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Growing Interest in DNABased Genetic Testing Among African American...

One thing President-Elect Barack Obama won'st have to grapple with in the Oval Office is his ancestry. He'ss one of the few African Americans who actually know exactly where in Africa their African bloodlines began -- an experience that remains elusive to many people of African descent in the U.S. African Ancestry, Inc., the company that pioneered DNA-based ancestry tracing for people of African descent, is making it easier and more accurate for African Americans to be like Obama and know their roots this Holiday Season with a specially-priced Holiday DNA-Test Kit at ww.africanancestry.com/holiday.

African American Icons 'sin-the-know's on African Roots:

In addition to the thousands of families impacted through African Ancestry'ss DNA tracing during the past five years, African-American celebrities have also responded to the trend. African Ancestry'ss celebrity round-up includes movie stars and musical artists to business moguls and political leaders. With common ancestries in West and Central Africa -- regions more affected by the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade -- a majority of African Ancestry'ss celebrity reveals are

from present-day Sierra Leone. Cameroon and Nigeria also run a good race as genetic homelands for many of America'ss top African American icons among the nearly 40 countries that African Ancestry'ss proprietary DNA testing system is designed to trace (Sample listing):

Maya Angelou -- Sierra Leone

India.Arie -- Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia

Jim Brown - Nigeria

Don Cheadle - Cameroon

Kimberly Elise - Mali

Roberta Flack - Cameroon

Morgan Freeman - Niger

Whoopi Goldberg -- Sierra Leone, Liberia

Louis Gossett Jr. -- Sierra Leone, Liberia

Judge Hatchett - Nigeria

Tom Joyner -- Sierra Leone

Spike Lee, Niger - Cameroon

Taraji P. Henson - Cameroon Russ Parr - Niger

Chris Rock - Nigeria

Forrest Whitaker - Ghana

Oprah Winfrey - Liberia

Susan Taylor -- Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia

Hon. Andrew Young -- Sierra Leone

Mayor Shirley Franklin -- Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone

Dr. Dorothy Height -- Sierra Leone

Congr. Barbara Lee -- Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone

Dr. Louis Sullivan -- Sierra Leone

Congr. Diane Watson, Central African Republic

Chauncey Davis -- Sierra Leone, Liberia

Trevor Pryce -- Sierra Leone, Liberia

Etan Thomas -- Sierra Leone

Dr. John Hope Franklin - Cameroon

Dr. Wade Nobles -- Sierra Leone

Dr. Mae Jemison -- Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Senegal

Power in Knowing -- From Kenya to U.S. Presidency:

President-Elect Obama'ss paternal lineage is rooted in Kenya on Africa'ss eastern coast. While his achievements have reached nations in all corners of the world, he knows exactly where it all started.African Ancestry'ss one-swab technique can reveal the ancestry of an entire family so it'ss economically relevant this Holiday season. Additionally, for tests submitted by December 31, African Ancestry will have results available during Black History Month so that families can commemorate their Reveals during an historic moment in time.

The excitement of this unprecedented election season coupled with the increase in consumer-based genetic testing has spawned a heightened interest among African Americans, said African Ancestry Co-Founder 's38; President Gina Paige. It'ss bigger than the demand for test kits. It'ss a renewed sense of self that we'sve seen permeate through our online Member discussions and community participation as well as media interest and emails and cold calls from people

hungry for more information, said Paige.

About African Ancestry: Founded in 2003 on years of research, African Ancestry, Inc. is the ancestry tracing company that pioneered African lineage matching in the United States utilizing its proprietary DNA-database of more than 25,000 African DNA lineages to more accurately assess present-day country of origin for people of African descent. Since its inception, African Ancestry'ss lineage reveals have impacted the lives of more than 100,000 people in the U.S. from communities at large to global leaders such as Oprah Winfrey, Tom Joyner and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. African Ancestry has been featured across the globe in outlets such as CNN'ss Black in America series, 60 Minutes and Essence Magazine; and was the centerpiece to the ground-breaking PBS special African American Lives 1 's38; 2 with Skip Gates. African Ancestry is African-American-owned and operated and headquartered in Washington, DC. For press inquiries, contact Taylor Communications Group.

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