Re-airing ‘Roots’
brings TV One
record audiences
Sarah Rodman
If you are over the age of 35, it’s possible you recall what you were doing the week of Jan. 23, 1977.
If you are African American, you know exactly what you were doing — you were watching “Roots.”
The miniseries, adapted from Alex Haley’s bestseller “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” had people of all races and ages glued to the television as the epic tale of Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), captured in Africa and sold into slavery on the auction block in the American south, unspooled over eight nights on ABC.
Whether it was rejoicing in the largest assemblage of black faces in primetime ever — including fresh discoveries like Burton — or recoiling in shock at watching friendly, familiar television faces like Ralph Waite (Pa Walton on “The Waltons”) and Ed Asner (Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”) portray heartless slave traders, the miniseries was a major milestone in television history. Full story
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Latinos upset at being MIA from ‘The War’
Suzanne Gamboa
WASHINGTON — Several Hispanic groups said last Thursday they are unhappy with Ken Burns’ plan to tell the stories of Latino veterans during breaks and at the end of each hour of his upcoming World War II documentary, “The War.”
PBS and Burns have faced heated protests from an array of Hispanic groups because Burns’ 14-hour documentary does not include any Hispanics who served in the war or information about their contributions.
“The War” is scheduled to premiere in September, during Hispanic Heritage Month. PBS hopes it becomes as popular as Burns’ “The Civil War” and plans to sell a companion book and DVDs.
The film, made over six years, tells the story of the war through people from four communities — Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Luverne, Minn. None of the people interviewed are Hispanic. Native Americans also are left out. Full story
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