OPRAH AND ELVIS!

[MAN FOR CHANGE]

Hello All!
Before I ask this funny but sad question ... CrimsonTide4, sorry about not following the etiquette-way of things on the Delta chat.

Now, has anyone heard about Oprah being "kin" to Elvis? I found it quite funny but sad to use the term "kin".

Oprah, should tell it like it is and say her family was owned by the Presley family. That's it! That's real! Why use double-talk?

[rhoyaltempest]

Originally Posted by MAN FOR CHANGE

Hello All!
Before I ask this funny but sad question ... CrimsonTide4, sorry about not following the etiquette-way of things on the Delta chat.

Now, has anyone heard about Oprah being "kin" to Elvis? I found it quite funny but sad to use the term "kin".

Oprah, should tell it like it is and say her family was owned by the Presley family. That's it! That's real! Why use double-talk?

I haven't heard of this and my guess is that it's a rumor. I know that Oprah participated a few years ago in a documentary called "African American Lives" (which I own) about African Americans who are tracing their roots in America and then to Africa. The documentary was led by Harvard Law professor and Chairman of African Studies, Henry Louis Gates Jr. In the documentary, Oprah was one of a group of African American celebrities (including Prof. Gates) tracing their roots. With the help of Prof. Gates, her family, and some records agencies in the U.S., Oprah was able to trace her family roots back pretty far and found that there were no interacial children. This was confirmed when Oprah's DNA test results came in (the Admixture test developed by a DNA prof. at Penn State being used now around the world to test racial makeup) revealed that she had no European blood and is something like 90 or 95% (I can't remember which) Subsaharan African (and this is above average for most African Americans; most African Americans tested are on average 80% African). For Oprah, the other 5 or 10% is Native American. If you want, you can purchase the documentary from the PBS network.

[Blacksocialite]

That's a new one and I guess anything is possible but I doubt it.

The closest Elvis has ever come to being related to Black folks is..ahem..lifting our hairstyles, clothes, and music.

He did create a good gospel album that's in my collection.

[Educatingblue]

Originally Posted by MAN FOR CHANGE

Hello All!
Before I ask this funny but sad question ... CrimsonTide4, sorry about not following the etiquette-way of things on the Delta chat.

Now, has anyone heard about Oprah being "kin" to Elvis? I found it quite funny but sad to use the term "kin".

Oprah, should tell it like it is and say her family was owned by the Presley family. That's it! That's real! Why use double-talk?

Yeah, she "Claimed" she was related to them on the show where Lisa Marie and her husband invited Oprah and Gail to Graceland for dinner. I don't remember them saying exactly how they were related, but I'm with you on the Presley family probably owning hers. I found this family tree online.

http://genealogy.about.com/od/aframe.../oprah_two.htm

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Educatingblue

Yeah, she "Claimed" she was related to them on the show where Lisa Marie and her husband invited Oprah and Gail to Graceland for dinner. I don't remember them saying exactly how they were related, but I'm with you on the Presley family probably owning hers.

I think that she actually claimed that they might be kin through Cherokee ancestors.

Elvis's immediate family was certainly very poor, and my understanding was always that he came from a family that had been sharecropping for quite some time, possibly since before the Civil War. I doubt they ever owned many if any slaves.

[Educatingblue]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I think that she actually claimed that they might be kin through Cherokee ancestors.

Elvis's immediate family was certainly very poor, and my understanding was always that he came from a family that had been sharecropping for quite some time, possibly since before the Civil War. I doubt they ever owned many if any slaves.

You're probably right. I don't remember Oprah elaborating on the show now that I think about it.

[mccoyred]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I think that she actually claimed that they might be kin through Cherokee ancestors.

Elvis's immediate family was certainly very poor, and my understanding was always that he came from a family that had been sharecropping for quite some time, possibly since before the Civil War. I doubt they ever owned many if any slaves.

Thats what I thought. Elvis, while an icon of 'white' culture, has always dispalyed his Native American side.