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A Piece of the Pie

Grades: 9-12

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A Piece of the Pie

In this video from Faces of America, historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. examines how DNA can communicate ethnic identity in a manner that genealogy can’t always articulate. Gates meets with Joanna Mountain from the genetic ancestry firm 23 and Me to complete an admixture test. The test reveals not only ancestral geographical origins over a number of centuries, but also illustrates ethnic breakdown. Gates reveals the ethnic breakdown (in the form of a pie chart) of his guests including Meryl Streep, Stephen Colbert, Eva Longoria and Elizabeth Alexander.

Source: Faces of America: "A Piece of the Pie"

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Accessibility: Auditory, Visual

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Credits
Faces of America is a production of Kundhart McGee Productions, Inkwell Films and Thirteen for WNET.ORG in association with Ark Media.

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Discussion Questions

What is an admixture test?
Which geographic areas are represented in the admixture results?
In the segment, Dr. Gates states that according to the admixture results “Asian and Native American are the same.” What may be the reason for that?
Could knowing one’s racial pie-chart have an impact upon how a person might view themselves within society? How about how they are treated or expect to be treated? Is the pie-chart relevant at all? Explain.

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A Piece of the Pie Transcript

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Contributor: WNET

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