Secret History X

Once a study limited to Kings, Mormons, and the elderly, genealogy is now a burgeoning industry spurred on my the average human being’s need for social connection and a place of their own in a world bursting with fellow humans.

While it is indisputable that we all emerged from the same gene pool and are related in some degree, the families, clans, and tribal affiliations to which we belong are what give us both our individual identity and yet tie us into the common humanity. Understanding this is what enables us to make sense of both historical and current events.

Knowing as an individual that you are connected to everyone else is really not enough, it is simply too abstract a concept to grasp… too easy to transcend… to easy to miss the mark and view others in an objectified way based on limited views informed by too may other systems (religious, political) to recognize the common humanity in another. Identifying the connections is what enables us to transcend the boundaries that define us and create a solid sense of connectedness that enables us to address the real issues that challenge our common humanity.

More than ever people are reaching out and making use of tools and services that enable them to discover their unique place in the larger picture.  And who some of these people are would surprise you. Historians, Anthropologists, Political Scientists and 7th grade schoolgirls. New questions emerge in the debate what does it mean to be an American, an Immigrant, Black, Hispanic, Native American.

The past two years in American media has been a real eye opener new discoveries regarding the origins and place of the family of US President, Barack Obama, have emerged. And much of this is due to the efforts of BridgeAnn d’Avignon,  a single 7th Grade school girl who has made a difference in American politics by discovering that President Barack Obama is related to every other US President except Martin Van Buren.

Learn more about this amazing Irish-American lineage and its connections to the Luo tribe of Kenya and its place in the common heritage of US Presidents.