To these wizened eyes, the true test of a television program on American history is relevance to the present day. This includes entertainment, mini-series, documentaries or reality shows. And since race relations remains America’s most important domestic issue, I pay attention when this subject is dealt with seriously.
Thus, as we embark on 2018’s Black History Month, what better time to remember, arguably, the most meaningful mass media examination of race in America, the original “Roots” telecast of 1977. Millions of black and white Americans will never forget it.
I was living and working in Cleveland when the star-studded “Roots” first aired that frigid late January. And right from the start, the sight and sound of so many gifted black actors warmed my heart. In all, the 62 principal cast members were a veritable directory of big movie and TV stars of the 1960s and ’70s.
Indeed, “Roots” is one of the most cherished TV memories of my lifetime, about which much of today’s youth is unaware. It was memorable and outstanding in every way.
And there is little doubt that it was a special experience for white people as well as black. During its run, the show was a daily topic of conversation at workplace coffee machines, water coolers and cafeterias, as well as business lunches everywhere.
It is interesting to note the presence in the cast of O.J. Simpson, still basking in the glory of his record-setting pro football career. His sad fall from grace occurred 17 years later, and the millions of whites who loved him as an athlete, came to scorn him.
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But no one can sully the majesty of “Roots,” TV’s all-time best mini-series.
Regardless of the knowledge of history by adult whites, many were horrified at the hardships inflicted upon blacks during slavery. And my black friends also found scenes of the brutality hard to take.
The Emmy-winning, ground-breaking, 12-hour, eight-night mini-series ran on ABC in late January 1977. After all these years, this powerful program remains a “must-see” for every man, woman and child in America—TV’s most thoughtful-ever look at race and racial tensions.
While “Roots” essentially presented race from a black perspective, it took pains to explore the changing feelings of whites. The show often dealt with harsh physical suffering endured by blacks in the antebellum South, but also explored the tortured existence of those seeking to better themselves via learning and violent revolt against white slave masters.
The quest for dignity by enslaved blacks in “Roots” was heart-wrenching, and Lou Gossett’s memorable “Fiddler” was a role for the ages. And the empathy of some of those oppressed with the likes of the white Brad Davis, as the unforgettable, dirt-poor “Ol’ George Johnson,” also brought tears to millions of viewers’ eyes.
Presented nationally on pre-cable, broadcast TV for everyone in America in close proximity to the turbulent 1960s, this artistic achievement still ranks as ABC’s all-time best. And, fittingly, it was lovingly recalled in a one-hour, much-anticipated and watched 25th anniversary NBC tribute in January 2002.
Marketed as a work of historical fact, “Roots” is based on the late Alex Haley’s landmark, Pulitzer Prize-winning book tracing his family origins in Africa. But ironically, ABC-TV did not air the nostalgic look-back to honor the 25th anniversary of its premier.
Why the originating network took a pass on running its own special is anybody’s guess. Perhaps it was due to allegations that the content of Haley’s work was, according to critics disputing his genealogical research, “a historical hoax.”
With apologies to those I don’t have space to mention, black names also included LeVar Burton as protagonist Kunta Kinte, along with John Amos, Maya Angelou, Olivia Cole, Scatman Crothers, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Moses Gunn, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Lynne Moody, Lillian Randolph, Thalmus Rasulala, Richard Roundtree, Madge Sinclair, O.J. Simpson, Raymond St. Jacques, Cicely Tyson, Leslie Uggams and Ben Vereen.
Among other notable white actors were Ed Asner, Lloyd Bridges, MacDonald Carey, Chuck Connors, Lynda Day George, Sandy Duncan, Lorne Greene, George Hamilton, Burl Ives, Doug McClure, Vic Morrow, Robert Reed and Ralph Waite.
But remembering “Roots” also means remembering tender moments. The touching scenes of black family loyalty, pride and love are stamped on my brain. And recalling the youthful Burton’s insistence that his name is, indeed, Kunta Kinte, is something I will never forget. Here’s hoping this towering program someday will be rerun in its entirety.
