Why am I light skin?

Question

I'm a light skin African American female I was wondering why do I have light skin? My mom is light an my father is chocloate dark. My grandmother is medium skin and my grandfather is dark chocolate. They are African American not mixed. I have no white or bi-racial cusin. I doubt that I have white and european blood in me. How far can gene go back in the family tree? thanks

Answer 1

Perhaps the information found in the links
listed below would be of help to you.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/991
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1399

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1570
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1402

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1400
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1747


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Answer 2

Some people have traced their family tree back 800 years or more - it depends on how good the records were where their family was living.

You have light skin because of the genetic dance that mom and dad's DNA did when you were conceived. If you want a simple example, take a deck of cards, shuffle well, and draw out 4 cards at random. The red cards represent DNA for light skin, the black cards for dark skin. If the cards are all red, that person would have very light skin. If they're all black, the person is very dark. If they're mixed, then the person is a lighter or darker shade. If you have siblings that have lighter or darker skin, it's just because of what genes they got for skin color.

Skin color is probably more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. It's just the luck of the DNA you drew.

Answer 3

You have light skin because you are mixed. End of question. It also has to do with genetics as people have mentioned before so I wont repeat what was said again. I have white ancestry in my family tree that I have traced through geneology research and U.S. census records from the 1800s-1930. If you saw me you probably wouldn't consider me mixed but I'm of African, European, and Native American descent. Now lets take this a step further. My daughter's father is of Swedish, Danish and Norweigan descent (blond hair, very fair skin, hazel eyes) but my daughter looks just like me (caramel complexion, brown eyes, reddish brown hair). People are usually shocked when they find out what her dad looks like and they tell me, "oh, I thought she was just black". So its all about genetics.

Answer 4

Why does it bother you so much? This is your third question regarding such things on this page alone.

Most black people in America have some white blood in them because of the raping and inter-mixing of the past. This accounts for the variety of skin colors within the black race in America.

Answer 5

You said your mom is light. Why wouldn't you expect to look like your mom? And yes you do have european blood. That's how people of African descent get to be light skinned.

Answer 6

you have european blood in you, every light skinned african american have white blood in them. back in the colonial times

Answer 7

if you are light you have something other than black in you. Maybe a few gens back you know to slave days but you do. You may even have hispanic or native american in you.

Answer 8

Genetics. You can look up dominant or recessive genes on the net and find out why if you like.

Answer 9

A mystery, because some say humanity started in Africa, so where did the whites came to be?

Answer 10

When you get old enough you will study some basic biology and genetics and that will answer your question.

Answer 11

genetics... u may not know it but u might have some light skinned ancestor...