DBM Ep 58: Cultural Identity, Spirituality & Ancestral Reconnection with Dr. Gina Paige

By demblackmamasAfrican Ancestry, African Traditional Religion, Afrospirituality, Ancestors, Ancestral Lineage, Black Mama Expat, Black mamas podcast, Full Episode, Podcast
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Dear Mama,

Who is the girl the woman who survived in the belly of the boat that brought you here? Where did she come from?  How do we find our way back to that place?  Why should we find our way back to that place?  In this episode, WE JOURNEY & Dr. Gina Paige, co-founder of African Ancestry is ridin with us! Along the way:

  • Thea shares the profound impact of tracing African roots through DNA had on her
  • NeKisha reveals the impact Dr. Paige’s business model had on her journey as a tech innovator 
  • Crystal shares a personal story about my trip to South Africa that brought me face to face with the complexities and idealizations of my African Heritage
  • Dr. Paige reminds us that the ancestors are a cloud of witnesses always working in our favor with a beautiful story about Chadwick Boseman. 

SYLLABUS

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Dr. Gina Paige is a respected luminary and co-founder of African Ancestry, Inc. (AfricanAncestry.com) She launched her first business at age 8, with a magazine purposed to raise money for family trips. She went on to start a student Care Package service as a Stanford University graduate, helping families stay connected with their children while away at school. Prior to forming AfricanAncestry.com, Paige was the founder and president of GPG Strategic Marketing Resources.

African Ancestry has pioneered a new way of tracing African lineages using genetics, and a new marketplace for people of African descent looking to more accurately and reliably trace their roots. Paige travels the world demystifying African roots to inform on the importance and empowerment of Black identity through the lens of Africa and our African ancestors.

As a respected luminary Paige has worked with and revealed the roots of the worlds’ leading icons and entities including Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, & Chadwick Boseman. Paige has served as speaker, presenter and/or partner to McDonalds, Capital One, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, LinkedIn, HP, Intel, Facebook, Nike, Inc., UBS, Wells Fargo, The Wall Street Health Forum, New York Times Travel Show, United Healthcare and dozens of community organizations and faith-based entities. She is often a go-to resource for African Diaspora communities including Embassies and government entities; The Year of Return 2019 event From Jamestown to Jamestown with the NAACP; Back2Africa in Cape Coast and various African tourism authorities and leaders.

Paige has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including Time Magazine, USA Today, 60 Minutes,  NewsOne Now with Roland Martin,  & HuffPost Live with Marc Lamont Hill and so many more. Dr. Paige created and co-hosted African Ancestry Radio on SiriusXM; and her work has Been featured in PBS’ Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and African American Lives 1 & 2, The Africa Channel, MSNBC, NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, CNN’s Black in America series and VH-1’s Love & Hip Hop where she revealed the ancestries of the cast during a two-day special series titled Lineage to Legacy.  

Paige resides in Washington, D.C. and holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Paige was honored with an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Global Oved Dei Seminary University.

Connect with Dr. Gina Paige: Instagram | Website

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EPISODES MENTIONS/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE:

🎙ï¸DBM Ep 4: How I Made It Ova

🎙ï¸DBM Ep 27 The Upper Room

Engage: Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at [email protected].

Full Transcript