Where YOU from?

Aw suki suki, now...

Man.
You know the feeling when somethin' is about to be BIG
and you know it.
and you KNOW it.
doesn't matter if it gets a bunch of attention.
doesn't matter if only 10 people know about it or participate...
you
KNOW
this is
BIG.

First, if you're new to slang, forgive the absence of the word 'are' in the image above. I was feeling nostalgic and channeling Southern hip hop from the 90s. There used to be this song that was the jam at all the college parties...well, anyway.

So for a few years I've been a fan of that show "Who Do You Think You Are?"
I remember watching Vanessa Williams and Susan Sarandon and Sarah Jessica Parker and a bunch of other celebs trace their family histories back and discover secrets and twists and revelations and thinking, "Wow. That's powerful. I wanna do that."

My family can trace our family history back five generations in Texas...from what I understand, the path goes cold from there (residuals from slavery and poorly kept records, I assume). Like most black folks I've been raised with the unwavering belief that I am part Native American (or in Southern black folk talk--part Indian...Choctaw to be exact). Living in Italy, I've been left speechless more than once by the ability of some Italians to trace their family history back centuries...names and all. I have a very good friend here in Rome whose family has lived in the building where she was born, raised, and STILL resides since the 1500s! THE 1500'S!!!!!!! It's freaking 2014. Incredible.

Anyhow, this project has been a long time coming. I used to dream about doing this and am grateful I now can. I'm working on a few really exciting projects in my head and outside of it at the moment--a soundtrack for The Ghanaian Goldilocks, a documentary, a few collaborative projects with fellow writers...a pilgrimage back to my original roots. What I assume will be home...West Africa. Not alone. No, no, no...there's no wisdom in keeping what you know and your gifts to yourself. I've invited some friends along with me. It's a group of roughly 15 people who'll be accompanying me to West Africa this summer. More on that later...

But in the meantime...where to go?
To me, the sensible answer is to the past, first.
To find out.

I'm gifting these 15 friends with DNA kits to find out where their ancestry lies.
I ordered FIVE extra ones as gifts to YOU, perhaps.

So how do ya get it?
Welp, here are the guidelines...

-Check out (that means purchase) The Ghanaian Goldilocks and/or F is for Fufu on amazon.com.
-Post a pic of you or a loved one reading The Ghanaian Goldilocks and/or F is for Fufu on The Ghanaian Goldilocks' Facebook page. (Go on and hit the 'Like' button while you're there, why don't ya?)
-Share Share Share! I mean if you don't win one of the 5 DNA kits, maybe a friend of yours could!
-You have ALL of September.
-On October 1st, I'll collect ALL of the pics submitted and choose FIVE at random to receive DNA kits from ancestry.com!
***If you order The Ghanaian Goldilocks AND F is for Fufu and post pics of you reading both, your name will be entered TWICE!

Hope you guys are as excited about this as I am!
p.s. These puppies retail for $99 a pop.
Just sayin'.
Happy reading!