--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all Africans under the skin." description: "\"We are all Africans under the skin.\" — Spencer Wells" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png" --- # We are all Africans under the skin. ![“We are all Africans under the skin.” quote by Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png) > “We are all Africans under the skin.” [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All humans share African ancestry beneath superficial differences. **In simple terms:** We all have African roots. Key Takeaway Recognize shared humanity. Themes identity heritage unity Mood informative inspirational Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - education - cross‑cultural dialogue - policy making Key Concepts anthropology genetics Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect modern identity politics? - What are the limits of genetic ancestry in defining self? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex cultural identities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Africans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africans/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skin/) ## Related quotes > [I barely knew I had skin before I met you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-barely-knew-i-had-skin-before-i-met-you/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [There is a sensuality about fabric. I think all materials should be inviting when they touch the skin. When I watch children stroking their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azzedine-alaia/there-is-a-sensuality-about-fabric-i-think-all-materials-should-be/) [Azzedine Alaia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azzedine-alaia/) > [Honey is hydrating and antiseptic. It really clears your skin, and its moisturizing. You can use it every day if you want. Its so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-pare/honey-is-hydrating-and-antiseptic-it-really-clears-your-skin-and-its/) [Jessica Pare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-pare/) > [Being happy in your skin that's what it's all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koo-stark/being-happy-in-your-skin-that-s-what-it-s-all-about/) [Koo Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koo-stark/) > [I'm pretty blessed when it comes to clear skin. I owe that to being Cape Verdian. My whole family has great skin. My grandfather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-rose/i-m-pretty-blessed-when-it-comes-to-clear-skin-i-owe-that-to-being/) [Amber Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-rose/) > [I have two Filipino nannies who have British passport and not me. I don't need British passport. When you were running around in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-al-fayed/i-have-two-filipino-nannies-who-have-british-passport-and-not-me-i/) [Mohamed Al-Fayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-al-fayed/) > [...and suddenly it hits you: Human skin is actually made up of billions of tiny units of protoplasm, called "cells"! And what is even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/and-suddenly-it-hits-you-human-skin-is-actually-made-up-of-billions/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I am always keen to discover something new, but my advice is always to exfoliate. Get rid of those dead, dry cells; then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lulu/i-am-always-keen-to-discover-something-new-but-my-advice-is-always-to/) [Lulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lulu/) > [I'm trying to get under people's skin in a way. I don't like films that go in one ear and out the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-leigh/i-m-trying-to-get-under-people-s-skin-in-a-way-i-don-t-like-films/) [Julia Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-leigh/) > [You have to be really comfortable in your skin. You have to start with being in love with you are, with who you've become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/you-have-to-be-really-comfortable-in-your-skin-you-have-to-start-with/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [Personally, I don't like watching violence. I'd much rather see more skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/personally-i-don-t-like-watching-violence-i-d-much-rather-see-more/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [Horrible dates are when you're with people who are immature and can't really be comfortable in their own skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/horrible-dates-are-when-you-re-with-people-who-are-immature-and-can-t/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [I like Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, as it's great for soothing dry skin and adding shine. I use it instead of balm, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/i-like-elizabeth-arden-eight-hour-cream-as-it-s-great-for-soothing/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [Skin is really important; after all, it's my business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trunfio/skin-is-really-important-after-all-it-s-my-business/) [Nicole Trunfio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trunfio/) > [I use Rodin Luxury Face Oil at night, and it keeps my skin hydrated and refreshed for the day - not tired from all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-heatherton/i-use-rodin-luxury-face-oil-at-night-and-it-keeps-my-skin-hydrated/) [Erin Heatherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-heatherton/) ## More by Spencer Wells > [It turns out that every person alive today can trace his or her ancestry back to Africa. Everyone's DNA tells a story of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/it-turns-out-that-every-person-alive-today-can-trace-his-or-her/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [We spent an enormous amount of time as hominids and as primates living as hunter-gatherers. That is the natural way for us to live,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-spent-an-enormous-amount-of-time-as-hominids-and-as-primates/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [“Creativity is imagining something that isn't there and making it real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/creativity-is-imagining-something-that-isn-t-there-and-making-it-real/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [DNA ties us all together; we share ancestry with barracuda and bacteria and mushrooms, if you go far enough back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/dna-ties-us-all-together-we-share-ancestry-with-barracuda-and/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Imagine you're copying a very long document, and occasionally you'll put an A where there should be a C. And that mistake has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/imagine-you-re-copying-a-very-long-document-and-occasionally-you-ll/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [“The biggest revolution of the past 50,000 years of human history was not the advent of the Internet, the growth of the industrial age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/the-biggest-revolution-of-the-past-50-000-years-of-human-history-was/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Every drop of human blood contains a history book written in the language of our genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/every-drop-of-human-blood-contains-a-history-book-written-in-the/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [If you go far enough back, your genome connects you with bacteria, butterflies, and barracuda - the great chain of being linked together through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/if-you-go-far-enough-back-your-genome-connects-you-with-bacteria/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Many of the crises we see in the 21st century, I would argue, have their roots in the dawn of the Neolithic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/many-of-the-crises-we-see-in-the-21st-century-i-would-argue-have/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [What if I told you every single person in America - every single person on Earth - is African? With a small scrape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/what-if-i-told-you-every-single-person-in-america-every-single-person/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [Taken with the archaeological data, we can say that the old hypothesis of an invasion of people - not merely their language - from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/taken-with-the-archaeological-data-we-can-say-that-the-old-hypothesis/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [The greatest history book ever written is the one hidden in our DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/the-greatest-history-book-ever-written-is-the-one-hidden-in-our-dna/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) > [ So what we can answer \[as geneticists\] is questions about biology, about biological ancestry. But to make any sense of that historically we have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/so-what-we-can-answer-as-geneticists-is-questions-about-biology-about/) [Spencer Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) [Explore all 14 Spencer Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/) ## More Africans quotes > [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. Therefore they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/acknowledging-that-my-skin-was-in-fact-cocoa-as-it-is-would-have/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [Africa for the Africans... at home and abroad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/africa-for-the-africans-at-home-and-abroad/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“Alexa, and the other guests, and perhaps even Georgina, all understood the fleeing from war, from the kind of poverty that crushed human souls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/alexa-and-the-other-guests-and-perhaps-even-georgina-all-understood/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [As Africans, we need to share common recognition that all of us stand to lose if we fail to transform our continent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/as-africans-we-need-to-share-common-recognition-that-all-of-us-stand/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [Cuba forces in Angola gave a real shot in the arm to the liberation movements, and it also was a lesson to the white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/cuba-forces-in-angola-gave-a-real-shot-in-the-arm-to-the-liberation/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Africa doesn't look like it's changed that much to me since I first went in '94. There is still a major economic divide, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goapele/africa-doesn-t-look-like-it-s-changed-that-much-to-me-since-i-first/) [Goapele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goapele/) > [“It is a tragedy, at rate at which EBOLA VIRUS is spreading in West Africa. It is a fatal disease in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-a-tragedy-at-rate-at-which-ebola-virus-is-spreading-in-west/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [An awareness of our past is essential to the establishment of our personality and our identity as Africans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-selassie/an-awareness-of-our-past-is-essential-to-the-establishment-of-our/) [Haile Selassie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-selassie/) > [Africans are on the front lines of humanitarian efforts, distributing life-saving aid in dangerous environments. Africans comprise the vast majority of peacekeepers in civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prendergast/africans-are-on-the-front-lines-of-humanitarian-efforts-distributing/) [John Prendergast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prendergast/) > [Africans sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred or their clamor for an invincible Savior, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamin-sanneh/africans-sensed-in-their-hearts-that-jesus-did-not-mock-their-respect/) Lamin Sanneh > [To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/to-a-lot-of-africans-seeing-an-animal-is-a-something-of-a-rarity-so/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Africans believe in something that is difficult to render in English. We call it ubuntu, botho. It means the essence of being human. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/africans-believe-in-something-that-is-difficult-to-render-in-english/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“Some people in orthodox churches in Africa take poverty as a path that leads to heaven, making christianity look unattractive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/some-people-in-orthodox-churches-in-africa-take-poverty-as-a-path/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“It takes no more research than a trip to almost any public library or college to show the incredibly lopsided coverage of slavery in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/it-takes-no-more-research-than-a-trip-to-almost-any-public-library-or/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Browse all 177 Africans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africans/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are all Africans under the skin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Spencer Wells" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Africans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a64/spencer-wells-33666_africans_we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin-13301_1330123.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are all Africans under the skin.” — Spencer Wells", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Spencer Wells", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-wells/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are all Africans under the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-wells/we-are-all-africans-under-the-skin/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```