# Roots (mini-series) - historically accurate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947 "2010-06-04T16:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947/1 "2010-06-04T16:43:45Z")
I’m about halfway through the mini-series Roots on DVD. I’m really enjoying it, even though it’s pretty 70s cheesy at times. It’s really made me realize, though, how little I know about slavery and the slave trade (I’m Canadian, and we were mostly taught about the Underground Railroad, and little else about slavery). I was wondering how historically accurate is the mini-series? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947/2 "2010-06-04T23:32:05Z")
Well, I liked the mini-series too, back in the '70’s, it was pretty impressive drama writing and production values for the time. I also enjoyed the book, by Alex Haley, I thought it was even better than the mini-series, as such things often are. I totally believed the concept – that Alex Haley used his family history and personal research to write the novel. Sadly, newer scholarship contends that’s not absolutely the case: > **[Roots: The Saga of an American Family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots:_The_Saga_of_an_American_Family#Literary_significance_and_criticism)** > > Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent, sold into slavery in Africa, and transported to North America; it follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the United States down to Haley. The release of the novel, combined with its hugely popular television adaptation, Roots (1977), led to a cultural sensation in the United States. The novel spent forty-six weeks on T... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947/3 "2010-06-04T23:40:51Z")
Are you asking if it’s an accurate depictation of what slavery was like in America or are you asking if it’s based on actual historical people? ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947/4 "2010-06-05T01:13:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Are you asking if it’s an accurate depictation of what slavery was like in America or are you asking if it’s based on actual historical people? I guess I’m wondering if the depictions of the slave trade are accurate, rather than if the actual historical people existed or led those lives. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947/5 "2010-06-07T15:08:39Z")
From all I’ve read, the depictions of the antebellum slave trade and slave life in America are largely accurate. It’s the quality and accuracy of Haley’s genealogical work, and the extent of plagiarism in _Roots_, that’s still in dispute. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roots-mini-series-historically-accurate/541947/6 "2010-06-07T15:33:44Z")
I recall when Alex Haley first broke the story of his ancestor, well before the publication of **roots** , in _The New York Times Sunday Magazine_. The issue’s cover had a photo of a Colonial newspaper announcing the arrival of the ship the _Lord Ligonier_ with a delivery of slaves, and the article announced “The Arrival of Someone’s Ancestor”. The story inside related Haley’s search for his genealogical roots, and his finding the preservation of his family’s history in Africa, kept in memory. The story was certainly told as if it was a legitimate piece of journalism. When the novel came out, I assumed that Haley was simply elaborating on his proven family history, and fleshing it out. It was a bit disappointing to hear the doubts and cries of plagiarism that came later. as for the reality of the scenes of the slave trade, I’d read about that well before I ever heard of Haley. as far as I can tell, it really is accurate. If you want stories about what life for slaves was like, read Frederick Douglass’ autobiography., or Mark Twain’s writing about slavery. They were there. It was that bad.