Kunta Kinte
Slave / Literary Hero
Kunta Kinte is the central figure in Alex Haley's 1976 book Roots. According to Haley's research, Kinte was 17 when he was captured and taken to America as a slave aboard the ship Lord Ligonier in 1767. Roots traces the lives of Kinte and his descendants down to Haley himself, Kinte's great great great great-grandson. The book became a popular TV miniseries in 1977, starring LeVar Burton as young Kinte and John Amos as the older Kinte.Extra credit: A memorial to Haley and Kinte stands in Annapolis, Maryland, at the dock where Kinte arrived.
For more information on real-life influential African-Americans, including Jesse Jackson, Charles Drew and Crispus Attucks, see our Who2 loop on Black History.
Four Good Links
Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival
Web site for the Maryland event, with a brief history of Kinte
Roots
The Museum of Broadcast Communications describes the miniseries and its impact
The Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation
Website of the educational and memorial group
African American History Links
Washington University's guide to resources for further study
