Whilst the original 1977 TV Series Roots does an exceptional job at exploring the Trauma caused by Slavery in America, it can also be viewed as contradictory because the fortitude of the main character Kunta Kinte is supposedly based on the strength of his African identity even though Kunta

Malachi Kirby stars as Kunta Kinte in The HISTORY Channel's series Roots. Find out more about Kunta Kinte and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

Miniseries based on novels captivated audiences with epic sagas. Among the most successful were Roots, Rich Man, Poor Man and The Thorn Birds.

An article about the death of Alex Haley (1921-1992), the author who wrote the popular African American novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.”

James island is situated about 30kms from the mouth of the Gambia River and was renamed Kunta Kinteh Island in 2011. It is less than two miles from Albreda on the river's northern bank. As an...

Hace hoy 35 años, el 23 de Enero de 1977, comenzaba en la televisión estadounidense, a través de la cadena ABC, la emisión de “Raíces” (Roots), una producción de Stan Margulies y David L. Wolper para la Warner Bros. Television. Dirigida por Marvin J. Chomsky, John Erman, David Greene y Gilbert Moses, la serie estaba basada en la novela de Alex Haley “Roots: The saga of an american family”, en la que el escritor relataba la historia de su familia. Dicha novela, publicada en 1976, fue traducida a un total de 37 idiomas y le valió a su autor el Premio Pulitzer. "Raíces” contaba con un excelente guión firmado por James Lee, William Blinn, M. Charles Cohen, Ernest Kinoy y el propio Alex Haley. Y con una envolvente banda sonora a cargo de Gerald Fried y Quincy Jones. Y contaba, además, con un excelente plantel de actores que nos demostraron con creces su buen hacer. Tanto aquellos que prácticamente comenzaban aquí su carrera interpretativa como aquellos otros más veteranos y ya muy merecidamente reconocidos en el mundo de la actuación. LeVar Burton (Kunta Kinte) realizaba en esta serie su primer trabajo como actor. Tras “Raíces”, continuó su carrera actoral en series como “Se ha escrito un crimen” o “Vacaciones en el mar” y en películas como “Buscando al señor Goodbar”, “Cazador a sueldo” o “Ali”. Y, sobre todo, dando vida a Geordi La Forge en la serie y las películas de “Star Trek”. John Amos (Toby) llevaba ya en la pequeña pantalla desde 1970, año en que debutó en “The Bill Cosby Show”. Tras dar vida al Kunta Kinte adulto, siguió apareciendo en títulos cinematográficos como “El señor de las bestias”, “El príncipe de Zamunda”, “La jungla 2: Alerta roja” o “Ricochet” y en otras series de la pequeña pantalla como “El equipo A”, “El príncipe de Bel-Air”, “El ala oeste de la Casa Blanca”, “Me llamo Earl” o “Dos hombres y medio”. Ben Vereen (“Chicken” George Moore) debutó en la gran pantalla como bailarín en “Noches de la ciudad” (1969) a las órdenes de Bob Fosse. Antes de su participación en “Raíces” se había hecho ya un rostro conocido en la pequeña pantalla. En 1979, una vez más dirigido por Bob Fosse, este excepcional bailarín nos regalaba un extraordinario número musical, junto a Roy Scheider, en la espectacular “All that jazz”. Vereen continuó interviniendo en otras series televisivas como “Anno Domini”, “El príncipe de Bel-Air”, “Anatomía de Grey”, “Ley y orden”... También fue Edward La Forge en la serie “Star Trek: La nueva generación”. Olivia Cole (Mathilda) tan sólo había aparecido en las series televisivas "The Guilding Light" y "La mujer policía" antes de ser elegida como la esposa de "Chicken" George en "Raíces". Después siguió apareciendo en series como "Norte y Sur", "La ley de Los Ángeles", "Se ha escrito un crimen" y en películas como "El regreso". Louis Gossett Jr. (Fiddler) llevaba ya en el mundo de la actuación desde 1958, año en el que había debutado en la pequeña pantalla en la serie “The big story”. A través de películas como “Los trotamundos” o “Viajes con mi tía” y otras series como “Los invasores”, “Mamá y sus increíbles hijos”, “Bonanza”, “Longstreet”, “Los patrulleros”, “McCloud”, “Lucas Tanner” o “La casa de la pradera” llegó a ser bien conocido por el público americano antes de su intervención en “Raíces”. En 1982, Gossett nos ofrecía una maravillosa interpretación como el Sargento Foley de “Oficial y caballero”, papel que le valió el Oscar al mejor actor secundario. Tras este título cinematográfico vendrían otros como “Enemigo mío”, “Águila de acero”, “El templo de oro”, “Un buen hombre en África”... y otras seres de la pequeña pantalla como “Picket Fences”, “Ellen”, “Urgencias”... y su personaje de Gerak en la serie “Stargate”. Edward Asner (Thomas Davies) debutó como actor en la pequeña pantalla en 1957 en la serie “Studio One”, a la que siguieron otras como “El fugitivo”, “Jim West”, “Ironside” o “Centro médico”. También fue el padre de los hermanos Jordache en “Hombre rico, hombre pobre” antes de su participación en “Raíces”. Ese mismo año de 1977 logró fama mundial como el protagonista de la serie televisiva “Lou Grant”, personaje que ya había interpretado siete años atrás en otro éxito de la pequeña pantalla, “La chica de la tele”. Continuó después trabajando sobre todo en el medio televisivo, con alguna incursión cinematográfica en títulos como “Los trotamundos”, “Distrito Apache” o “JFK”. A sus 82 años, Asner sigue trabajando en la pequeña y gran pantalla. Uno de sus últimos trabajos ha sido prestarle su voz a Carl Fredricksen, el anciano protagonista de “Up”. Lloyd Bridges (Evan Brent) provenía de la pantalla más clásica, donde había intervenido en títulos como “Paso al Noroeste”, “Los inconquistables”, “La montaña trágica”, “Solo ante el peligro” o “Wichita” y era ya también un rostro muy conocido a través de la televisión antes de ser elegido para la serie “Raíces”. Tras participar en “Tucker: un hombre y su sueño”, y “Un toque de infidelidad”, pudimos disfrutar de su excelente vis cómica en “Aterriza como puedas”, cualidad que fue luego aprovechada para incluirle en otros títulos del género como “Hot Shots!” o “Mafia, estafa como puedas”. Bridges también nos dejó su buen hacer en otras series televisivas como “La conquista del Oeste”, “Azules y grises”, “George Washington”, “Norte y Sur” o “Seinfeld”. Chuck Connors (Tom Moore) debutó como actor en 1952, junto a Katharine Hepburn y Spencer Tracy, en “La impetuosa”. Después vendrían otros títulos clásicos de la gran pantalla como “Mi desconfiada esposa”, “Horizontes de grandeza”, “Geronimo”, “Mi amigo Flipper”, “Látigo”, “Cuando el destino nos alcance”... y otros tantos de la televisión como “La ley del revólver”, “El hombre del rifle” o “El virginiano” antes de su participación en “Raíces”. Siguió trabajando asiduamennte en cine y televisión ofreciéndonos su lado más cómico en “Aterriza como puedas 2” y consiguiendo de nuevo gran fama televisiva, como Jeb Hollister, en “La rosa amarilla”. Completaban un magnífico reparto Moses Gunn, Richard Farnsworth, Robert Reed, Carolyn Jones, Georg Stanford Brown, Brad Davis, Lorne Greene... Cicely Tyson, Scatman Crothers, Vic Morrow, George Hamilton, Yvonne De Carlo, Yaphet Kotto... Entre otros premios y nominaciones, “Raíces” obtuvo el Globo de Oro a la mejor serie de televisión. Y 9 Premios Emmy correspondientes a la mejor serie, dirección (David Greene), actor (Louis Gossett, Jr.), actor secundario (Edward Asner), actriz secundaria (Olivia Cole), guión, música, montaje y sonido, siendo también nominada en otras categorías como fotografía, diseño de vestuario o dirección artística. Dos años después aparecía su secuela, “Raíces: las siguientes generaciones” (1979), en la que se unían al reparto nuevos actores como Irene Cara, Marc Singer o Dorian Harewood y otros más veteranos como Olivia de Havilland o Henry Fonda. Y nueve años más tarde, se rodaba una película hecha especialmente para la televisión “Roots: the gift” (1988). Superproducción que contaba con un presupuesto inicial de seis millones de dólares, la primera emisión de “Raíces” en 1977 llegó a un total de 130 millones de espectadores.

Malachi Kirby stars as Kunta Kinte in The HISTORY Channel's series Roots. Find out more about Kunta Kinte and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

When I was living in The Gambia (the smiling coast), I went on a boat ride for 2 hours to Albredah, Jufureh and then James Island (Kunta Kinte Island) on the River Gambia and I was hiding from the sun as it starts to get too hot !!!! We reach Albredah and visit the old […]

Malachi Kirby stars as Kunta Kinte in The HISTORY Channel's series Roots. Find out more about Kunta Kinte and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

We get a peek inside the roller coaster of emotions and the toll that playing Kunta Kinte took on actor Malachi Kirby personally.

Race. The minute I say that I’m African American people cast that word “race,” on me faster than the net that they used to catch Kunta Kinte in Roots. Race is a dangerous concept …

LeVar Burton, who starred as the black slave Kunta Kinte in the popular American movie, Roots has been seen in new photos. New photos of the actor, now aged 63, show him looking older and dignified. See recent photo below;

Malachi Kirby stars as Kunta Kinte in The HISTORY Channel's series Roots. Find out more about Kunta Kinte and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

We couldn't find a parking space in downtown Annapolis near the State House, so we parked about a mile away. The good part about that was that we got to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Chesapeake Bay. The bad part is that it was about 100° and about 90% humidity. As we got near to downtown Annapolis, it was a nice surprise to come upon this public art piece showing a man telling stories to three children: That soda behind the girl on the right almost looks like it belongs there. Then we learned that it's not just ANY man--it's Alex Haley, author of the epic saga Roots (1976), which became a record-breaking television miniseries in 1977. (By the way, did you know Haley also co-authored The Autobiography of Malcolm X? That came out in 1965.) Roots tells the story of six generations of Haley's own family. The Kunta Kinte - Alex Haley Memorial commemorates the arrival of Haley's ancestor and other slaves in this very harbor: I had a flashback to the Kunta Kinte statue in Atlanta outside the Martin Luther King Museum, which shows Kunta Kinte holding aloft his baby daughter Kizzy, much like Mufasa holds up his newborn cub Simba in The Lion King. I love this encouragement to share our stories: A series of bronze plaques lines the nearby walkway next to the bay, each containing a nugget of wisdom from Haley's book: The Annapolis city government website notes that this memorial "portrays in word and symbol the triumph of the human spirit in very difficult times and conveys Alex Haley's vision for national racial reconciliation and healing. It stresses the importance of maintaining strong family connections and of preserving and honoring one's family history and cultural heritage." It also notes that the Memorial is dedicated to Africans "whose names, unlike Kunta Kinte's, are lost forever in the oceans of time. It is also for all people--African, Asian and European--who arrived in the New World in bondage, whose unpaid labor forged the backbone of this nation's rise to greatness. It is dedicated also to their descendants, who strive to create a nation that celebrates ethnic diversity within the spirit of brotherhood, mutual respect, and understanding." These words seem more relevant today than ever. We continued our walk into the heart of the city. Annapolis, population 40,000, has a small-town America feel: . . . and small town sensibilities: We were drawn to this idyllic garden: . . . part of the grounds of St. Anne's Church: My "AHA!" moment occurred here. "Annapolis" means "Anne's city" in Greek. Anne is the Virgin Mary's mother. Okay, it's all coming together! St. Anne's, an Episcopal Church established in 1692, was the very first church in Annapolis. However, that church was razed in 1775 because locals thought it looked too much like a barn, which was bad timing since the Revolutionary War started the next year and all labor and construction supplies went into building forts. It wasn't until 1792 that the new church got built, but in 1858 that church was gutted by fire. The third and current church was built almost immediately. One of the church's claims to fame is that Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner," was a parishioner from 1789 to 1800. What a great idea: My Stained Glass Envy kicked into high gear as I looked at this brilliantly colored depiction of Christ quieting the wind and water: My favorite thing about this tender meeting between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth is the way their husbands hover in the background, as if trying to eavesdrop on the women's conversation: Mary and Joseph present the infant Jesus in the temple. Simeon and Anna recognize who He is and thank God: Some windows have intricate, quilt-like framing: This window includes the words from Revelations 2:10: "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life": It looks like a Renaissance painting: Two of St. Anne's windows were made by Tiffany Studios. I am impressed by the Tiffany collection in Annapolis! We had also seen a few at the Naval Academy Chapel. When I think of the Tiffany style, I think of a rich palette of colors, so the brown and peach tones of this window depicting Mary as a young girl being taught from the scriptures by her mother Anne (for whom I assume this city is named) make it especially unique: The other Tiffany window draws from a more traditional Tiffany color palette to depict the Angel of the Resurrection: While the architecture of this little church is fairly simple, these stained glass windows are quite spectacular. There are other hidden gems in St. Anne's, including this pipe organ in its beautiful case in the choir loft: . . . this detailed woodcarving behind the altar with totem poles of saints on each side of Christ: . . . this baptismal font ringed with pensive human and animal faces: . . . this medieval-looking painting of Christ: . . . and this golden mosaic lunette over one of the doors: Time to move on. I saw this blooming tree all over Annapolis. Can someone tell me what it is? On our way back to the car, we peaked into St. Mary's Catholic Church: With its lofty ceilings, star-studded dark-blue night sky, and Gothic veining, the inside of St. Mary's is stunning: It's also a geometric wonder: Since there was some kind of service going on, we couldn't take many pictures. If I ever return to Annapolis, I'd like to go back for a second look. As we crossed the bridge over the water that marked the boundary of the civic center, I turned for one last look. What a lovely city. We had to make one last stop at Mike's Crab House in Riva, Maryland, a ten or fifteen minute drive from Annapolis. This is the kind of place where the tables are covered in brown paper because guests make such a mess. We made more mess than most, and we definitely had more food than most. Bob ordered enough food for about ten people. I kept looking around to see who he'd arranged to come join the party, but it was just the two of us: The most unique dish was this plate of soft-shelled, deep-fried crabs, a local delicacy. Mike's Crab House was definitely worth the drive, and if you eat like we did, you can skip the next two or three meals. READING: I read Roots by Alex Haley when I was a senior in high school. Seeing the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial in Annapolis sparked an interest to go back for a reread--until I remembered that the book is over 900 pages long. Instead, I've put the mini-series in our Amazon Prime queue. There are six episodes that run 90 minutes each. I've also discovered that the The History Channel released their own version of Roots in 2016. There are four two-hour episodes available on iTunes for $5.99/episode. If I can figure out how to stream that on our TV, we may watch that instead.

Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who became a prominent activist, author and public speaker. He became a leader in the abolitionist movement, which sought to end the practice of slavery, before and during the Civil War.

This weekend, an eight-hour remake of the 1977 miniseries begins airing on A&E, Lifetime and The History Channel. TV critic David Bianculli says the new Roots deserves to be seen and talked about.

Based off of the bestselling author's family history, this novel tells the story of Kunta Kinte, who is sold into slavery in the United States where he and his descendants live through major historic events. When Roots was first published forty years ago, the book electrified the nation: it received a Pulitzer Prize and was a #1 New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks. The celebrated miniseries that followed a year later was a coast-to-coast event-over 130 million Americans watched some or all of the broadcast. In the four decades since then, the story of the young African slave Kunta Kinte and his descendants has lost none of its power to enthrall and provoke. Now, Roots once again bursts onto the national scene, and at a time when the race conversation has never been more charged. It is a book for the legions of earlier readers to revisit and for a new generation to discover. To quote from the introduction by Michael Eric Dyson: "Alex Haley's Roots is unquestionably one of the nation's seminal texts. It affected events far beyond its pages and was a literary North Star.... Each generation must make up its own mind about how it will navigate the treacherous waters of our nation's racial sin. And each generation must overcome our social ills through greater knowledge and decisive action. Roots is a stirring reminder that we can achieve these goals only if we look history squarely in the face." The star- studded cast in this new event series includes Academy Award-winners Forest Whitaker and Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Derek Luke, Grammy Award-winner Tip "T.I." Harris, and Mekhi Phifer. Questlove of The Roots is the executive music producer for the miniseries's stirring soundtrack. Product DetailsISBN-13: 9780306824852 Media Type: Paperback Publisher: Hachette Books Publication Date: 05-03-2016 Pages: 912 Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 2.30(d)About the Author Alex Haley (1921-1992) was a bestselling and award-winning writer whose works, including Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, centered on the struggles of African Americans.

We get a peek inside the roller coaster of emotions and the toll that playing Kunta Kinte took on actor Malachi Kirby personally.

Malachi Kirby stars as Kunta Kinte in The HISTORY Channel's series Roots. Find out more about Kunta Kinte and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

Civil Rights Trail / For 85 students at Capuchino High School in San Bruno, a 10-day...

Read our guide to Kunta Kinte Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of The Gambia's most visited attractions.

Ga jij binnenkort naar Gambia of overweeg je een vakantie naar het land te boeken? We zetten de mooiste bezienswaardigheden van Gambia op een rij.

Remember when Cicely Tyson gave birth to Baby Kunta Kinte in "Roots"? Well we had NO idea he was a member of a popular 80's R&B group that was flooding the...

Maya Angelou died at the age of 86 in her North Carolina home Wednesday. The renowned author had been honored with more than 50 awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for her collected works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, most notably her groundbreaking memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Kunta Kinte (Bol Soslu, Tam Ölçü) Tarifi nasıl yapılır? 2.129 kişinin defterindeki bu tarifin detaylı anlatımı ve deneyenlerin fotoğrafları burada.

This weekend, an eight-hour remake of the 1977 miniseries begins airing on A&E, Lifetime and The History Channel. TV critic David Bianculli says the new Roots deserves to be seen and talked about.