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Pearl Duncan

Author

Pearl Duncan
Travels From Travels From:
New York, NY, USA
Speaking Fee Speaking Fee:
Live Event: $5,000 - $10,000
Virtual Event: Please Contact
More Fee Info
Categories Categories:
Categories Categories:
Adventure, Authors, Biology, Black Heritage, Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Literary, Science, Social Sciences, Technology
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Pearl Duncan Biography

Pearl Duncan is the first person in the world to use DNA to trace her ancestors' journey from one continent to two others. By taking a DNA test in 1999 and using the family nicknames that survived in her African American family, she traced her ancestors to a family named Opare, of the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa. She then traced the Opares to specific farmers in African villages in the 1660s and, using genealogy, traced them to Colonial Jamaica in the 1960's and Scotland in the 1720's. Duncan discovered she has a male Scottish ancestor and a numerous African ancestors, whose modern-day African descendants she has met and compared DNA with.

Duncan will detail her remarkable story in an upcoming nonfiction book about using DNA and genealogy to trace ancestors. In this book, she highlights the "little people" who find nobles and slaves in their family trees. Given her ten years of research, the Ghanaians recognized her and the Scots granted her a medieval coat authorized by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

An author and adventure sports travel writer, Duncan has written articles about Trans-Atlantic yacht races, travel, and other sports adventures as well as a book of short stories, Water Dancing, which received strong national reviews. She also contributed to A Rock Against the Wind: African American Poems and Letters of Love and Passion. Most recently, she has written about Wall Street and its history, as well as the Occupy Movement. Her articles have appeared in Sailing, Sail, Yacht/Racing, Cruising, Billboard, Record World, Essence, Black Enterprise, The Village Voice, The New York Soho Weekly News, Class, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Hartford Courant, Black World Today Online Magazine, and BET.com. Her search for her ancestors has been featured in The New York Times, The Palm Beach Post, and The Minneapolis Star-Tribune and on CBS-TV, BET-TV, and dozens of newspapers in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, England, Sweden, and Brazil.

Duncan taught literature at Rutgers University-Newark, the College of New Rochelle, The College for Human Services, and Jersey City State College and was educated at Bryn Mawr College where she studied Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 04/30/2024.

Pearl Duncan Speaking Topics

  • An American Link to a Castle in Downton Abbey

    Genealogy is an exciting glimpse into history, and that’s no different for Duncan, who presents a riveting talk on African American genealogy and the Scottish connection. Records show that 300 years ago, her noble Scottish ancestors loaned money to the Campbell Clan nobles, who built and repaired Inveraray, the other impressive castle in popular Downton Abbey.

    In 2005, Queen Elizabeth II and Scotland’s Court of the Lord Lyon granted a Scottish coat of arms to Duncan, based on records dated in the 1600s and 1700s from the British colony of Jamaica. She found ties to abolitionist and nobleman John Smellie fled Britain in 1715 when King George I slated his rebellious family for beheading. Shortly thereafter, a “lord,” one of her noble cousins, telephoned her to discuss their mutual noble ancestors. This led to a castle visit, and as it turns out, the possibility of owning another unclaimed castle! This would require finding certain lost marriage records, but Duncan is hard at work. She has already uncovered several birth and baptism records dating from 1726, and used DNA to confirm both Scottish and Maroon rebel African ancestors.

    Attendees will not only learn about Duncan’s journey, but will also discover how they can find their own family ancestry in this fascinating program.

  • The History of Wall Street & the Occupy Movement

  • The Future of Medical DNA

  • DNA, Heritage, World Culture & the Migration of Humans

  • What Our DNA Says About Our Race, Heritage & Human Ancestry

Pearl Duncan Books

  • Water Dancing
    Water Dancing

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  • What topics does Pearl Duncan speak about?

    Pearl Duncan is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Adventure, Authors, Biology, Black Heritage, Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Literary, Science, Social Sciences, Technology.

  • Where does Pearl Duncan travel from?

    Pearl Duncan generally travels from New York, NY, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.

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Pearl Duncan is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as An American Link to a Castle in Downton Abbey, The History of Wall Street & the Occupy Movement, The Future of Medical DNA, DNA, Heritage, World Culture & the Migration of Humans and What Our DNA Says About Our Race, Heritage & Human Ancestry. The estimated speaking fee range to book Pearl Duncan for your event is $5,000 - $10,000. Pearl Duncan generally travels from New York, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Van Jones, Jennifer James, Angela Davis, Michael Chorost and John Zogby. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Pearl Duncan for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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