A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.A dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
- Won 9 Primetime Emmys
- 17 wins & 35 nominations total
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAuthor Harold Courlander successfully sued author Alex Haley for plagiarizing parts of his novel "The African" for his 1976 novel "Roots," the book that served as the basis for this miniseries. Haley paid $650,000 in a 1978 out-of-court settlement.
- GoofsKizzy, a slave who works in the fields, has long, beautifully manicured fingernails.
- Quotes
Omoro, Kunta's father: [holding his infant son up to starry sky] Kunta Kinte, behold the only thing greater than yourself!
- Alternate versionsThe original version of Roots on ABC featured slightly different opening titles. The Roots Mural was the same, but when the title Roots was shown on-screen it was over a dark blue background. The cover of the novel rises up from a horizontal to a vertical position. The screen says "AN ABC NOVEL FOR TELEVISION ALEX HALEY'S ROOTS THE SAGA OF AN AMERICAN FAMILY." Current VHS, dvd, and re-broadcasts simply have "Roots" on a black background, without the other information. Also, the end credits have been changed considerably. In the original, there were eight sets of end credits (one for each episode.) When the show was re-edited to six episodes, names were combined for different hours and some of the end credit sequences (with a still from that episode) are missing, including one featuring Kizzy and Missy Anne having a picnic.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1977)
- SoundtracksOluwa
by Quincy Jones
Featured review
Alex Haley really did a great job experimenting his family tree, I'm amazed he was able to do that much research, and just make a great mini-series out of it. The one thing this series does is just shock you, it teaches you how cruel slavery was, and how much you really didn't know that they were supposed to teach you in school.
One thing I love about this series is how touching it all really is. The marriages of the slaves, the jobs of the slaves, and the story about Chicken George is just very cool. I know to some this series is just very depicting, and to some whites, they feel it's making them responsible for slavery. But what the series is teaching you, is that we should all learn about our mistakes in history, and accept what we are, and try to change for the better without finger pointing.
This series shocked alot of people, and sparked alot of controversy, but it's worth seeing, for any race, for any generation, in any country. Alex Haley, I take my hat off to you.
One thing I love about this series is how touching it all really is. The marriages of the slaves, the jobs of the slaves, and the story about Chicken George is just very cool. I know to some this series is just very depicting, and to some whites, they feel it's making them responsible for slavery. But what the series is teaching you, is that we should all learn about our mistakes in history, and accept what we are, and try to change for the better without finger pointing.
This series shocked alot of people, and sparked alot of controversy, but it's worth seeing, for any race, for any generation, in any country. Alex Haley, I take my hat off to you.
- Brian Blueskye
- Sep 20, 1999
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