A recent New York Times article illustrated that by tracing mitochondrial DNA a person is able to find out his or her genealogical history. Everyone is curious to find out who they are and by looking in the mirror we are still confused about our own identity. Looking in the mirror may inform you that you are Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, Asian or Indian, but is this accurate?

Apparently not, because with the use of mitochondrial DNA a person who appears to be African-American and is African-American culturally and ethnically can discover they are really of Native American, Chinese and Sardinian descent with no genealogical connection to Africa. The example from the Times details the story of an African-American woman who had this same experience. The article was written by Amy Harmon and is titled Love you, K2a2a, Whoever you are. Another individual whose paternal ancestry is traced to Germany discovered those ancestors originally came from Central Asia.

Given these two examples, how do we define our race? Do we need to trace our mitochondrial DNA to find out who we really are? Does that mean looking in the mirror is not good enough because it’s a lie? These are unsettling questions. As human beings we have defined ourselves from the color of our skin and our ethnic background. Even though tracing your DNA is the accurate way to find out who you really are, it’s too complex. I am African-American and if my DNA says otherwise it would be irrelevant to me. The reason is simple: As a society we have defined ourselves by the color of our skin and our ethnicity.

Linking our genealogical history just helps us to realize who our ancestors are. If we want to see who we really are though, all we have to do is look in the mirror. Our identity is staring back at us. With that simple act, we see more of the reality of who we are and how America has defined us to be.