In 1979, they made a sequel to the original Roots miniseries that was made in 1977. While not quite as well known as the first, mainly because it did not have the characters of Kunta Kinte and Chicken George in it, it was as good as the original, and brought the family saga up to modern times.
At the end of Roots, we saw the family at the end of the Civil War, resettle in Tennessee and prosper. This series takes up then, and brings us from then to the author Alex Hailey trying to find his roots in Africa, and finding the Kinte clan.
Along the way, we are treated to the overwhelming odds that blacks were against for most of the life of this country...many would contend they still are. We see freedoms taken away by Jim Crow laws in the south, and terror groups as real as Al Quaeda for non-whites, the KKK and others, who would routinely kill anyone who they thought was "uppity." We see institutionalized and legalized racism, and it is no wonder that many cried when Barack Obama won the presidency of the United States.
Both Roots sagas are great, and should be watched as civic lessons in junior high, and as excellent entertainment. The production values are a little lame by today's standards, especially makeup...it is typical of 1970's miniseries. Amazing guest stars, including a frightening turn from Marlon Brando as the American Nazi party leader as Alex Hailey (portrayed by James Earl Jones) interviews him for Playboy. Amazing scene.
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