Whenever I read a book which is kind of autobiographical and has a deep connection with the inner feelings of the writer, I can’t help but wonder what is it that made him/her dig into their past, churn out emotions in words and amalgamate passion with substance to produce a masterpiece.
Alex Haley has done that and though it must have been for very personal reasons, he has gifted this world a work which helps us understand the journey of the so-called NIGGERSfrom Africa to America and the rest of the western world.
Intrigued by his past and disturbed by coloured remarks, the author makes a journey into the history of his people wherein he travels to distant Africa. He had heard references of kintay in the stories passed down through generations, told by his mother and grandmothers, who had inherited them as oral history to be passed on.
In this back-in-time travel we are taken to the civilised African villages and the way of life as it existed there in distant 17th century. One reads in wonder, how these villages had a social structure and mechanics of governance which can be compared to the best of our times. The myth of this part of the world being uncivilised as propagated by the white west is laid bare.
The tragic story of Kunta Kinte(the author’s fore father) is deeply moving. His capture along with other natives by the white traders, the hardships and the humiliation aboard the slave ship, the slaves being sold and auctioned for use as bonded farm labour in America makes one wonder how one human can treat another so very dastardly. The narration further takes you to the life lived by these slaves in the farms, they being auctioned and resold, and how some white men were a little better than the others. The violation of human dignity will make you cringe with disgust and tears may well-up your eyes because of sheer pathos and helplessness.
The author has painstakingly made a chronological trip through his generations and he cannot but be admired for such passion and effort.
Now when you see photographs of young people of the late 70’s and early 80’s wearing T-Shirts with ROOTS printed on them, you know why they did so!