A Tapestry of Shared Humanity
From Emerald Eyes to Ancient Kin
All of humankind, all walks of life, they are all, every one, expressions of one species,
see all as a variation of you...
In every face, I behold a divine expression of the eternal, a sacred spark that unites us all as one human family, transcending borders, creeds, and time. We are a timeless tapestry woven from the same cosmic thread, shimmering with shared essence. Yet, many cling to illusions of separatism, judging by outward appearances or tribalistic us-versus-them ideologies, blind to our common humanity.
The American Anthropological Association’s 1998 Statement on Race declares that historical divisions based on race are antiquated and rooted in social constructs rather than biology. It affirms that all humans belong to one race: homo sapiens sapiens -united by our shared origins.
By exploring my own origin story, I invite you to trace yours. I hope you’ll see the same truth: we are all kin, bound by a shared past and a collective future.
Beyond Appearances
Most would label me Caucasian or white, a simplistic tag that fails to capture my connection to past, present, and future.
My green eyes, the rarest at 2 percent of the world’s population, echo in Afghanistan’s rugged valleys and Pakistan’s Kalash people, hinting at a shared ancestor from long ago. Geneticists trace this trait to a mutation in genes like HERC2 and OCA2, emerging 10,000 years ago in the Near East, then migrating into Europe. Some Kalash are tied to Alexander the Great’s legacy, and the green-eyed Kalash share a bond with my ancestors, their vibrant gaze a thread in our common lineage. 11% of the Kalash in Pakistan share a similar maternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineage.
Although my green eyes hint at ancient connections, it’s my DNA that tells the deeper story. My maternal haplogroup, J, stands for clan “Jasmine” according to Bryan Sykes' book The Seven Daughters of Eve. This haplogroup was born in the Levant’s ancient cradle 45,000 years ago, in modern-day Lebanon and Syria. Haplogroup J, in general, has the highest prevalence today in the Near East of Saudi Arabia, tying me to distant kin who may not see an American woman as their relative, yet share my great-grandmothers’ legacy. My particular maternal mitochondrial lineage branches into another subclade of J2a1a, which is traced to around 17,000 years old. This subclade is also found across western, central, and northern Europe, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Czechia.
A Tapestry Across Time
My DNA tells a story far beyond family trees, carried through history’s currents by Levant farmers sowing early seeds, Phoenician traders sailing Mediterranean waves, and Viking warriors carving paths through icy fjords.
According to my DNA results, my matches link to a Bronze Age steppe dweller in Kazakhstan (1400 to 900 BCE), an Iron Age Tagar in Russia (1000 to 800 BCE), a Roman Celt in England (265 to 539 CE), and Viking warriors in Sweden and Denmark (816 to 1200 CE). A Vendel Period seafarer in Estonia (700 to 800 CE), a Danish victim of the St. Brice’s Day massacre in the UK (880 to 1002 CE), and a Late Antique Roman in Italy (400 to 600 CE) all weave into my lineage. Their faint 0.06 to 0.08% DNA matches confirm shared ancestors 20 to 50 generations back.
Closer to history, Bishop Peder Winstrup (1605 to 1679), a Lutheran bishop who helped found Lund University in Sweden, shares a 0.06% DNA match, echoing faint Swedish roots. And interestingly enough, a trace 0.02% Bengali and Northeast Indian connection links me to India’s deep roots, where ancient humanity existed thousands of years before the common era..
Looking at blood type, rather than genetics, my O-positive blood, is shared by 100% of the Shompen and Nicobar Islanders and up to 53% of the world. Based on blood type alone, I have more in common with these people than I do with the 60% of Americans who do not have 0+ blood. This blood type, although not the universal donor of O-, is still a highly sought-after blood type, nonetheless. It acts as a biological bridge across divides to which 40% of all Americans share.
An American Mosaic
I once thought my story is predominantly an American one rooted in Mayflower pilgrims, Revolutionary fighters, and pioneers seeking freedom from European tyrants.
My father’s line descends from Mayflower passengers: Isaac Allerton and Henry Samson (12th great-grandfathers) and William and Mary Brewster (13th great-grandparents), steadfast spiritual beacons who printed forbidden books. Ancestry calculations suggest I’m 80% old American stock with 20% English-Irish-Scottish and Swiss-German roots. With so much American history tied to my ancestors, I had many more cousins than I had realized.
Kinship with American Icons
My American roots bloom into a vibrant mosaic. With ancestors from colonial regions like Goochland, Virginia, and Anne Arundel, Maryland, I’m a direct descendant of veterans who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
I’m also a distant cousin to many United States Presidents: 1st cousin 8 times removed to James Monroe, 3rd cousin 7 times removed to Abraham Lincoln, 4th cousin 7 times removed to Thomas Jefferson, 8th cousin 6 times removed to George Washington, 7th cousin 7 times removed to John Adams, and many more, connecting me to a majority of U.S. presidents (over 28).
Literary luminaries, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, T.S. Eliot, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and C.S. Lewis, share common ancestors, their creativity echoing in my blood.
Cultural icons, including Buster Keaton, John Wayne, Buffalo Bill, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Clint Eastwood are cousins through shared great-grandparents.
Innovators like Thomas Edison, Samuel Morse (6th cousin 5 times removed), the Wright Brothers (9th cousins 4 times removed), Neil Armstrong (13th cousin once removed), and Charles Darwin (5th cousin 5 times removed) are all my cousins. And the list goes on and on.
We’re All Related
In my own explorations and finding I am kin to a constellation of dreamers, doers, crowned sovereigns, and defiant barons - a living thread in humanity’s vast weave, I then began to wonder - how many people are we related to and don’t even know it? As Scientific American notes in, Humans Are All More Closely Related Than We Commonly Think, by 33 generations (about 1,000 years ago) we share ancestors with billions, a truth woven into my lineage of barons and royals. My tapestry spans medieval courts, Tudor drama, and modern compassion, reflecting our shared humanity. Medieval Roots: Aliénor of Aquitaine, a queen who united England and France 29 generations ago, wove cultural threads that echo in my DNA. Alongside her, William Marshal, the “greatest knight,” shaped justice as a Magna Carta baron, his loyalty a part in my ancestry. Tudor Legacy: Anne Boleyn, 27 generations back, faced a tragic fate but left a legacy through her daughter, Elizabeth Tudor. Elizabeth’s golden reign, 28 generations ago, unified England, her strength a testament to our shared resilience. Modern Kin: Princess Diana, 34 generations removed, touched hearts worldwide with her compassion, a modern echo of our common thread.
A Shared Reflection
My genetic ancestry ties me to Levant farmers, Phoenician traders, and Viking warriors braving icy fjords, uniting ancient and modern in a shared human story. My Mayflower roots suggest 10,000+ cousins in the U.S., while haplogroup J implies millions more. From the Levant to the Kalash, many are unaware of our bond. A trace of Ancient India DNA and O-positive blood dissolves imagined divides, linking me to humanity’s origins.
My kinship with vikings, barons, poets, pioneers, monarchs, and visionaries- they’re a part of my story, and they are a part of millions more. They are a part of threads we all share. Yet somehow, we’ve lost sight of our reflection as a myriad of facets of the gem of our human heritage.
Our Universal Connection
The Lakota prayer Mitakuye Oyasin, ‘All My Relations,’ inspires me to see every being (human, animal, or element) as kin in a cosmic tapestry. The Maha Upanishad’s Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, ‘the world is one family,’ weaves this truth, as does the Maya’s In Lak’ech Ala K’in, ‘I am another you.’ Confucius’ Tian Xia Wei Gong, ‘all under heaven is one,’ and Africa’s Uuntu philosophy, ‘I am because we are’ affirm our shared destiny. Our kin span time and continents, uniting ancient and modern. Trace your roots on Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org to uncover your ancestors’ stories. You’ll find we are all kin, reflections of one timeless essence.
My video composite, created 13 years ago was to express this truth and invoke a remembrance in others…
By transcending ethnic or national divides, which are illusory ways of perceiving ourselves and others, we heal our separation sickness, restoring bonds as one human family.
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