The purpose of the Roots Project is to highlight the glaring distinctions between the book and the TV Series. The biggest difference is Africa's importance in Kunta Kinteh's life. Alex Haley's book made it possible for readers to picture themselves on the banks of the Gambia River, which is impossible to imagine if you have never read the book. The TV version of the book edited out the culturally rich village of Juffure, their commitment to family, and the Mandinka people's undeniable faith in God. Their simplistic, yet beautiful, life along the river known as the 'Smiling Coast of Africa' never made it to Television. Centuries old African traditions passed down by the Griots (village historians), never made it to film. The 1st 33 chapters of the book takes you on a journey, the likes of which, TV never showed. Televisions' failure to show the beauty of life in Pre-toubob-Africa cheats viewers. However, Avery Brooks' unbelievable job of reading the book, makes the audio version a rewarding expirience.
Alex Haley responds to interviewer question 'What is it black people really want in this society?'
"The same as white people want. It’s as simple as that. I guess one of the things that makes us the sickest. . . we get sick of always hearing questions like that, “What do ‘you people’ want?” It’s what I call the “pronoun people” we’re not regarded as people, but as a thing. Phrases like “you people,” we hear a lot, and we boil inside. We may not say it, but I get sick of people talking about “my people,” like there are twenty-eight million of us who think alike and act alike, when actually we are as diverse as any group of people on the face of earth. There’s a paternalism, an implied kind of qualification of us, in questions that are asked of us. I get interviewed a lot, and I found myself listening to what the interviewer is asking me, I’m analyzing what I’m being asked more than my response. What I hear is most of the questions the interviewers ask give you a barometer of what the people in those communities think of me. Most of the things that are asked of me as a representative black person, would suggest never are we equal Americans. The questions that we are asked would suggest that we are from Afghanistan or somewhere totally away from here. You never hear about fellow Americans, or anything that implies fellow Americans. Again it’s the pronouns, “you people.” So, it tends to detach us internally. You may smile and go through the whole routine, and I’m not at all saying that I’m going around being bitter. I’m just being analytical. I would tend to draw to people who, for whatever reason, impress me as being real, and I’ll say, without trying to turn you crimson, you are one of those people. I was taken with you because you are honest. That was how I evaluated you before I knew too much about you. But, that’s just an inner judgment one makes. But, we hear over and over, things which say to us that we really are not regarded as fellow Americans."
"The same as white people want. It’s as simple as that. I guess one of the things that makes us the sickest. . . we get sick of always hearing questions like that, “What do ‘you people’ want?” It’s what I call the “pronoun people” we’re not regarded as people, but as a thing. Phrases like “you people,” we hear a lot, and we boil inside. We may not say it, but I get sick of people talking about “my people,” like there are twenty-eight million of us who think alike and act alike, when actually we are as diverse as any group of people on the face of earth. There’s a paternalism, an implied kind of qualification of us, in questions that are asked of us. I get interviewed a lot, and I found myself listening to what the interviewer is asking me, I’m analyzing what I’m being asked more than my response. What I hear is most of the questions the interviewers ask give you a barometer of what the people in those communities think of me. Most of the things that are asked of me as a representative black person, would suggest never are we equal Americans. The questions that we are asked would suggest that we are from Afghanistan or somewhere totally away from here. You never hear about fellow Americans, or anything that implies fellow Americans. Again it’s the pronouns, “you people.” So, it tends to detach us internally. You may smile and go through the whole routine, and I’m not at all saying that I’m going around being bitter. I’m just being analytical. I would tend to draw to people who, for whatever reason, impress me as being real, and I’ll say, without trying to turn you crimson, you are one of those people. I was taken with you because you are honest. That was how I evaluated you before I knew too much about you. But, that’s just an inner judgment one makes. But, we hear over and over, things which say to us that we really are not regarded as fellow Americans."
Week 1: Looking back to 1977
Week 2: Introducing Juffure
In Week 2, we began listening to Roots, the Audio Book by Alex Haley. In the first clip he dedicates the book to the country in which most of Roots happens. What's interesting is for the book's first 33 chapters, Haley focusses on the home of his ancestors, the African Village of Juffure. And yet it seems his bi-centennial dedication of the book lines up more with the TV Series' focus on America and the enslavement of the Kinte family. I must admit that line in the dedication struck me as odd.
In the 1st chapter we meet Kunta, his mother Binta, his father Omorro, grandma Yaisa, and of course the wonderful Village of Juffure. One of the most endearing aspects of the descriptions of Juffure in the early chapters is how it draws the reader into the beauty of life in this completely African village. Four things mentioned throughout the early chapters, that particularly caught my ear were the Talking Drums, an instrument called the Kora, the Baobab Tree, and the Travelers Tree.
The Travelers Tree sits outside of each village. The spectacular fronds of the Traveller's Tree come together in a tight weave that catches water (from which the tree gets its name). Rich tropical colors line the fronds- brilliant reds and oranges, dusky olive yellows and greens and deep emerald hues.
Drums communicated not only in the villagers... but with neighboring villages. Here is a sample.
The Kora is an African Instrument that the Toubob has not been able to duplicate. Here is an sample.
The Baobab Tree, called Africa's Tree of Life, is mentioned over and over in the book. Here's why.
