1 Introduction to this Guide In this guide you will find: • Episode descriptions for each night of ROOTS • Discussion Questions • Activities and Links to learn more • Please note that at the end of this guide there is a Viewing Chart for viewers and students to fill out during or after watching each episode. Please note: ROOTS is recommended for advanced high school students, college students and general audiences. Sections of this guide include specific curriculum links and ratings information. CONNECT WITH ROOTS ROOTS is an epic story reimagined for a new generation of viewers. There are many ways to engage with the series and the topics and themes it explores. TWEET AND POST along with us while watching ROOTS. Tune in to HISTORY May 30-June 2nd. Join us each night and share your thoughts. Visit roots.history.com for social media links. PREPARE by viewing video clips, interactives, discussion guides and more at roots.history. com SHARE your family history. Search for a photo of one of your ancestors or an elder in your community and share it using hashtag #roots EXPLORE the history of ROOTS by reading a background article about the topic: http://www.history.com/news/remembering-roots REMEMBER that everyone can define their roots in their own way. If you do not know aspects of your family history or do not have access, you can research the history of your town or city or interview a leader or elder you admire. SOCIAL MEDIA: https://www.facebook.com/HISTORY/ https://twitter.com/History https://www.instagram.com/history/ https://www.facebook.com/RootsSeries https://twitter.com/rootsseries 2 Introduction (Continued) From the 1520s through the 1860s, approximately 12.5 million Africans were taken captive from their homes and villages, sold into slavery and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean; about 10.7 million survived the horrific route known as The Middle Passage. ROOTS explores the lives of enslaved individuals through the story of Kunta Kinte and his family, and it contains some very intense scenes depictingthe violence endured by enslaved individuals. Visit us at roots.history.com to find resources designed to help facilitate conversations about slavery and the experiences of slaves, before and after watching ROOTS. STANDARDS CONNECTIONS Common Core State Standards, English Language Arts Standards—History/Social Studies, Grades 11–12 • Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. • Evaluate various explanations for actions or events…where the text leaves matters uncertain. • Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources. 3 4 “You must always honor your ancestors, the ones who love you and watch over you. Your name is your spirit. Your name is your shield.” Introduction to the Series: Curriculum Links: ROOTS on HISTORY® is a historical portrait of ROOTS would be useful for high school and college American slavery recounting the journey of one courses on History, Politics, Social Studies, Film and family’s will to survive, endure and ultimately Media, Current Events and more. ROOTS is rated TV- carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship 14, L, V, S. Please note that ROOTS contains intense and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, language of the time period, violence and sexual the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte, who violence and therefore we do not recommend it for is captured in his homeland of The Gambia and children under the age of 14. Viewer discretion is transported in brutal conditions to colonial strongly advised. America, where he’s sold into slavery. Visit us at ROOTS.history.com for additional Throughout the series, the family continues to face resources for discussing and exploring ROOTS and adversity while bearing witness and contributing the history of slavery. to notable events in U.S. history, including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings We encourage faculty and educators to develop and eventual emancipation. The story of Kunta their own course units and lesson plans based Kinte and the women and men who came after on ROOTS. You can share ideas or insights using him echoes through the history of millions of hashtag #ROOTS or email us at classroom@ Americans of African descent, and reveals powerful aenetworks.com. truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit. 5 Background When ROOTS aired in 1977, it took the world by storm, telling the story of Kunta Kinte, an African who is abducted from The Gambia, sold into slavery, and taken to America. Based on the 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of An American Family by Alex Haley, the miniseries powerfully depicted the story of Kunta Kinte and his family’s struggle for freedom over several generations. Over 130 million viewers watched ROOTS over the course of 8 consecutive nights, nearly half of the U.S. population at the time. It was a seminal moment in American history. It was the first time that a television series started a conversation about slavery, race, identity, family, and freedom. In 2016, an amazing cast and creative team have come together to produce a reimagined ROOTS for a new generation of viewers. The new ROOTS from A+E Studios has benefited from rich new scholarship about life in The Gambia, the transatlantic slave trade and the lives of enslaved people on American plantations during the 18th and 19th centuries. The 2016 ROOTS miniseries breathes vibrant life into Kunta Kinte, Kizzy, Chicken George and the rest of their family’s breathtaking journeys. 6 Key Themes explored in ROOTS: • Identity and naming: Kunta Kinte hears words as a baby that guide his family through generations: “your name is your spirit, your name is your shield.” Family identity and the powerful naming ceremony guide Kunta’s descendants and help them survive enslavement. • Resilience and Strength: Despite the horrors of slavery, the family survives through their connection to each other and their history. ROOTS characters such as Kunta Kinte, Fiddler, Belle, Kizzy, Chicken George, his son Tom and others do everything in their power to resist the inhumanity of slavery. • Family: Dedication to family and carrying on traditions are primary values of Kunta and the generations after him. Family heritage and connection to the African past help them persevere. General Discussion Questions 1. What emotions did you feel while watching ROOTS? Why do you think it is important to tell this story? 2. ROOTS depicts the violence at the heart of the slave system. In what ways do you think the legacy of slavery exists in our world today? Why is it important to explore this history? 3. What are some of the key themes and messages of ROOTS? What inspired you most about the story? 4. ROOTS opens up some very intense subject matter including the violence whites enacted on enslaved people. What spaces, if any, exist in our society for healing wounds of race-based violence? What other kinds of spaces do you wish existed? (Think about how art, music, and conversation can play a role in processing the past.) 5. How do you think the ROOTS story can be relatable to anyone regardless of their background? 7 NIGHT ONE 8 ROOTS NIGHT ONE “Keep your true name inside. Kunta Kinte. I promise I’m gonna keep it, too. This isn’t your home. But this is where you got to be.” Introduction: to train him. With Fiddler’s help, Kunta fights to survive and maintain his dignity despite the In 1750 in the port of Juffure, in the river region unrelenting violence of the slave system. of The Gambia in West Africa, Omoro Kinte and his wife, Binta, have their first child, a son named Curriculum Links: Kunta. As a member of the highly esteemed Kinte family, Kunta is trained in Mandinka customs ROOTS would be useful for high school and college and traditions. He is a dedicated student who courses on History, Politics, Social Studies, Film dreams of traveling to the university in Timbuktu and Media, Current Events and more. This episode to become a scholar. Kunta passes his warrior of ROOTS is rated TV-14, L, V. Please note that ROOTS training, an important Mandinka rite of passage, contains intense language of the time period, but soon after he is betrayed by the Koros, a violence and sexual violence and therefore we do rival family. After being kidnapped and captured, not recommend it for children under the age of 14. Kunta is sold to British slave traders in 1767 and Viewer discretion is strongly advised. is shipped through the brutal Middle Passage to America on the Lord Ligonier along with 140 other Please note: slaves. ROOTS is a powerful exploration of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in North America. As Conditions are horrific on the slave ship and Kunta noted in the disclaimer above, ROOTS contains fears he will never see his family again. He unites harsh language and intense scenes of violence his fellow slaves and unsuccessfully leads an and sexual violence. It may prompt questions or uprising on board. In Annapolis, Maryland, he is additional discussion avenues among students sold to a Virginia planter named John Waller and is about slavery and the legacy of this history in given the slave name Toby. Kunta strongly resists American society. Visit us at ROOTS.history.com for his new name and enslavement. He relies on the additional resources for discussing and exploring wise counsel of Fiddler, an assimilated slave and this history. sophisticated musician who has been assigned 9 Vocabulary/Identification Terms: Pre-Viewing Activities: Before or after watching this episode of ROOTS, 1.