Alex Haley - Roots

The History of Roots

I decided to write a book. My own ancestors’ would automatically also be a symbolic saga of all African-descent people-who are without exception the seeds of someone like Kunta who was born and grew up in some black African village, someone who was captured and chained down in one of those slave ships that sailed them across the same ocean, into some succession of plantations, and since then a struggle for freedom

Alex Haley Author: Roots

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Books

Publications

Every generation Media have compiled an excellent reading list with a selection of the books available to assist with your genealogy family research

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Case Studies on Family History

Every Generation is keen to collect and share examples of best practice of people researching their family history. If you like to write a feature article or a short case study please register as a contributor on our website or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Case Study Motherland

An epic film - shot in Britain, Africa, the Caribbean and America - which follows the first ever descendants of African slaves as they 'return' to Africa armed with the science that will finally enable them to rediscover their lost African roots.  The programme was first televised on BBC2 February 14th 2003
The ancestors of British African Caribbean were deprived of their history as well as their freedom when they were packed into slave ships and transported over the Atlantic to the plantations of the Caribbean. Now, for the first time, ground-breaking genetic analysis makes it possible for some to discover just from which part of Africa their ancestors came.

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Diaspora Family History

A world history perspective is essential in understanding the complexity of family history from an African, Caribbean and Black British context. Exploring and defining the African diaspora can be useful using the following historical dimensions and timelines:

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Tracing Your Family Heritage

Family Genealogy in the black community is a difficult and painful process. The impact of slavery still has a mental, physical and socio economic impact on the sustainability of families. The African tradition of the family history and genealogy was based on the tribe, clan, village, language, custom, folklore, name and wealth. Family lineage could be traced without records or documentary evidence.

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