Being a genealogist, I like to try to relate to everybody as much as I can, no matter what color or where they are from. I was struggling to think about what to write about this week and wanted to make sure that nobody was hurt by it. The most interesting discovery that I have made in my family tree is that I am a descendant of African Jews on my mother’s side. We are descended from Patience Lanier (1775-1887) of the Lanier family of Virginia, and Patience was a descendant of John Lanier (c.1631-bef.1719) and his wife Lucretia Bassano (c.1633-c.1657). The most interesting fact about the Bassanos, other than that they were from Venice, Italy, is that they were said to be black Africans. Also, one of the Bassanos was a woman named Aemmilia Bassano, who was said to be almost African-looking and used Shakespeare as a pen name. I hope this is true because, as I have always said, the more mixed we are, the less racism there will be.
Were the Bassanos Blackamoors, Black Hebrews, or tanned Italian-Spaniards: https://petermatthews.com.au/were-the-bassanos-blackamoors-black-jews-or-tanned-italian-spaniards/