AKRON, Ohio – Thirty University of Akron volunteers have learned their ethnic mix following DNA testing, which may have changed views on race, officials said.
The results will be revealed Thursday night as part of UA’s annual “Rethinking Race” series.
This is the 10th year of UA’s Rethinking Race, a two-week forum of events that focuses on opening dialogue around race and race-related issues.
Ancestry.com, which offers DNA testing and ancestry resources for a fee, contacted the university to offer free DNA tests and interviews, said UA spokeswoman Lisa Craig.
Heather Pollock, an anthropology and classical studies lecturer, took the lead on the DNA project and recruited 30 students, faculty, staff and President Matthew Wilson, Craig said.
The project was designed to challenge people to explore their own narrative about race, the university said.
It would explore questions such as:
- What we can tell from how we look?
- What can we tell from what science tells us?
- What narrative can we tell ourselves and others that could be more inclusive when we talk about race?
The tests were done about four weeks ago and the volunteers learned the results about 10 days ago. Their reactions were videotaped and will be revealed on Thursday.
The university released a short video of volunteers describing their ethnicity and then reacting to the results.
The full results will be revealed from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Gardner Theatre, second floor of the Student Union, 303 Carroll St.
The discussion is open to the public. The university will release results and a video on Friday.
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