Finding Out Your Ancestry Might Promote Racism

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Millions of Americans are using DNA test kits sold online to research their ancestry, either out of simple curiosity or to find answers about their identity.

But some academics warn the craze could reinforce racial stereotypes and divisions.

For around $100 and a few drops of saliva, a number of companies offer to decipher the genome of their clients and, by comparing their DNA to other profiles, tell them whether their ancestors came mostly from West Africa, southern Europe or from the indigenous peoples of the Americas, for example.

In a country whose population, for the most part, arrived in various waves of migration — and where genealogy has caught the public imagination — the DNA tests have proven wildly successful.

The main companies offering the service, Ancestry and…



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