New 23andMe Update Connects Many African American Customers to Southern Roots

History is written in our DNA, and like our DNA, our history is often complicated.

Over the last several years, 23andMe scientists have explored what our genetics can reveal about the people of the United States and our complicated history with race.

Leveraging many of these insights and ongoing improvements to our ancestry service features, 23andMe released a new feature this week to help people with African American ancestry connect to one of 213 genetic communities of people of African descent in the United States.

This new update offers individuals and families direct connections to communities where their ancestors may have once lived. To understand the significance of these connections, one must know a little about African American history in the United States. Much of that history involves forced migration, often a harsh severing of families from their past. This happened first during the brutal history of slavery when people were robbed from Africa and brought to the Americas. (Read more about this feature from someone who worked on it here.)

The Great Migration

It happened again during what is known as the Great Migration in the United States, which lasted from the early to the middle of the 20th Century. According to scholars, about 90 percent of the Black population in the United States lived in the South until 1910.

During the Great Migration, more than six million Black Americans left the primarily rural South in search of economic opportunities and to escape the repression of Jim Crow laws and racial violence. Over the years, individuals and families migrated along a few well-beaten paths to northern and western states.

In her book The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Isabel Wilkerson describes how transformative the movement of people was not just for individuals and families but also for the political, cultural, and social fabric of the United States. While these migrants still experienced racism, they also helped fuel political and cultural changes in cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles.

In her book, Wilkerson notes some of the many iconic figures who either came north with their families or who were born soon after their families migrated north, from the writer Zora Neale Hurston, whose family fled Florida to Baltimore and eventually Harlem, to the Blues musician Muddy Waters who left Mississippi for Chicago, to Jackie Robinson whose mother took him and his siblings from Cairo, Georgia and moved to Los Angeles, to the first Black mayor of that city Tom Bradley, whose family were sharecroppers in Texas before moving him and his siblings to Los Angeles.

While the millions of people who made difficult moves north and west found new opportunities and made new lives, they often remained tied to the communities they left behind, either through family or food.

Reconnecting to Roots

Over the generations, some of those ties to the communities from which families came have weakened, but they’ve never been lost.

There were three broad avenues of migration from these southern African American communities. The first was a well-worn path connecting people who now live in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston with communities in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. Another path connects people now living in St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit to rural communities in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Out west, vibrant Black communities in Los Angeles and Oakland connect to towns and parishes in Louisiana and Texas.

Beginning in the 1970s and continuing until the 2000s, some reverse migration has occurred from urban centers. Economic opportunities have driven this more, with people moving not to rural communities in the South but to urban and suburban areas for work and affordable housing.

Rich History of African American Communities

23andMe’s new African American Genetic Groups feature helps those interested in seeing their genetic connections to those rural communities. Many of these communities have a rich history of their own.

23andMe scientists used their Genetic Group analysis pipeline to identify 213 genetic communities of people of African descent in the United States. Based on customer survey answers and geographic representation, scientists inferred that many of these groups correspond to communities formed by the colonial slave trade.

Customers who share enough DNA with a Genetic Group will see this group in their Ancestry Composition report under “Additional Ancestry Regions.” These connections may reflect ancestry as recent as a couple of generations ago or as distant as the 17th Century. 

Many of these communities are unique, such as the Gullah Geechee, who descended from enslaved Africans brought to work in the coastal low country and Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida. The isolation of these communities, especially in the island communities, allowed them to develop their language, a Sea Island Creole, and traditions and cuisine that mix West African, Caribbean, Native American, and Southern influences. Or the Piney Woods Mississippi African American Genetic Group, connected to dense forests and rolling hills in rural Mississippi, a region that was so crucial for the evolution of Blues music. Or the River Parishes and Greater New Orleans Creole Genetic Group, connected to large and small communities along the lower Mississippi that draw on French, Spanish, Native American, and African cultures.

A Broad and a Granular Model

Two models are used to determine connections to these Genetic Groups. One is broad and includes 33 different groups across wide geographic distributions. The second model is much more granular. This typically identifies more recent Genetic Groups at the county or city level. Because it is less likely for a customer to share sufficient DNA with a small granular cluster, fewer customers will get matches to the granular model.

More than a million 23andMe customers—or about 88 percent of the customers identifying as African American—will see connections to one or more of the African American Genetic Groups comprising the broad model. 23andMe+ Premium customers can see more distant matches, so about 95 percent of our African American 23andMe+ Premium customers will get a match. In addition to 23andMe customers who identify as Black, about 5 percent of 23andMe customers who identify as white but may have a small percentage of African ancestry will also see a result. In many cases, these customers may be unaware of their African ancestry. Still, it’s the result of the ugly history of sexual exploitation and rape of enslaved women by their slave owners. Whereas many African Americans are well aware of their mixed ancestry, which often includes European ancestry, many people who self-identify as white but have some “hidden” African ancestry may not know that same history. They are the descendants of individuals who, at some point, likely “passed as white.”

The most common matches will be to the Southern Black Belt African American Genetic Group, which includes Alabama, Mississippi, and parts of Georgia.

About a quarter million 23andMe customers — or about a quarter of 23andMe customers who identify as African American — will see a match to one or more of the more granular African American Genetic Groups. The most common match for these customers includes the Catawba River Basin African American Genetic Group, the African Americans from Anderson, Spartanburg, and Laurens Counties Genetic Group, or the Florida Parishes Creoles Genetic Group.

Find out more

23andMe customers can see their Genetic Groups by going to their Ancestry Composition and clicking through, while 23andMe+ Premium customers can see additional, more distant connections using this feature.

Are you still waiting to be a customer? You can find out more about 23andMe’s Ancestry Service and other services here.

List of Broad Model African American Genetic Groups

1. Albemarle Sound African Americans
2. Ark-La-Tex Creoles
3. Arkansas West Timberlands African Americans
4. Avoyelles Parish Creoles
5. Central Carolinas Piedmont African Americans
6. Central Georgia Piedmont African Americans
7. Central Kentucky African Americans
8. Chesapeake Bay African Americans
9. Creoles of Cajun Country
10. Delmarva Peninsula African Americans
11. Georgia Coastal Plain African Americans
12. Lower Alabama African Americans
13. Lower Cape Fear African Americans
14. Lower Tar-Pamlico River Basin African Americans
15. Maryland Western Shore African Americans
16. North Carolina Northern Coastal Plain African Americans
17. North Carolina Northern Piedmont African Americans
18. North Carolina Western Piedmont African Americans
19. Pearl River Basin African Americans
20. Pee Dee River Gullah
21. Piney Woods, Mississippi African Americans
22. River Parishes and Greater New Orleans Creoles
23. Savannah River Basin African Americans
24. South Carolina Lowcountry Gullah
25. South Carolina Piedmont African Americans
26. Southern Black Belt African Americans
27. Southern Mississippi Pines African Americans
28. Southern Plains African Americans
29. Upper Cape Fear African Americans
30. Virginia and Upper Ohio River Valley African Americans
31. Virginia Piedmont African Americans
32. Virginia Tidewater African Americans
33. Yadkin-Pee Dee Basin African Americans

List of Granular Model African American Genetic

Alabama

1. African Americans from Andalusia and Boykin 
2. African Americans from Crenshaw and Jefferson Counties
3. African Americans from Monroe and Escambia Counties
4. African Americans from Oak Hill 
5. African Americans from Opelika, La Fayette and Seale 
6. African Americans from Pickens and Tuscaloosa Counties
7. African Americans from Shelby and Perry Counties
8. African Americans from Wilcox County and Mobile Bay 
9. Central Alabama Prairie African Americans
10. Central Alabama River Basin African Americans
11. Clarke County African Americans
12. Hale County African Americans
13. Lower Cahaba Valley African Americans
14. Lower Coosa River Basin African Americans
15. Lower Tennessee River Basin African Americans
16. Lower Tombigbee River Basin African Americans
17. Marengo County African Americans
18. Mobile-Tensaw Delta African Americans
19. Northern Alabama Wiregrass Region African Americans
20. Russell County African Americans
21. Southern Alabama River Basin African Americans
22. Southern Alabama Wiregrass Region African Americans
23. Tallapoosa River Basin African Americans
24. Upper Pea River Basin African Americans

Arkansas

25. Clark County African Americans
26. Ouachita County African Americans

Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania 

27. African Americans from Charles and Prince George’s Counties
28. African Americans from Frederick, Carroll and Montgomery Counties
29. Central Delmarva Peninsula African Americans
30. Chesapeake Bay Western Shore African Americans
31. Choptank River Basin African Americans
32. Northern Chesapeake Bay African Americans
33. Northern Delmarva Peninsula African Americans
34. Patuxent River Basin African Americans
35. Severn River Basin African Americans
36. St. Mary’s Peninsula African Americans

Georgia

37. African Americans from Bulloch and Effingham Counties
38. African Americans from Byron, Ellerslie and Cataula
39. African Americans from Conyers, Social Circle and Adairsville
40. African Americans from Crawford, Georgia
41. African Americans from Greene and Taliaferro Counties
42. African Americans from Greensboro, Georgia
43. African Americans from Hall, Habersham and Jackson Counties
44. African Americans from Hancock and Washington Counties
45. African Americans from Houston and Taylor Counties
46. African Americans from Jasper and Lamar Counties
47. African Americans from Mitchell and Baker Counties
48. African Americans from Pike and Meriwether Counties
49. African Americans from Preston
50. African Americans from Talbot and Harris Counties
51. African Americans from Terrell and Randolph Counties
52. African Americans from Wadley and Bartow
53. Burke County African Americans
54. Central Georgia Fall Line African Americans
55. Dodge County African Americans
56. Georgia Lower Coastal Plain African Americans
57. Georgia Suwannee River Basin African Americans
58. Gwinnett County African Americans
59. Macon County African Americans
60. Northern Chattahoochee River Basin African Americans
61. Northern Flint River Basin African Americans
62. Treutlen County African Americans
63. Warren County African Americans
64. Wilkes County African Americans

Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia

65. Greater Louisville African Americans
66. Muskingum River Basin African Americans
67. Pennyroyal Plateau African Americans
68. Southern Ohio African Americans

Louisiana

69. African Americans from Franklin and Lake Providence
70. Barataria Bay Creoles
71. Coastal Prairie Creoles
72. Creoles from St. Landry, Evangeline and Acadia Parishes
73. False River Basin Creoles
74. Florida Parishes Creoles
75. Lafayette Parish Creoles
76. Mississippi River Delta Creoles
77. Natchitoches Parish Creoles
78. Pontchartrain Basin Creoles
79. St. Martin Parish Creoles
80. Vermilion Parish Creoles

Mississippi

81. African Americans from Amite, Pike and Wilkinson Counties
82. African Americans from Attala and Noxubee Counties
83. African Americans from Benton and Panola Counties
84. African Americans from Clarke and Lauderdale Counties
85. African Americans from Collins and Laurel
86. African Americans from Crawford, Mississippi
87. African Americans from Friars Point
88. African Americans from Hermanville
89. African Americans from Jasper and Smith Counties
90. African Americans from Jefferson and Yazoo Counties
91. African Americans from Kemper and Neshoba Counties
92. African Americans from Lee and Franklin Counties
93. African Americans from Leflore and Holmes Counties
94. African Americans from Lena
95. African Americans from Pinola, Mendenhall and New Hebron 
96. African Americans from Sharon 
97. African Americans from Tallahatchie and Jones Counties
98. African Americans from Union Church
99. African Americans from Vaughan and Silver City
100. Harrison County African Americans
101. Lower Pearl River Basin African Americans
102. Marion County African Americans
103. Marshall County African Americans
104. Montgomery County African Americans
105. Rankin County African Americans
106. Simpson County African Americans
107. Walthall County African Americans
108. Winston County African Americans
109. Yalobusha County African Americans
110. Yazoo River Basin African Americans

North Carolina

111. African Americans from Caswell, Alamance and Chatham Counties
112. African Americans from Hollister and Arcola
113. African Americans from Wayne and Wilson Counties
114. Cape Fear River Basin African Americans
115. Catawba River Basin African Americans
116. Chowan River Basin African Americans
117. Lumber River Basin African Americans
118. Martin County African Americans
119. Northampton County African Americans
120. Northern Sandhills African Americans
121. Pamlico Sound African Americans
122. Vance County African Americans

Oklahoma

123. Central Oklahoma African Americans

South Carolina 

124. African Americans from Anderson, Spartanburg and Laurens Counties
125. African Americans from Darlington and Chesterfield Counties
126. African Americans from Edgefield, Saluda and Greenwood Counties
127. African Americans from Horry, Marion and Dillon Counties
128. African Americans from Scranton, South Carolina 
129. African Americans from Sumter and Lee Counties
130. Berkeley County Gullah
131. Charleston and Sea Islands Gullah
132. Clarendon County African Americans
133. Edisto River Basin Gullah
134. Georgetown County Gullah
135. Lexington County African Americans
136. Southern Lowcountry  Gullah
137. Wateree River Basin African Americans
138. Williamsburg County African Americans

Tennessee

139. African Americans from Jackson, Mercer and Denmark
140. African Americans from McMinnville and Murfreesboro
141. Duck River Basin African Americans
142. Franklin County African Americans
143. Hardeman County African Americans
144. Hatchie River Basin African Americans
145. Middle Tennessee African Americans

Texas

146. African Americans from Center and Hemphill 
147. African Americans from East Austin and Giddings
148. African Americans from Fayette and Titus Counties
149. African Americans from Grapeland, Crockett, and Palestine
150. African Americans from Harrison, Smith and Tarrant Counties
151. African Americans from Itasca
152. African Americans from Lavaca and Gonzales Counties
153. African Americans from Matagorda and Wharton Counties
154. African Americans from Montgomery and Anderson 
155. African Americans from Navasota, Huntsville, and Lubbock
156. African Americans from Red River and Lamar Counties
157. African Americans from Travis and Henderson Counties
158. Cass County African Americans
159. East Central Texas African Americans
160. Freestone County African Americans
161. Hopkins County African Americans
162. Navarro County African Americans
163. Robertson County African Americans
164. Rusk County African Americans
165. Texas Pine Belt African Americans
166. Upshur County African Americans
167. Washington County African Americans

Virginia

168. African Americans from Brunswick and Prince George Counties
169. African Americans from Louisa and Hanover Counties
170. African Americans from Nelson, Amherst and Augusta Counties
171. Buckingham County African Americans
172. Dan River Basin African Americans
173. Middle Peninsula African Americans
174. Northern Albemarle Sound African Americans
175. Northern Neck Peninsula African Americans
176. Potomac River Basin African Americans
177. Richmond Basin African Americans
178. Roanoke Valley African Americans
179. Virginia Central Piedmont African Americans
180. Virginia Peninsula African Americans