Roots, Alex Haley’s ground-breaking novel was first released in 1976. The saga of an Kunte Kinte, an African abducted by slave traders and shipped to North America, and his descendants made a big splash at the small pond midwestern college I was attending. I read the book avidly, deeply disturbed by the chronicling of one of the most immoral aspects of our country’s history. The description of the captured men’s treatment on the slave ship is one of those haunting literary pictures, along with the final scene in Grapes of Wrath, permanently etched in my mind.
By the time the TV miniseries aired in 1979, Hiram and I were married. We, along with most Americans, tuned in for the new and exciting form of entertainment. The producers touted LaVar Burton, a relative newcomer, as the star, but Ben Vereen’s performance as Chicken George is the one I remember most vividly.
For the past few weeks, while listening to the 30th Anniversary Audio Performance of Roots, those thirty-year-old memories came tumbling into my consciousness again. Kunte Kinte and Belle, their daughter Kizzie, her son Chicken George and his wife Matilda, one of their sons Tom Lee and his family, all come to life against the backdrop of Haley’s meticulous recreation of African and American history stretching from pre-Revolutionary War times to post-Civil War days.
Though much of Haley’s research and some of his genealogical claims have been discredited since Roots was first released, the essence of the book still rings true thirty years later. The depiction of the cruel and demeaning institution of slavery has lost none of its horror. The corrupting and pervasive effect power can have on those who hold it is as terrifying as ever. And evil’s inability to completely snuff out hope in the hearts of the oppressed is the miracle and message readers can cling to.
If you seen the miniseries, but haven’t read Roots, you should. The book has many details and nuances the series didn’t have time to capture. If you’ve read the book, maybe it’s time to check out the audio version and give it a listen. So far as watching the miniseries goes, maybe it would be a good way to wile away the hours when the next blizzard hits. By the time you finish watching, it might be spring!
