Francois Weil, a French historian and author of a forthcoming book about genealogy and race in 20th-century America, spoke at the University yesterday about his new work.
For decades, Weil said, genealogy served to further discrimination through its connection to racism and eugenics. Until the end of the 19th century, genealogy was, nearly exclusively, a tool of whites seeking to prove their “pedigrees”, hoping to prove their ancestral line was completely Caucasian, Weil said. In the past, he added, many believed that being an American meant being white, and genealogy was used to separate those of other races.
Over the last four decades, though, genealogy has become, on the whole, a positive force, according to Weil – even contributing to the rise of a multiculturalist age. Weil cited Alex Haley’s book, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” as one such contributor. The novel is a researched rendering of the lives of Haley’s ancestry – including a man named Kunta Kinte who was brought to America as a slave in 1767. The book helped to ignite desire in people of all races to trace their family back through history. As Weil put it:
“Genealogy gave people, no matter where from, the ability to find their roots; it wasn’t about pedigree [anymore].”
Haley also noted changes in organizations such as the New England Historic Genealogical Society, saying they have developed a multicultural attitude: “[Now] I’m a member of it, but that wouldn’t have been the case 40 years ago.”
Weil said he believes genealogy is now a method by which one can identify with a group, instead of, as it was before, a tool of exclusion — that genealogy is now about identity, not race.
Although Weil said he sees genealogy as a neutral discipline – one with the potential for effecting positive change, Anoop Mirpuri, a fellow at the University’s Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, said he thinks the danger of genealogy being used to further an exclusionist agenda is still very real.
“Genealogists need to know that their investigations are never neutral, however much they may want them to be,” Mirpuri said. “There’s always someone out there willing to interpret in a negative light.”
Mirpuri’s colleague, Rosemary Millar, agreed, saying “there continues, in some ways, to be an exclusive trend.”
Genealogy has also been a part of several recent controversies. Several people during the question-and-answer session with Weil mentioned the Black Power movement — calling to question whether genealogy used as a tool of exclusion in the hands of minorities is justifiable.
Millar also called to the table the issue of affirmative action, questioning the way some have used genealogy to prove themselves one-fifth or one-tenth black, thus becoming eligible for a range of University scholarships or placement opportunities.
In response to these issues, Weil stated that while those issues deserve attention, his book only addresses genealogy in a more general nature.
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