Roots (1977)

Roots is a 1977 mini-series based on the book by Alex Haley, spanning the mid 18th to late 19th century, documenting the lineage of a family held in bondage through the transatlantic slave trade. It was received positively and helped to bring conversations about slavery to mainstream television.

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My Nan watched the series back when it first aired in the UK, and thought it was a masterpiece of storytelling. We aren’t sure if this is her original VHS boxset, but it’s the one that she’s kept and I’ve been really grateful to have the opportunity to watch it in its original format.

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Roots begins in The Gambia, 1750 as Kunta Kinte is born to a Madinka warrior and his wife Binta, played by the late Cicely Tyson. Time progresses and he becomes a teenager, reaching an age where he and other boys from his village must go through a coming-of-age ritual practicing various skills.

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Meanwhile, we first meet Captain Thomas Davies, who is given command of a ship that will be transporting enslaved people to Annapolis, much to his dismay as he claims to be a religious man. As the voyage sails off, Mr Slater, as played by Ralph Waite, tries to persuade the Captain about the necessity of slavery, showing the hoops white people will jump through to justify white supremacy. Davies gives Slater full control of the operation, seeing as he has prior experience. They soon arrive in Africa, where Slater introduces the Captain to Gardner, trader and negotiator who is tasked with kidnapping 170 African people.

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Back in Juffure, Kunta Kinte is instructed to catch a bird as part of his initiation to manhood, where he first meets Fanta after almost ruining the dinner that’s cooking on her fire. This gets him chased off by her Dad, and while back in the forest he sees a group of white men with African people who have already been captured. He runs back to camp and reports this, and then goes to fetch wood to craft a drum for his younger brother Lamin, where he’s caught by Gardner and sold for passage to America.

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The 3 month journey is long and arduous, as enslaved people are shackled and laid side by side to conserve space. Only 140 African people were eventually taken, and forced to lie on hard wooden floors for weeks with no access to hygiene or comfort. A Yoruba wrestler who was part of Kunta’s Madinka warrior training is also held on the boat, and he encourages everyone to learn each others languages and band together.

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On a brief moment that the enslaved people are able to go above board, they attempt an insurrection which takes the life of Slater and a few of his men, alongside the Yoruba warrior who encouraged Kunta Kinte not to lose his fighting spirit. A few other African people lost their lives too, one woman throwing herself over the side which was a common escape from a life destined to slavery.

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They eventually reach America in 1767, only 98 people still alive from the journey. All of the survivors are auctioned off, with Kunta Kinte purchased by John Reynolds, a plantation owner from Virginia which was known for its tobacco crop. Kunta attempts to escape but this is foiled, and is assigned to an older enslaved man named Fiddler, who is tasked with teaching him English and training him to embrace the new way of life.

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Kunta Kinte does eventually make a friend in Fiddler, but is still insistent on keeping his Madinka name, despite being given the new name ‘Toby’. He also maintains his Islamic faith, praying when possible and not eating pork. Still resisting, Kunta tries to escape again, breaking his ankle chains with a broken blade he finds in a field.

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Once again captured, the overseer of the plantation Ames orders another enslaved man to whip Kunta Kinte, continually asking him his name. Kunta stands defiant and repeats his Madinka name, until he can’t take the pain any longer and surrenders to the name ‘Toby’, falling to the floor in agony. Fiddler comforts him with tears in his eyes, for the first time acknowledging Kunta’s true name and pledging that a better day will come. Up until this point, Fiddler had done his best to encourage Kunta Kinte to assimilate for their own safety.

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This marks the end of Kunta’s young life and a brilliant performance by LeVar Burton. We move forward to 1776, as an adult Kunta Kinte, as played by the late John Amos, attempts to flee another time, finding the nearby plantation where Fanta is kept. On his first night in America, he was held in the same cell as her, as she spoke of the moon and how she hoped her family couldn’t see the same one, for the moon Kunta and Fanta saw overlooked a cruel land were African people were abused.

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He begs with Fanta to run with him, but she refuses to risk her relative safety, having relinquished her African heritage to the past as an act of survival. He’s spotted by a pair of slave-catchers, a prerequisite to the police we see today, who eventually get him and cut off half of his foot to stop him running again.

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John Reynolds sells Kunta and several other enslaved people including Fiddler to his brother William to cover a debt, and this is where Kunta wakes up, in agony and without any hope of a future. The cook for the household, an enslaved woman named Bell, takes care of his foot and lights a fire within him again, as he declares he will learn to run once more.

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Bell gets him a role as a driver for William, and Kunta later marries her, as they bear a daughter in 1790. There is talk of running away again, but this time Kunta Kinte stays for his family, holding his little girl Kizzy to the moonlight and reminding her who she is. Her name is given because it means ‘stay put’, hoping that she’ll never be parted from her parents. Fiddler gets the opportunity to meet her, but sadly passes away shortly afterwards.

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We move forward to 1806, Kizzie now 16 and in love with a young enslaved man who works on the fields. He dreams of freedom and asks Kunta Kinte advice on escaping, which at first he’s hesitant to give after his own experiences. Kizzy aids his quest by forging a ‘travelling pass’, which allows enslaved people to journey unattended. William’s daughter Missy Anne had taught Kizzy to read and write, something enslaved people were forbidden to do, which gave her the skill to recreate a pass for Noah.

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At first Noah is gone for a week, which fills Kizzy with hope, but he is eventually captured and punished, with both him and Kizzy sold away separately much to the horror of her parents. This is the last time she sees them, as Missy Anne who she’s considered a friend does nothing to help her. She’s taken to another plantation where she becomes the property of Tom Moore, who fetishises young African women and who sexually assaults Kizzy on her first night, as she falls pregnant with her son George.

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We skip forward again to 1824, as we see George as an adult learning about cockfighting from an older enslaved man named Mingo who is the expert. Mingo is getting older and Moore retires him, giving George the role of chief trainer. Mingo gives George his trusty hat, as an offering of luck for his future. At a cockfighting event, George meets Marcellus, who is a free man and whom advises him how to become the same, at a high cost.

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Kizzy is an older woman by now and she falls for Sam Bennett, the carriage driver of another plantation owner who is visiting. He takes her to visit her old plantation, where she finds that her mother has been sold away and her father passed two years prior. She says a tearful goodbye at his grave, holding on to the fight he instilled in her to remember where she’s from. She carves his true name into the headstone.

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In the end the romance between Kizzy and Sam becomes strained, as she sees him submit to his enslaver rather than fighting back. Tensions get high as Tom Moore gets wind of Nat Turner’s rebellion, fearing the enslaved people on his property will rise up against him. Prior to this, George has seen Tom in a very positive light, feeling empowered as his top cockfighter. When Moore turns a gun on his family, this view soon changes, but he remains determined to buy his families freedom.

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Tom Moore keeps teasing this eventuality, but still remains firm in his decision not to ever let him go free, and George plans to kill him with a gun found on the body of a dead enslaver. Kizzy stops him from doing this, revealing that Moore is actually his father and it’s something he’d regret.

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George continues to collect money, earning the nickname ‘Chicken George’ because he’s so adept at the sport. He accompanies Tom to fight against British enslaver Eric Russell, and a huge sum of money is betted on their best bird. Unfortunately, they fail and George cradles the birds dead body, quipping that at least he is now free.

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A now broke Moore lends George as part of his settlement with Russell, as he’s forced to leave his family behind for England. He reminds his boys who their Great-Grandfather was and kisses his wife goodbye, saying farewell to his mother for the last time, as when he returns in 1861 it’s revealed that she’s passed on. Moore promised to keep his family together, but with financial debt sold them away - the only promise he does keep is George’s freedom upon his return.

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His arrival comes at the start of the Civil War, finding his wife and boys are now enslaved to Sam Harvey, where his oldest son Tom has a family of his own now. This reunion is short lived, as North Carolina law states any free man who stays within its borders for 60 days will lose this title, and so after one final night next to his wife Tildy, he leaves again hoping for a day when emancipation comes. Tildy is proud to let him go, knowing her husband has his freedom.

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The war rages on and a poor white couple arrive at Tildy’s door, hoping for support as the wife is pregnant. They are taken in and become part of the community, though the husband George Johnson is given role as overseer, uncomfortable with what the job entails. Two brothers in the town, Evan and Jemmy Brent, find fun in tormenting Tom, and later Jemmy deserts the Confederate army and returns home. He finds Tom’s wife Irene in the barn and tries to sexually assault her, but Tom arrives in time and a fight ensues, ending with Jemmy drowned.

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Evan and his entourage arrive the next day, demanding to know if anyone is aware of the whereabouts of his brother. No one comes forward, and as time passes the war comes to a close and freedom is declared for everyone, though many white people aren’t pleased with this arrangement. We see the beginning of the Ku Klux Klan, one faction headed by Evan who is determined to terrorise Tom and his friends, and after damage to the buildings Sam Harvey surrenders his land to Senator Arthur Justin.

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The freed men, women and children are at first told they can stay as sharecroppers, eventually having the opportunity to own some of the land. This isn’t filed in writing though so loopholes allow them to be manipulated, laden with large debts to kept them from moving away. Evan is given power over the farm, who reinstates George Johnson as overseer after witnessing him working alongside the Black farmers.

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The mob attacks continue by the white hoods, and Tom devises a method to learn who is involved by marking the shoes of the horses used. His suspicions are confirmed as he learns Evan and his men are implicated, but when he takes this information to the Sheriff in hopes of justice, the Sheriff only gives Evan a heads up and this leads to more antagonism towards Tom and his family.

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Tom is bound to a tree and whipped by Evan, but George Johnson offers to take over until the men have left, in an attempt to save Tom’s life. This move is successful and he’s moved inside to have his wounds treated, as he vows he’ll never let a white man hurt him this way again. This heals the relationship between the Johnsons and Tom’s brother Lewis, who had hurt their feelings by suggesting they shouldn’t be trusted - he sees eventually that they’re on their side.

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Chicken George finally arrives home again, raising the spirits of everyone after what they’ve just been through. He reveals he’s bought some land in Tennessee, and they begin plotting their escape. George Johnson helps them acquire the mules they need to get away, and they ensnare Evan and his men, using a backup plan to outsmart their oppressors. Evan is tied to a tree and threatened with a whipping, but Tom walks away and the family set off for their new life. They reach the plot of land George bought, and revel in at long last experiencing the freedom Kunta Kinte always dreamed of.

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It’s been an honour to experience this series, and it’s clear to see why it was so massively successful. The standard of acting is phenomenal, and the scripting is really good too. What I think is so important about Roots is that it consistently emphasises the resistance of enslaved people, because it’s this that ended the transatlantic slave trade - they never stopped fighting and dreaming of a better world.

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I never planned to watch Roots so soon after the passing of John Amos, but it never would have been so spectacular without such a talented cast, lead so brilliantly by John and LeVar Burton. The soundtrack is very special too, and I have to note the artwork on this release because it’s beautiful, capturing the reverence held by many enslaved people for their culture and heritage at a time when they were treated as if they were nothing.

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The structure of the story, spanning several generations, is also significant because it demonstrates how entire lineages were impacted, with many Black people born into slavery. It’s a part of our history that white people haven’t even begun to reckon with, instead choosing to hide from it and dismiss how damaging it truly was, with consequences that will continue to reach far into the future. I believe it’s one of the most important pieces of drama ever made and an essential watch. I’ll be looking to buy the sequel soon.