“How deep is your love? I really mean to learn, ’Cause we’re living in a world of fools, Breaking us down when they all should let us be.” — Bee Gees, How Deep Is Your Love
Not too long ago, Ancestry.com, a DNA testing company, faced backlash for a commercial they developed that circulated around social media depicting an interracial union during what some believe to be the Civil War era — a time where Black slaves were prevalent throughout the US.
In this commercial, entitled “Inseparable,” a White man is seen running alongside a Black woman named Abigail in what looks like an old colonial town. The White man asks Abigail to leave with him and escape to the North where they can be together — the American South during that time is often depicted as more dangerous for Black slaves than the North. He also presents her with a ring. As Abigail hesitates to respond the screen cuts to black and features the text, “Without you, the story stops here.” This is followed by script that reads marriage certificate with accompanying text and an old photograph of a White man and a Black woman, who the audience is left to assume is Abigail. It is uncertain if the couple in this photo are truly the people depicted in Ancestry’s commercial.
Though the commercial was released earlier in April of this year, it began to draw much attention on Thursday, April 18th…
