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Americans seek their African roots

First it was Oprah Winfrey's wistful reach for the continent, now other prominent African Americans are finding their roots.

Since then thousands of other African Americans have followed suit, many of them household names in the US.

Comedian Chris Rock discovered that he was descended from the Udeme people of northern Cameroon.

DNA testing has also resulted in some African Americans being bestowed with honorary African titles.

There are more than two dozen genealogy organisations in the US selling genetic ancestry tests but African Ancestry is the only black-owned firm.

It is also the first to cater specifically to African Americans. Of the half a million Americans who have purchased DNA tests, around 35,000 of them are African American.

African Ancestry charges $349 to test either a person's maternal or paternal lineage.

Read entire article at BBC