Racines 2

If you're an instructor of History or Anthropology, as a visual recording of historical facts; viewing the entire Roots collection (including "Queen") is imperative.

It is also entertaining to see how the lives of people in these movies evolved.

Does anyone ever sit down to watch Part One of Roots without the other? I didn't even know it was separated into two parts until looking up the information online. As is the case with nearly every miniseries saga, the modern era is far less interesting than the historical ancestors. However, The Next Generations spends the vast majority of its episodes still as a period piece, from the 1880s through WWII. So, while Levar Burton is no longer in it, we still get to completely immerse ourselves in sympathetic and determined characters played by Dorian Harewood, Ruby Dee, Debbi Morgan, Marc Singer, Georg Stanford Brown, Avon Long, Irene Cara, and at long last James Earl Jones.

As was the case in the original, tons of Hollywood stars flocked to the small screen to be a part of the life-changing miniseries, and in Part Two, you'll see Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, Marlon Brando, Harry Morgan, Beah Richards, Claudia McNeil, Brock Peters, Paul Winfield, Ossie Davis, Diahann Carroll, Dina Merrill, Richard Thomas, Debbie Allen, Andy Griffith, Paul Koslo, Pam Grier, James Broderick, and Michael Constantine all show up through the seven episodes, adding interesting faces and unique acting styles to an already fascinating story. On a completely unrelated note, I got a kick out of seeing Howard Rollins and Brian Stokes Mitchell both included (though in different episodes) since they both ended up playing Coalhouse Walker Jr. In Ragtime; Rollins starred in the film, and Mitchell was onstage in the musical (one of my favorites).

This mini series was televised in 1979, at which time, I was only 15 years old. I remember Roots, the original mini series which told the story of an African who was brought to America and was a slave. Although I had read about slavery in the history book, I never imagined how slavery really imprisoned the actual slaves. It's a part of history that we as Americans don't like to discuss, because of the shame. However, it did happen. It's strange how we show rememberance for the Hollocaust, which didn't even happen here, but we shun the topic of slavery, only briefly touch on it in the history books. Watching the series Roots really tears at my very soul for what 100 million slaves had to bear, how they lost their families, their language, religion, and ultimately themselves is heart wrenching. Roots, The next Generations, was also very deep, with an all star cast, and I was truly touched by the story of Alex Haley'

As great as the original ROOTS was, this sequel was even better. Boasting more top-line established movie greats than the original, such as Marlon Brando (who received an Emmy), Henry Fonda and Olivia De Havilland, it was just better made. Of course the power this continuing saga had was based on the original's greatness, so without the original this could not stand. But the lives of Kunta Kinte's descendants depicted here, from where the original left off around 1870, to the adult Alex Haley (masterfully played by James Earl Jones)working on his incredible genealogical novel, was spellbinding and immensely touching throughout every chapter.

Carrying over from the original, Georg Stanford Brown as Chicken George's son, Tom Harvey, Brown sets the tone for this sequel with his thoughtful performance as a man dealing with freedom for the first time in his life, and how it affected his daughters, one of whom would become the grandmother of Alex Haley. Irene Cara and Dorian Harewood would add to the roster of stellar acting as Alex's parents, and extremely notable too were efforts by Beah Richards, Bernie Casey, Andy Griffith, Howard E. Rollins, Richard Thomas, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Damon Evans (as a young adult Alex Haley), and many others. A thoroughly rich and rewarding experience made even more spectacular because of its important subject matter.

ROOTS:THE NEXT GENERATIONS-Produced by Wolper Productions for the ABC Television Network. Producer:Stan Margulies. Based on the novel "Roots" written by Alex Haley. Executive Producer: David L. Wolper,and adapted for television by William Blinn. Shown as a mini-series for ABC-TV that ran from 1979-1981.

First Telecast of the Mini-Series: February 18,1979 Last Telecast of the Mini-Series: July 12,1981 NOTE: During the February 1979 broadcast,it ran each night for seven days,and was repeated as a weekly series from May of 1981 to July,1981.

Two years after Alex Haley's "Roots" made television history,this sequel to one of the most highly watched programs of all time continued the saga,again attracting large audiences in which no one,not even ABC was expecting such a brilliant success. And again it was the talk of the town during the night of the Emmy Awards,winning more Emmys than any other show imaginable in the history of television. The story picks up where the first one left off,where it resumed from last time. The story begins in 1882,by which time Tom Harvey,the great-grandson of Kunta Kinte had established a marginal existence as a blacksmith in Henning,Tennessee. Relations between the races were strained,but the old prejudices and racial hatred of the past survived. Tom Harvey(George Stanford-Brown)forbade his daughter's marriage to a light-skinned negro because he is "too white";and town patriarch Colonel Warner(Henry Fonda)disowned his own son Jim(Richard Thomas)when he dared to marry a black schoolteacher. Before long "literacy tests" were being used to deny blacks their recently won the right to vote,and lynch law had reappeared. This was during the reconstruction period,and this was years after the Civil War and the story continues onward towards the beginning of the 20th Century.

Tom's younger daughter,Cynthia(Bever-Leigh Banfield),married a hard working young man named Will Palmer(Stan Shaw),who,despite the oppression,had risen ownership of the local lumberyard. In time Will would succeed Tom as the leader of the black community,as the terror and violence of the Ku Klux Klan swept the South. Will and Cynthia's daughter,Bertha(Irene Cara),became the first descendant of Kunta Kinte to enter college. There,in 1912,she met an ambitious young Simon Haley (Dorian Harewood),son of a sharecropper,whose education was being sponsored by a philanthropic white man. After serving in a segregated combat unit during World War I,Simon returned to marry Bertha and began teaching agriculture at a black college in Tuskegee,Alabama. This was otherwise known as Tuskegee Institute also known as Tuskegee University. It was from there that the foundations of family lore were discoved by Simon's son Alex(played by Kristoff St. John as a child; Damon Evans as a young man,and James Earl Jones as a adult)who soaked up the family legacy that was told to him from the older generation about the stories and family history about the ancestors of Kunta Kinte.

As the beginning of World War II approached,Alex enlisted in the Coast Guard,where he spent the next 20 years. When he retired in 1960 he turned to writing,interviewing such national figures as Malcolm X,whose autobiography he helped write. Haley also had candid interviews with American Nazi Leader George Lincoln Rockwell,and also was good friends with Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. But it was a visit to his boyhood home in Henning,Tennesee that reignited his interest in his family's past,all the way back to the "Old African" Kunta Kinte,and started him on a journey to Africa where the origins of his ancestors came from and from there begin his most greatest work of all time.

"Roots:The Next Generation",just like the first one,had a lot of brilliant talents which featured a superb who's who of African-American actors of their day,along with Hollywood heavyweights like Henry Fonda,Olivia DeHavilland,Harry Morgan and Marlon Brando is unusual role as a Aryan Leader of a Nazi Organization,whom Haley interviews. The "Roots" sagas are usually shown during Black History Month,but it is a must to see this special in all its glory to one of the most highly acclaimed specials of all time.