Roots

              odysseychannel.com
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February 8
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Grade Levels: Middle School and High School
"The ancestors of all of us came across that
SAME OCEAN IN SOME SHIP. We MUST LEARN NOT ONLY TO
LIVE TOGETHER BUT LEARN TO SEE ONE ANOTHER AS
PEOPLE RATHER THAN AS STEREOTYPES."
-^Mlex ^J4a
OBJECTIVES
0   To examine the relationships between cultures and belief
systems that shaped African-American and U.S. history
0   To draw connections among family history, ethnic genealogy,
and American history
o   To help viewers consider the degree to which white and
black histories are inseparable
NATIONAL CURRICULUM'. STANDARDS
This educators' guide is designed to help teachers use "Roots" as a
springboard for discussion and activities that correlate with selected
U.S. history standards found in the K-12 content standards indicated by McREL, Mid-continent Research Education and Learning, and
with selected social studies themes indicated by the National
Council for the Social Studies.
History standards and benchmarks related to this guide:
O   Eras 2 through 5 of U.S. history standards, which comprise
the periods from colonization and settlement through the
Civil War.
0   Historical understandings that involve:
1) analyzing chronological relationships and patterns and
2) understanding the historical perspective.
Social studies themes related to this guide:
o   Culture
0  Time, continuity, and change
o   People, places, and environment
0   Individual development and identity
0   Individuals, groups, and institutions
For more information visit <http://www.mcrel.org/standards>
and <http://www.ncss.org/standards>
copyright © 2001 KIDSNET
BACKGROUND
When "Roots" first aired as a television miniseries in 1977, it made
history. Historians credit the broadcast with being the stimulus that
changed the history of American popular culture. "Roots" prompted
Americans of many backgrounds to take a closer look into their
personal heritage, ancestry, and ethnic identity. Together, Haley's
novel and the television program made several distinct contributions. They raised consciousness about the habits, rituals, values,
and myths of African culture and ways. They also brought about
a new understanding of slavery as an institution. The novel and the
television program elevated respect for the oral tradition's imprint
on our cultural record, and they cast light on the importance of each
family's contribution to American history. Now Odyssey brings this
remarkable experience back to American viewers.
Author Alex Haley first heard about his African ancestor,
Kunta Kinte, while he was a boy living with his grandmother in
Tennessee. His family members took pride and pleasure in passing
down their history from generation to generation. Kunta Kinte
became the centerpiece of stories that were knitted together in an oral
tradition for young Haley. For the grown man, these stories spurred
12 years of archival and shipboard research. Those data, along with
Haley's imagination, gave rise to Roots: The Saga of an American
Family, the novel that inspired this made-for-television series.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family was first published
in the fall of 1976. Within two years, it had won 271 awards,
including the Pulitzer Prize and the 1977 National Book Award.
It sold more than 8 million copies and to date, Roots has been
published in 35 languages. The "Roots" television program is based
on some parts of the novel and was an epic in television history.
An estimated 130 million viewers saw all or part of the eight-
episode miniseries (later to be six episodes) that was first broadcast
on eight consecutive nights in January 1977. The series won
145 honors, including nine Emmy Awards and television's
prestigious Peabody Award.
After "Roots" aired, interest in genealogy blossomed in
the United States. Haley first explored his family heritage in the
National Archives. Eventually, his expedition reached into 50 or
more archives, libraries, and research repositories on three different
continents. In response to the novel and program that resulted from
this research, letters of inquiry and applications to use the National
Archives rose by 40 percent, and requests to examine census
manuscripts tripled. Some 267 colleges included Roots in their
coursework. New books on genealogy flourished as heritage
research became a popular hobby. Haley's work inspired the
PBS 10-part series, "Ancestors." Genealogy Web sites, software,
lectures, and clubs are still popular today
Note: Both the novel and the broadcast are accepted as "faction," Haley's
term that describes his mixture of fact and fiction, a depiction of real people
with some aspects of their lives novelized. alex haley died unexpectedly in
1992 at age 71, but he left a tremendous legacy in the character and family
of kunta klnte, whose story is recognized around the world.