doing a great job Danielle.
hahahahah
Hi Danielle I’d love to see you speaking with loads of people about what they think being a good ancestor means. It’s a wonderful question to pose don’t you think? I can’t imagine the range of answers people would give and whether the answer would slip off the tongue in an instant or whether people would pause and fully consider their answer. Hmmm as I type this I am pausing. How would I answer that question. Maybe I’d have to examine myself and think not only what it means to be a good ancestor but whether I am one and if I’m not fulfilling my own definition of what makes a good ancestor, what can I do about it. We are always learning, growing, evolving and we want to be a positive influence in our lifetime, yes? Racism is passed on through families. Society, unconscious and conscious bias, the education system and our institutions play a part, of course they do, but your biggest influence from your earliest young life, I would argue, is what you are raised around, your home environment, the people who love you. Of course children of racists are not bound to be racists themselves, but some surely will. And I absolutely agree - this is not ancient history - we are still a long way off acceptance and equality for all regardless of the amount of melanin in our skin.
I love this idea! I am saving it, thank you
"Black" blood cannot "taint" anything under our Gods sun. 🌟
That blood is red, just like other humans.
Hey Danielle, I was just on the merchandise sight to order. Can you please add a tank top T-shirt to the selection for Warm weather Florida viewers. 😂😂🌴🌴
I agree with you, 100% !!!!!!!!!!!
The internet is gonna internet but when I first subscribed to TH-cam I used a picture of myself. The crazy comments I received about being black and not what I was commenting on wasn’t that unusual from what I heard from ignorant, small minded people irl. bIt’s never a good idea to reveal yourself on social media in my experience as a black woman unless you’re ready for internet trolls and and bigots usually ironically hiding themselves. I think you’re very brave to discuss your ancestry and explore American identity on your channel. You are reaching people who are truly interested and learning new things.
You’re right about this never could I ever tell my family’s race it’s very convoluted
4:37 Your an ancestor of a Cowboys fan. That's all that matters. 😁
Hahahah. I had my own Troy aikman jersey for awhile in middle school 😂 I was in love with him
I always liked Forrest Gump and his mother's philosophy. "Are you stupid? - Stupid is as stupid does."
Danielle , my father was of British ancestry , but before he married my mother , he converted to Catholicism and joined my mother`s Italian-American church. When me and my brothers were in Sunday school , my dad and one of the Italian priests would walk across the street and have breakfast with the Italian barber every Sunday morning . I telling you these facts , leading to the question --- Why would your father always tell you " you`re Italian " ?? Did he want you to overlook your maternal Creole side ? It is an uncomfortable question , but have you ever thought about it ? P.S. Your podcast is always thought provoking !!
From what I learned from a few Italians I knew, they often got mistreated and discriminated against like blacks until the government decided to classified Italian as white. Once they were reclassified as Italian white they started excelling in America and many just identify themselves as white and not mentioned thier Italian heritage. So for Daniella dad to tell his daughter to never forget you are Italian was driving off the fact that many had to achieve the American dream allegedly.
Her papa wanted her to be proud of her Italian heritage. It’s the same way my papa wanted me to be proud of my Creole heritage. Being proud of who you are and the traditions and rituals associated with it is what gives you your cultural identity.
How lovely. I wouldn't convert for anyone no matter how much in love I was. It's against my religious beliefs. I don't know why her father told her that she is Italian. I would guess because she is his daughter and he thinks himself Italian American and that she looks different to the standard White America, a WASP. The question is: What do you think of your identity, British, Italian or American?
Just because you weren't raised to categorize yourself doesn't mean society (whichever one you grow up in), your environment, or the world at large won't recognize what you are or subscribe you to a category yourself.
Folks have to get beyond "I wasn't raised X way" or "I wasn't taught X as a kid". Welp things change, history is made _everyday_ and it's called books, research, TED talks, conferences, etc. - learning doesn't stop you grew out of childhood 😅💯.
I'm black. I have nieces and nephews who are biracial. They can claim both sides of their heritage with having to answer to anyone. They don't have to subscribe to Jim Crow laws. This is the 21st century.
That’s not true. I live and used to work among some blacks. None of them assumed l was black and neither did l. Different heritages and ways of living separate us all. There’s many times l stay home and putter around my garden now l’m retired rather than go out since l live nowhere near people who look and sound like me. That’s my culture and heritage. Regardless of what people say or want to believe, you are your family of origin and how they raise you overrides society’s expectations and standards.
@Mimi-ht6xr, so you would rather be ignorant and stick to the old way of thinking. Sorry, but that's not really helping anybody
Hey there, I love your genealogy journey. Embrace all of who you are! You’re firstly a child of God!
These trolls are ridiculous, it's like the ones who attack women by calling them fat even though they don't know what their body's look like, he's just going towards what he thinks is the worst thing he can say. It's pathetic and infantile.
What if the woman is fat? I know a lot of men who love fat women. It may be a debit but it can also be an asset.
You are gorgeous! There is no debate about this! WOW!❤
I dislike how the US puts us in boxes when filling out forms. I have never checked off white as I always write Irish-American as I was raised by single mother who has that background. I grew up with my father's Italian side but I discovered the music, heritage and food much later in life.
I remember, Faggiano vs Eastman Kodak where a man of Italian heritage goes against Kodak because he was wronged in promotions and had a boss that would use dago and wap around him.
One needs to study Nationality and naturalized; Italian is a Nationality it is recognized by other Nations, you have never heard of a country called blackadonia or nigro land unless written in a book by some slavers. Black, native, negro, African American etc are all colorable terms that strip you of your humanity and lawful place on the planet .in the u.s you have states everywhere else has countries with nationalities. Everybody that carries united states identification is a 14th amendment corporate citizen wich negates you of human rights or common law Jurisprudence. Those Conotative terms are dead in the eyes of the law void ab initio so no justice for you.
Are Irish ethnically of the white race?
@@annatomasso5226 Americans didn't create race.
Europeans are as racist as any other American( European Americans descended from europe).
Nobody hasn't been put in a box that yt Europeans didn't agree on.
We don't do that in Australia, we have a census that asks about ethnicity, country birth. It isn't about race. The government here likes statistic and when you go to the doctor or dentist for the first time, you'll be asked the country of your birth. I suppose spending 30 years in another country could indicate health issues. I have been to New Zealand quite a few times, and on their immigration card I have claimed to be a Pacific Islander, a Maori, a White person, an Australian Aborigine... whatever I felt like. It is impertinent to ask such questions even for statistical purposes.
3:30 daddy is fine 😂❤ looks like a version of Tony danza
I like your channel and commentary I think it is honest and reflective which we are lacking these days. It is interesting the term "white" really wasn't relative until The Jamestown rebellion 1676 in Virginia . The powers that be understood they needed to divide peoples after the incident because peoples of all different backgrounds got together to challenge power . Prior to it people were Irish , English, Scottish, Angolan, etc etc after people were white and Negro and the divide created lasts until this day unfortunately.
I have three different races in my heritage and many diverse heritages. But honestly my mom and dad raised us seven children more in an American Indian culture in a different way. I didn't realize this until I began to go into other homes and notice how other people treat each other and the earth and nature around them. I was so fortunate.
Are you saying Native Americans are special, love other people, and don't damage nature? I think you are just like everyone else.
YES! Less than a minute in - You're Italian be proud of it! I heard the same thing growing up from my father!😅✌️❤️🙏
Race in America has always been complicated. I come from a multiracial family , especially on my mother’s side but my skin tone is darker so people assume of course. However my features and hair tell a different story. I love the complexities of what I’m finding in my genealogy because it makes me who I am and I love it all!
I'm "quadroon" technically speaking, and do get mistaken for Italian at times.
I have so many great videos on that side! th-cam.com/play/PLvzaW1c7S5hQxDnyRTah5wYRX9b4FSrqR.html
Love your Channel!❤ 😊😉
I’m a black American. My father was a share cropper’s son and a decorated ww2 vet. My mother was a bi-racial woman and a house wife. Both were born in the 1920’s in the Jim Crowe south. I watch your content and while I appreciate most of it. One of the things that stand out is The way you say you weren’t brought up to identify as a “color”. Where I come from that’s what non-white people say that would rather be identified as anything other than black or of any type of African decent. Black people don’t have the option of saying “I don’t identify with a particular color or race”. Only non-white people mostly of European decent. There are several other peoples in south and Central America as well as North Africa that go to great lengths to not be identified as black. I think everyone should be proud of who they are and where they came from but they should also be honest and center their thought on facts and history.
I appreciate this comment, thank you. I did grow up hearing questions about my identity from strangers (and still do!) I remember distinctly standing with my dad at work and a client asked him if I was mulatto. I didnt know what that word meant, I was young. When I first moved down south 15 years ago from NY, it was still pretty old school, and I had a man who worked at Publix come tap me on the shoulder while I was shopping and check if I was "Spanish". I told him no... it was awkward.
In many ways, it's a privilege to decide how to identity, but in other ways, it's confusing and feeling like there is not really one group I'll ever belong in totally.
💛💛💛
Be well everyone
I love my mixed-family heritage
I'm black and you look like my cousin it's those eyes they don't lie
Did you ever think that some features that we carry may not even come from our Sub Saharan ancestry❓
Danielle is of Italian heritage and looks it. If she were in NYC she would walk as what she is, an Italian American. She doesn’t look like any typical black african woman. Her hair is not kinky Afro hair and that’s a biggie in black America. I know because l’m darker than Danielle with almost the same hair type but mine is jet black, wavy and l wear it much longer than she wears hers. No black person, especially women, have EVER assumed l was black. This subtle gaslighting of her is horrible on here.
@@Mimi-ht6xr There is no need to attack me I have already explained and you should have read all the comments instead of being so defensive nobody is trying to take away her Italian heritage no need to dispell her African heritage either, I believe she can be proud of both no matter how little or how much DNA is there it's there. That's the problem do we only claim the most dominant Chromosomes or can we truly be proud of who we are in a whole sense no other parts excluded because of how small? why must you go crazy because I point out features that are familiar to me in my family as a black person by the way I said nothing about her hair. I respect this Woman's work and I have stated it, I have also apologized for things I said when I didn't know if she covered her African Ancestry in previous uploads. If you're Italian be proud of it I'm proud to be mixed even though I am mostly African.
Nigerian eyes. I have noticed that on Nigerians.
Seeing yr dad for the 1st time I can see where you got yr good looks from! Yr mom must be a looker, too!
I am old. My long life has taught me that those three words are under the most kind analysis based on profound ignorance.
My father rose above that ignorant attitude; so I wouldn't have to do it for myself. But my experience in life has taught me that such gross categorizations are not viable. In addition to our family introducing us to cultural, we find things throughout our lives which we adopt. America is a great place to find new ways to approach a problem, or find new things to eat, or new sources of ideas. I'm glad I don't live uder a rock. I'm glad I let people shine as who they are rather than thru an arbitrary filter that has no real inherent validity.My claimed to be Heinz 57; which for him was a mixed European and some native American. My mother was Italian. Where she grew up was a mixed European area Lots of Polish and other eastern European. They shared their cultures. I do remember one old comment that we heard--"They're getting along to well." The comment refutes its underlying racial motivation. We didn't stop getting along. The black population were not objects but friends with names and histories and conections to those around them.
America would be a far poorer nation if the black contributions went missing. Sports, music, food.
Maybe the banners of CRT should be required to show Hidden Treasures to all middle school children. None of those women could in any circumstance be called stupid. And let them watch an interview with the real math genius from the movie. She was sharp and articulate even in her old age. Another interview after the movie was made and she was showing the signs of aging. Racism makes no sense. It is a best a archaic trait of stone age tribal solidarity. What usefulness it once may have had is long gone.
I was raised Italian too, and told to be proud! I didn't understand why I was picked on for being of Italian ancestry. Now I do. Luckily, I guess, I had a rough upbringing and didn't GAF about what most said, still don't. What bothers me most these days is this wyte supremacy thing. People have no idea what my ancestors went though. Now that I know, I take offence and get extremely angry being called a wyte supremacist. Give me a break!
Hey! Good to see you. Sending you all the good things xo
Are you saying that people picked on you and call you white supremacist because Mussolini sided with the Nazis or because the Moors were driven out of southern Italy. I didn't think people even knew history anymore.
A Turk lashed out at me the other day for no reason and I was like Geez, is his family going to help the Palestinians over there or over here... But this is cow town USA not Sephardic community Chicago or Ashkenazi Community ATL. I'm Jewish but don't look it and I think my GG father come up bacon bits in 1928 years prior to it becoming a thing here in the Deep South. Not from North Fam arrived in Savannah in early 1700's Only Gothic Synagogue in North America. I assume Fam skipped out before it was built Supposedly only 2 German Jewish families and unnumbered majority of Portuguese (Irish?)Jews deported from London in British Ship.
You can be from a poor, White family, and also racist at the same time. Actually, a lot of plantation overseers were dirt poor Whites.
In fact, my personal experience as a Black person is that a lot of times, the really racist people are usually dirt poor Whites, and dirt poor Hispanics. Rich people tend to avoid poor people, regardless of race. But, dirt poor White, and Hispanics tend to be really hateful. They want somebody to be better than, they want to pretend that they're automatically better just because they are White, or "not Black". So, one of the things that really, really blows their gasket is a Black person doing well.
So, just because you came from a poor White family, that doesn't not mean that your family wasn't hanging on to some foolish White supremacist ideologies. It unfortunately increases the likelihood that they did.
@@MsTrueNation I never said anything about growing up poor. Seems you had your response prepared before you actually read my post. I guess you’re not aware that Italians were the only ones that teamed up with the African-Americans in the south to try to help them and the Italians were also lynched by the KKK and the Italians were not even considered white until the mid 1900s. I don’t know what your lived experience has been, but I know what mine has been and being spit on because I’m an Italian American in the 1970s, I’m sure is something that you are not aware of. I have no idea what you’re talking about. But my lived experience has nothing to do with what you were talking about. Maybe for other Europeans, but Italian Americans were kicked to the ground, couldn’t get work because people had signs up no Italians allowed, we’re called DAGO and other ethnic slurs and we were also put in camps just like the Japanese were during World War II for being enemy aliens. I bet you didn’t know that.I’m going to take it that you really have no education on my Italian history, but I do. Thank you for your two cents and have a great day.
You are such a beautiful soul
well that's really nice. only after coffee 😆
Always remember the quote, I forget who said it, to the effect of what monstrosities would walk the earth were people’s faces as unfinished as their minds.
this is the most incredible quote.
Sounds like HP Lovecraft
@@nytn Found it: “What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people's faces as unfinished as their minds.” ― Eric Hoffer
This quote means more to me than it ever could before starting this channel
@@nytn “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” ― H.P. Lovecraft
im on a hp lovecraft kick right now, it's great
I have traceable creole ancesty but no % of African ancesry. My Creole ancestor lived in the late 18th Century so his genetic contribution was lost. I am proud of my Cajun/Creole heritage .
Creoles don't always have Black African ancestry, well not if they come from other countries other than America. It is more a culture and language thing where people from different races live close to each other. American did not invent Creoles.
I am mixed & my mixed friend were never sat down & talked about what "color" we are, I only know of my black fiends & family told to never trust & watch out for the police , it is what it is was it is
New Viewer here, Love your content. ♥️
I love what you’re doing. Thank you so much, 💕🙏
I love when your Father says be proud of your heritage..me being a black man the world will try to tell me that my heritage is slavery and all the negative things that the history books teach us. My culture is the only culture in America who literally created our culture from the nothing. We were stripped of everything that attached us to the country in which we came from, and some how everything we do has either been copied or co-opted worldwide for financial gain to be worn as a costume. A lot of people have died for this country but we not only bled and died for this country to advance we bled and died to open the door for others to benefit just for those culture to come and crap on us like the others. Our strength, our resilience, our compassion has been used against us just for people to say when we speak about it that we are being victims. I love my heritage bc cant nobody do it like us. Often imitated, never duplicated..the only way to beat us is to cheat us
You are a gift.
My parents never talked about race, ethnicity or culture. I was never told you are “this” be proud! We were just American. Growing up like this great. I was never made to feel like I was better than anyone else or lesser for who I was. Because of that I am mentally race/culture neutral. I don’t have preconceived notions about any others. If I didn’t like someone, it was because of there behavior.
Race is a VERY important factor that's literally in the foundation of the U.S. It's always been a part of upbringing and I know it bc kids said ugly stuff to a bruh.
Great work again. 🍻
Thank you! Cheers!
That person who said that Blacks are stupid had the word Kanakakane as an identifier indicating the person may have been a Kanaka, native Hawaiian, I found that interesting.
You are right. The USA will “label you “. Especially since they know some of your shared history.
I'm from NYC and similar to you in that when I grew up, like most people I knew, I identified (and still do) as my ethnicity, namely, Sicilian, German, and Hungarian/Slovak, especially Sicilian because my parents were divorced and I spent most of my time with my mother and her family, including my great-grandfather who didn't even speak English. Being white was not an important part of my, or my family's, identity, but still I knew we were classified as white. In fact, I can remember as a child when I was first told by my mother that we were white. I look at my hand and said, "I'm not white, I'm pink." My sister actually used to check "other" instead of "Caucasian" on forms, because, as she put it, "I'm not Caucasian, I'm Italian, German, and Hungarian." It seems like in America these days, at least from what I see online since I no longer live there, white people are increasingly identifying with being white.
Well being White does not mean being the color of milk, it is a range of hues, just not dark brown and black or the color of many East Asians.
Love your content.
What do you think about metatron
Yeah, Germany used a similar system there! Instead of banding together to make a better world, we have too many people overly concerned with race, greed, hate, and fear!
Maybe you can pick a few Mods who you know or trust, to help filter out troll or hateful comments, and set every video to "don't hold any comments"? That way you don't have to worry about the comment section and hidden comments, it will be your Mods who do the clean up, lol. Most YT Content Creators have a few or dozes of Moderators, but it's up to you. 🤔
@@Thomas_Oklahoma I believe that's called CENSORSHIP?
@@TLouise1959 censoring trolls and hateful toxic commentators, and leaving the rest be, is censorship?
@@TLouise1959lmao, someone ain’t got smacked by their mom hard enough.
@@TLouise1959 hate speech deserves to be censored.
@@leavemeal0ne378 You are obviously not American
Same here I was as a Puerto Rican be proud of it. NOT Color
Well, pride is as bad as shame. Just accept yourself.
If you haven't seen it yet, please watch the video "Journey of Man" by Spencer Wells. I'd love to see your commentary on it.