評論
打印
Jay was overwhelmed with emotion. "I started looking at faces and features.
杰伊激動地不知所措。我開始看著人們的臉和特征。
I'm looking for the physical connection to our DNA. Just taking it in," he says.
我在尋找著我們DNA中的身體聯系。盡情體會吧，他說。
"You're kind of almost dazed because you find yourself in a situation that most African Americans really believe you can never step into,
“你幾乎有種茫然的感覺，因為你發現自己處于一個處境，一個大多數美國人都真的覺得你永遠不會進入的處境，
That can never happen, and that's to find the part of your DNA that comes from Africa."
這永遠都不會發生，就是找到你來自非洲的DNA。
Once Jay composed himself and got out of the car, people cheered and chanted his name.
杰伊讓自己冷靜下來，從車里走出來后，人們就開始歡呼，不斷喊著他的名字。
He smiled and waved while walking through the crowd. When he and his interpreter reached the palace,
他走過人群時，面帶微笑，揮舞著雙手。當他和他的口譯到達宮殿時，
He received a quick lesson in royal etiquette—what he should do when the king entered and how he should address Beninese royalty.
他很快就學到了皇室禮節-當國王進來時他應該做什么，以及他應該如何稱呼貝寧皇親。
In the throne room, the king welcomed Jay home, and they spoke about his trip through their interpreters.
在王宮里，國王歡迎杰伊回家，他們通過翻譯談論了他的旅行。
Later that night, Jay participated in a ritual that was to show whether his ancestors would accept him into the family.
那天晚上，杰伊參加了一個儀式，用來展示他的祖先是否會接受他這個家人。
(Luckily, they did.) How Jay's royal ancestors came to America from Africa remains a mystery.
（幸運的是，他們接受了。）杰伊的皇室祖先是如何從非洲去到美國仍是一個謎。
Benin was once home to one of West Africa's biggest slave ports.
貝寧曾是西非最大的奴隸港。
African royalty would sell war captives into slavery,
非洲皇室會把戰俘賣為奴隸，
And some would allow royal family members to travel with European merchants to the New World, where they would usually end up being enslaved.
還有一些會允許皇室成員與歐洲商人一起前往新大陸，在那里他們通常會被奴役。
Jay's Beninese relatives told him the royal family of Allada would not have sold their own people into slavery,
杰伊的貝寧親戚告訴他阿拉達王室不會把自己的人民賣為奴隸，
But they couldn't tell him how his ancestors had ended up on a slave ship.
但是他們不知道他們的祖先如何上了奴隸船。
He is still grappling with being a descendant of slaves and people who led others into slavery,
他仍在努力克服作為奴隸的后代以及使他人變成奴隸的人們的問題。
But that knowledge doesn't keep him from embracing his Beninese heritage.
但是這些東西并沒有阻止他接受貝寧的傳統。
"i've stepped into my identity," he says. "I can point to a place on the map and say,
他說，“我已經進入了我的身份。我可以指著地圖上的一個地方說，
'The Speights family comes from here, right here.' We're a royal family. We have a history.
史倍茨家族來自這里，就是這里。我們是皇室家庭，我們有歷史。
We're tied into a much larger narrative." In fact, Jay has continued to deepen his connection to his homeland.
我們已經進到一個更大的故事里。實際上，杰伊一直在努力加深他和故鄉的聯系。
When they met, the king gave him "princely duties": Once he got back to Maryland,
他們相遇時，國王給了他高貴的職責：一旦他回到馬里蘭州，
He was to look for ways to bring clean water to the village surrounding the palace in Allada and to promote the kingdom in the United States.
他要尋找把干凈的水帶到阿里達宮殿周圍村莊的方法，促進王國在美國的發展。
Now Jay is partnering with the Rotary Club of Alexandria West in Alexandria, Virginia, to raise money to build wells in the village.
現在杰伊正與弗吉尼亞州亞歷山德里亞的西亞歷山德里亞扶輪社合作，為村里建水井籌集資金。
He also serves as an ambassador to the kingdom's diaspora, searching for others who have DNA from Allada (primarily through GED Match) and introducing them to their ancestral home.
他現在還是王國以外的大使，尋找擁有阿里達DNA的人（主要通過GED Match數據庫），并且把他們介紹到祖先的家中。
After all, not everyone can be lucky enough to be handed the king's phone number.
畢竟，不是每個人都足夠幸運，可以得知國王的電話號碼。
