The first trailer for the remake of Roots was released on Thursday, promising all of the drama and heartbreak that captivated audiences nearly thirty years ago.
The History Channel’s remake of the 1977 miniseries, based on Alex Haley’s novel of the same name, is due out on Memorial Day and features an all-star cast including Forest Whitaker, Anika Noni Rose, Anna Paquin and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Roots follows the struggles of one African American family told over several generations, starting with Kunte Kinte, an African warrior sold into slavery, through to his great-grandchildren fighting for their freedom during the Civil War.
British actor Malachi Kirby will take on the role of Kunta Kinte, the progenitor of the family, who is kidnapped from Africa and brought to Colonial America where he is sold to a Virginia plantation owner.
While he faces abuse at the hands of his new owners for refusing to accept his new name of Toby (I would have gone with 'Toby'), he does find friendship after being taken under the wing of an older slave named Fiddler (Forest Whitaker). ...
[AmRen Editor’s Note: It is now well established that Alex Haley, the author of Roots, did not merely fake his African family tree but stole parts of it from a novel by a white man. After a five-week plagiarism trial, Haley paid a substantial settlement to the white author, Harold Courlander. Judge Robert J. Ward, who presided over the trial said that Haley had “perpetrated a hoax on the public.”]
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