What Color Are Your Genes?

The recently published newspaper article in May by AP reporter Travis Loller  based on the published report of Roberta Estes, Jack Goins, Janet Crain and Penny Ferguson claimed the Melungeons were descendants of Sub Saharan men and white women, based on the DNA sampling of the participants these four chose for their study. They report on the 'ethnicity' and suspected ethnicity of the Melungeons drawing on the conclusions of the DNA results.  


This article below by a geneticist states that race and ethnicity are not genetically verifiable.


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Council for Responsible Genetics


Genewatch


The Color of Our Genes


Excerpt


While much skepticism has accompanied the growth of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, there has been less public discussion about the significant concerns stemming from genetic tests claiming to reveal information about consumers' ancestral origins, which are often interpreted as tests of racial purity and mixture. Genetic ancestry tests are gaining popularity, especially among African Americans, who often have these tests pitched to them as a way to make an end run around the genealogical dead end produced by the slave trade. But in examining less than 1 percent of a person's genetic background, these companies often overstate their tests' ability to say anything significant about a person's heritage, giving the impression that social categories of race and ethnicity are somehow genetically verifiable.


http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/GeneWatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=205