It’s safe to say that most Kennesaw State University students did not spend spring break getting spat on by an African voodoo priest.
Kieron Christian Graham did.
Graham was the recipient of AncestryDNA’s first trip for one of its customers, billed as a way to connect with their newly found roots.
The story of Graham’s reunification with his birth family went viral after he started live-tweeting the process.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to Graham and his brother, who also happened to be a political science major with a legal studies minor at Kennesaw State, back in December when they reunited.
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Everyone from "Good Morning America" to the Falcons took notice.
And so did AncestryDNA, which is the DNA service that Kieron’s adoptive mother got him for Christmas.
“It was an amazing story back when it first came about,” said company spokeswoman Alexandra Squire. “Ancestry felt like it really wanted to continue on the journey.”
Graham said they reached out to him and he was floored. His brother Vincent Ghant was unable to make the trip.
Read more about their journey here.
Three weeks later, during the first week of April, Graham flew to the region of the world where it appeared his blood was most connected: Benin.
The former French colony has about 11 million citizens, more than 40 percent of whom live in poverty, according to the CIA's profile of the country. It is nestled between Togo and Nigeria and has a 75-mile coastline, along which many Africans were taken to the United States as slaves.
Graham had been to Africa before but not Benin.
His first day in the country he met the king of Porto-Novo, Benin’s capital which was founded as a slave port town.
Graham said he remembers pulling up to the king’s home.
“It’s a very poor country,” he said. “But compared to the other buildings and homes in the area it was very large.”
Credit: AncestryDNA
Credit: AncestryDNA
He asked a guide why there were so many people dancing and singing as they walked up. The guide explained to the 20-year-old that they were welcoming him.
When it was revealed that Graham and His Majesty King Toffa IX were related, everyone started to tear up.
The king saw Graham, who was holding hands with one of the king’s daughters. “My son, welcome,” the king said.
Graham was given the named Abloh, which means “strong one.”
And, of course the young metro Atlantan was thinking about "Black Panther" throughout the trip — especially the character Erik Killmonger, who reveals his rightful claim to the throne of the fictional African country Wakanda during the movie.
"Even the moment when I met the King's family, I felt like Killmonger," he said. "Hey, Auntie."
READ | 'Black Panther' brings unexpected boost to makers of African inspired clothing
Graham then met with the high priest of vodun, or voodoo.
Nearly 12 percent of the country's population practices vodun, according to the CIA.
Credit: AncestryDNA
Credit: AncestryDNA
During an initiation ceremony, Graham removed his shirt and was bathed with water to cleanse his soul before entering a hut with candles and voodoo sculptures. There, on his knees with eyes closed, a vodun priest spit alcohol in his face. He was then given white robes to show he was clean.
That was the first day, but it was certainly the one that impacted Graham most during his week in Benin.
“I grew up being adopted. I didn’t know anything about anything in regards to my heritage or cultural identity,” he said.
Another moment struck him: The Door of No Return.
The massive arch frames the sand in Ouidah, coastal Benin, to commemorate the spot where so many slaves were sold off from Africa to America.
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“This really could be the beach where my ancestors were taken and shipped across the Middle Passage to the U.S.,” he said.
AncestryDNA was able to track down the plantation in DeSoto County, Mississippi where Graham’s great-great-great-grandfather was enslaved.
Companies that test DNA and send back geographic breakdowns encourage heritage travel and exploration as ways to connect people with their lineage. But for an adopted kid like Graham, this trip of a llifetime really felt like it.
“It kind of filled a hole about always wondering where I came from and where my people came from.”
Check out his twitter thread from the trip below:
