Rachel from Celina, Tennessee gave birth to a baby boy on February 17, 2024. She and her fiancé, Paul Buckman couldn’t have been more thrilled. Meanwhile, her employer ’52 Truck Stop’ shared in her joy, posting an image of the family on the company’s Facebook page. However, people quickly noticed one odd detail about the new baby.
Facing Backlash
Cash Jamal Buckman was born on February 17th, with a significantly darker skin tone than either of his parents have. Both Paul and Rachel are white. Yet their baby is black. A number of people pointed out the odds of this are pretty rare, insinuating there’s more to the story. “I feel sorry for Paul, being duped like this is a whole new level of creep. Hopefully he’ll wise up.” Commented one user. Another jokingly wrote, “”Congratulations!!! I AM sure he looks just like his dad. Where is he?” A final person logically questioned, “”Definitely needs a DNA test; what if they accidentally mixed up the kiddos in the nursery?”
Both the company and the new parents have spoken out with the corporation updating their post. “Yes, Paul is the father. Rachel has African American DNA in her which can skip generations and cause a child to be born with darker skin. The baby is also a [bit] discolored because it has jaundice or something probably. Please be kind.” They added.
Countering the Hate with an Explanation
Meanwhile, Rachel openly shared a picture of her own DNA results showing that she is 1% descended from Cameroon, Congo, and Western Bantu peoples. “For the haters saying that I don’t have black DNA maybe this will clear it up straight from my ancestry DNA results!!!! NOW STOP slandering mine and my fiancé Paul Buckman name. he IS the father of Lil Cash. -RACHEL.” The post discloses.
However, the public still wasn’t convinced. “That’s the strongest 1% I’ve ever seen … this looks like a job for Maury,” responded one person. Meanwhile, another with similar traits shared their own experience for comparison. “I have that too … and both my babies still look Irish as a boiled potato.” She explained.
DNA Testing
Sadly, Paul has been sort of victimized by the situation because whether or not the baby really is his, some of the Facebook responses have been hard for him to face. “Have you ever had the feeling that everyone is laughing at you?” He posted. In another post, he admitted that he has a asked for a DNA test for the new baby. Unsurprisingly, this too elicited mixed responses. “Good choice, Paul!! Do with the results as you please, but I would hate for you to not know the truth. God Bless you!” Commented one person. “Sir Helen Keller could tell that’s not your child save your money,” joked another.
Another Family’s Surprise
Whether or not Paul is the father remains to be seen. In the meantime, it’s interesting to assess how DNA plays a role in things like skin, eye, or hair color. Furthermore, better understanding genetic mutations that may cause unusual circumstances. In fact, this may not be the first time that a genetic change has taken place, catching parents by surprise. In 2010, a Nigerian couple living in London gave birth to a white baby. Experts explained that there three possible explanations for such a surprising outcome. They are, “dormant white genes which entered both of her parents’ families long ago, a genetic mutation unique to her, or albinism.”
Complexities of DNA
This case validates the possibility that Rachel’s 1% is strong enough to be the cause of Cash’s darker skin tone. Either way, DNA is a complex aspect that requires some in depth understanding in order to predict how genetic patterns will impact both physical and personal traits. Basically, every cell in the human body has a “complete copy of about 3 billion DNA base pairs,” according to Genome.Gov.
DNA contains information like possible illnesses that run in the family. It contains information regarding hair, eye, and skin color, and it’s a key to the past. DNA offers each of us insight as to who our ancestors were; from where they might have originated. This will most likely be the ticket to Paul and Rachel gaining some clarity.
Regardless of their decision to share the information publicly, or not, it’s entirely possible, although uncommon, that baby Cash is legitimately the son of both Paul and Rachel. Alternatively, there’s always a possibility that the babies were mixed up in the hospital, as one social media user pointed out. While this too is uncommon, it has happened on occasion in the past. Either way, the complexities of genetics shouldn’t be disregarded. Nor should the possibility that ancestry is the cause.
