The TV miniseries Roots is based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel of the same name. It aired over eight consecutive nights on ABC in 1977 and became one of the most-watched television events of all time, attracting an estimated 140 million viewers.
The story follows the life of Kunta Kinte, a young man from the Mandinka tribe in West Africa, who is captured by slave traders and brought to America in chains. Kunta is sold to a plantation owner in Virginia, where he is renamed Toby and forced to work on the cotton fields.
Despite the brutal conditions of slavery, Kunta maintains his African identity and passes on his cultural heritage to his daughter Kizzy, who is born into slavery and raised on the plantation. Kizzy is befriended by a white plantation owner's son, who impregnates her and then sells her away from her family.
Kizzy gives birth to a son named George, who grows up to be a strong and independent man. George falls in love with a woman named Matilda, and they have several children together. Their descendants continue to struggle for freedom and equality throughout the Civil War and beyond.
Roots was a groundbreaking television event that exposed the horrors of slavery to a mass audience. The series featured an all-star cast, including LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte, John Amos as Toby (later renamed Kizzy), and Ben Vereen as Kunta's grandson, Chicken George. The series won nine Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award, and spawned two sequels, Roots: The Next Generations and Roots: The Gift.