January 23, 1977 saw the premiere of Roots, a groundbreaking
television program. The eight-episode miniseries, which was
broadcast over eight consecutive nights, follows a family from
its origins in West Africa through generations of slavery and
the end of the Civil War.
The miniseries was based on Alex Haley’s novel Roots: The
Saga of an American Family, which he claimed was based
on research he had conducted into his own family history.
Roots was one of the most-watched television events in U.S.
history and a major moment in mainstream American culture’s
reckoning with the legacy of slavery.
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley
(August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)
A critical and ratings success over the course of its run,
Roots received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations
and won nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody
Award.
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