ROOTS: The Saga of An American Family

"ROOTS" is an American TV miniseries based on Alex Haley's novel "Roots: The Saga of an American Family". The series originally aired on ABC January 23-30, 1977. It received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won 9 of them. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which holds the record as the third-highest-rated episode for any type of TV series, and the second-most watched overall series finale in U.S. television history. It was produced on a budget of $6.6 million, which is nowhere near what a production of the same magnitude would cost today.

The novel that preceeded the miniseries was published by Doubleday on August 17, 1976. It was an immediate success, garnering a slew of positive reviews and debuting at #5 on The New York Times Best Seller List. It quickly became a #1 Best Seller and held on to that spot for 22 weeks. In total, it remained on the list for 46 weeks. Together, the success of the novel and miniseries that followed sparked an explosion of interest in the fields of genealogy and people researching their own family history. In some cases, it also inspired many black families to plan and gather for long overdue reunions that might not have happened otherwise, but still continue to this day.

So thank you, Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (1921-1992), for sharing your family's personal journey from Africa to America and slavery to freedom in such an extraordinary way that made the world stop, take notice, think, and not miss an episode. And, we will always remember that tremendous all-star cast of actors and actresses who played their individual roles so well. Rest in power to you and anyone else who is no longer with us. For those who are still here, thank you for your part in this unforgettable experience too!