LaKisha David
@lakishadavid.bsky.social
Assistant Professor
Beloved African Genetic Genealogy Lab
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department of Anthropology
www.takir.org
Beloved African Genetic Genealogy Lab
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department of Anthropology
www.takir.org
Reposted by LaKisha David
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
November 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Evolutionary psychology makes a big to-do about their finding that sexual selection favors a "feminine body type" that "signals fertility/reproductive potential", including some rather... silly research. Turns out, those traits don't seem to signal reproductive success. Oops! doi.org/10.1017/ehs....
Reposted by LaKisha David
We're excited to share the final version of our paper, where we demonstrate how confounding remains a thorny problem for claims about causal genetic influences on human behavioral and socioeconomic outcomes. (w/ @jedidiahcarlson.com @oliviarxiv.bsky.social Ruth Shaw @arbelharpak.bsky.social) 🧵👇
November 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
We're excited to share the final version of our paper, where we demonstrate how confounding remains a thorny problem for claims about causal genetic influences on human behavioral and socioeconomic outcomes. (w/ @jedidiahcarlson.com @oliviarxiv.bsky.social Ruth Shaw @arbelharpak.bsky.social) 🧵👇
Reposted by LaKisha David
Rep. Rosa DeLauro: "On the food stamp issue, the money is there! Let them not get away with saying they can't do it. Their political will isn't there to feed the people who rely on the SNAP program which is the most effective anti-hunger program in the USA."
October 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Rep. Rosa DeLauro: "On the food stamp issue, the money is there! Let them not get away with saying they can't do it. Their political will isn't there to feed the people who rely on the SNAP program which is the most effective anti-hunger program in the USA."
Reposted by LaKisha David
"I want to assure the consulate... that I'm very content with the revocation of my visa."
😣😣😣
US revokes visa for Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka share.google/ns8Gv6uJgwkJ...
US revokes visa for Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka share.google/ns8Gv6uJgwkJ...
US revokes visa for Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka
The US consulate in Lagos has revoked the visa of Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate said Tuesday.
share.google
October 28, 2025 at 11:44 PM
"I want to assure the consulate... that I'm very content with the revocation of my visa."
Reposted by LaKisha David
Biological Anthropologists! The AABA (US) IDEAS Program is welcoming applications for BOTH Student Scholars and Faculty Scholars.
The Faculty Scholar deadline is October 15th, and the Student Scholar deadline is October 31st. Please share this call widely!
Flyers for each, below:
The Faculty Scholar deadline is October 15th, and the Student Scholar deadline is October 31st. Please share this call widely!
Flyers for each, below:
October 1, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Biological Anthropologists! The AABA (US) IDEAS Program is welcoming applications for BOTH Student Scholars and Faculty Scholars.
The Faculty Scholar deadline is October 15th, and the Student Scholar deadline is October 31st. Please share this call widely!
Flyers for each, below:
The Faculty Scholar deadline is October 15th, and the Student Scholar deadline is October 31st. Please share this call widely!
Flyers for each, below:
✨ Free DNA Tests for Illinois Residents! ✨
Discover your family’s story with the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program.
Led by Dr. LaKisha David, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
📩 Sign up today at www.takir.org
Discover your family’s story with the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program.
Led by Dr. LaKisha David, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
📩 Sign up today at www.takir.org
September 26, 2025 at 8:31 PM
✨ Free DNA Tests for Illinois Residents! ✨
Discover your family’s story with the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program.
Led by Dr. LaKisha David, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
📩 Sign up today at www.takir.org
Discover your family’s story with the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program.
Led by Dr. LaKisha David, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
📩 Sign up today at www.takir.org
✨ Exciting update from the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program! ✨
We are preparing to mail out 95 DNA kits to participants who recently ordered them.
We are preparing to mail out 95 DNA kits to participants who recently ordered them.
Home - The African Kinship Reunion
www.takir.org
September 1, 2025 at 10:22 PM
✨ Exciting update from the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program! ✨
We are preparing to mail out 95 DNA kits to participants who recently ordered them.
We are preparing to mail out 95 DNA kits to participants who recently ordered them.
We're in the Chicago Tribune! www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/04/d...
DNA project hopes to reunite African Americans in Illinois with ancestral relatives in Africa
Black Americans in Illinois can submit a DNA sample to a university-based project trying to find their ancestral homes, living relatives in Africa.
www.chicagotribune.com
August 5, 2025 at 4:22 AM
We're in the Chicago Tribune! www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/04/d...
"Evanston’s Reparations Committee also participated in the event by passing out free DNA kits as part of the statewide Family Roots Pilot Program, an ongoing collaboration with the African Kinship Reunion (TAKiR) project."
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/06/23/t...
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/06/23/t...
Evanston’s sixth annual Juneteenth parade uplifts community, Black legacies
The Evanston community danced with joy on Saturday during its sixth annual Juneteenth Celebration & Freedom Parade, which concluded with festivities at Ingraham Park celebrating local Black legacies. ...
dailynorthwestern.com
June 28, 2025 at 2:34 AM
"Evanston’s Reparations Committee also participated in the event by passing out free DNA kits as part of the statewide Family Roots Pilot Program, an ongoing collaboration with the African Kinship Reunion (TAKiR) project."
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/06/23/t...
dailynorthwestern.com/2025/06/23/t...
"Race, ethnicity don’t match genetic ancestry, according to a large U.S. study
Data from the All of Us program confirm what many geneticists have long promoted
5 Jun 202511:00 AM ETByRodrigo Pérez Ortega"
www.science.org/content/arti...
Data from the All of Us program confirm what many geneticists have long promoted
5 Jun 202511:00 AM ETByRodrigo Pérez Ortega"
www.science.org/content/arti...
Race, ethnicity don’t match genetic ancestry, according to a large U.S. study
Data from the All of Us program confirm what many geneticists have long promoted
www.science.org
June 12, 2025 at 6:16 AM
"Race, ethnicity don’t match genetic ancestry, according to a large U.S. study
Data from the All of Us program confirm what many geneticists have long promoted
5 Jun 202511:00 AM ETByRodrigo Pérez Ortega"
www.science.org/content/arti...
Data from the All of Us program confirm what many geneticists have long promoted
5 Jun 202511:00 AM ETByRodrigo Pérez Ortega"
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by LaKisha David
"Black applicants would, on average, need credit scores approximately 120 points higher than white applicants to receive the same approval rate, and about 30 points higher to receive the same interest rate."
June 7, 2025 at 5:09 AM
"Black applicants would, on average, need credit scores approximately 120 points higher than white applicants to receive the same approval rate, and about 30 points higher to receive the same interest rate."
Reposted by LaKisha David
📣 Latest from the lab: Performance of deep-learning-based approaches to improve polygenic scores www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Its thought deep learning will substantially improve PGS but the reality is MANY have tried but no/little gain has been seen so far. Here we report our negative results.
Its thought deep learning will substantially improve PGS but the reality is MANY have tried but no/little gain has been seen so far. Here we report our negative results.
June 5, 2025 at 1:37 PM
📣 Latest from the lab: Performance of deep-learning-based approaches to improve polygenic scores www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Its thought deep learning will substantially improve PGS but the reality is MANY have tried but no/little gain has been seen so far. Here we report our negative results.
Its thought deep learning will substantially improve PGS but the reality is MANY have tried but no/little gain has been seen so far. Here we report our negative results.
June 1, 2025 at 5:14 PM
"They welcome me and our family back into the fold. Whether they were Mandinka or Wolof or whether they were Igbo. I am one proud African." — H Okafor (An African American man speaking on his experiences finding African relatives)
www.takir.org Voices of Discovery: Family Identity
www.takir.org Voices of Discovery: Family Identity
Home - The African Kinship Reunion
www.takir.org
May 24, 2025 at 6:11 AM
"They welcome me and our family back into the fold. Whether they were Mandinka or Wolof or whether they were Igbo. I am one proud African." — H Okafor (An African American man speaking on his experiences finding African relatives)
www.takir.org Voices of Discovery: Family Identity
www.takir.org Voices of Discovery: Family Identity
Bound: Africans vs. African Americans
Film Screening & Community Discussion
Join us for an evening of powerful storytelling with award-winning filmmaker Peres Owino.
Food will be provided.
Make sure you RSVP by getting a ticket.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223178904...
Film Screening & Community Discussion
Join us for an evening of powerful storytelling with award-winning filmmaker Peres Owino.
Food will be provided.
Make sure you RSVP by getting a ticket.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223178904...
Film Screening: Bound: Africans vs African Americans with Peres Owino
An educational session with a movie screening with a discussion regarding HR453 The African Kinship Reunion (TAKiR) Project.
www.eventbrite.com
May 15, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Bound: Africans vs. African Americans
Film Screening & Community Discussion
Join us for an evening of powerful storytelling with award-winning filmmaker Peres Owino.
Food will be provided.
Make sure you RSVP by getting a ticket.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223178904...
Film Screening & Community Discussion
Join us for an evening of powerful storytelling with award-winning filmmaker Peres Owino.
Food will be provided.
Make sure you RSVP by getting a ticket.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223178904...
This survey gathers community input on reparations-related measures in Champaign County. Your responses will help guide the CU Reparations Coalition in understanding public perspectives and shaping effective and just policy recommendations.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Champaign Urbana Reparations Coalition Survey
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. The purpose of this survey is to gather community input on reparations-related measures in Champaign County and other Illinois communities. Your ...
docs.google.com
May 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This survey gathers community input on reparations-related measures in Champaign County. Your responses will help guide the CU Reparations Coalition in understanding public perspectives and shaping effective and just policy recommendations.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by LaKisha David
Walz: If you say you love freedom but you don't believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love is not freedom, it is privilege.
April 24, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Walz: If you say you love freedom but you don't believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love is not freedom, it is privilege.
Coverage from a committee meeting in the City of Evanston where I discussed the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program. This program is supported by the 103rd General Assembly House Resolution 453 as championed by State Representative Carol Ammons. dailynorthwestern.com/2025/04/04/c...
Reparations Committee discusses DNA ancestry testing, updates from Reparations Business Climate survey Reparations Committee talks DNA testing, Reparations Business Climate survey
Evanston’s Reparations Committee discussed a potential partnership reconstructing African ancestry with DNA testing Thursday. The committee welcomed LaKisha David, an assistant professor of anthropol...
dailynorthwestern.com
April 5, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Coverage from a committee meeting in the City of Evanston where I discussed the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program. This program is supported by the 103rd General Assembly House Resolution 453 as championed by State Representative Carol Ammons. dailynorthwestern.com/2025/04/04/c...
Missed the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program kickoff on March 1? Want to learn more about the program and how you can get a free DNA kit? Here's a video of the event. www.youtube.com/watch?v=etxZ... (unpolished DRAFT v1)
Illinois Family Roots Genealogy Pilot Program Kickoff
YouTube video by LaKisha David
www.youtube.com
March 4, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Missed the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program kickoff on March 1? Want to learn more about the program and how you can get a free DNA kit? Here's a video of the event. www.youtube.com/watch?v=etxZ... (unpolished DRAFT v1)
What do boxes for 1,500 free DNA kits for Illinois look like?
February 26, 2025 at 10:11 PM
What do boxes for 1,500 free DNA kits for Illinois look like?
Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program. Join us on March 1 and see if you qualify for a free DNA kit. The event is online.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223429734...
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223429734...
Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program Kick-Off Meeting with Rep Carol Ammons
An informational session on the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program promoted by Illinois 103rd General Assembly HR0453
www.eventbrite.com
February 26, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program. Join us on March 1 and see if you qualify for a free DNA kit. The event is online.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223429734...
www.eventbrite.com/e/1223429734...