Reconsidering Roots: Race, Politics, and Memory ed. by Erica L. Ball and Kellie Carter Jackson (review)

In January 1977, ABC aired a television miniseries based on Alex Haley's book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. For eight consecutive nights, more than 130 million Americans tuned in to follow the life of Kunta Kinte, beginning in his West African village, continuing with the Middle Passage, and through his and his descendants' enslavement. The show refuted racist stereotypes about enslaved people; they were not happy or content, they were brutalized and yet they resisted and formed families. Given the critical acclaim and impact on popular culture, one would expect Roots to be regularly analyzed in academia. Yet, as editors Erica L. Ball and Kellie Carter Jackson explain, the miniseries and book have mostly been overlooked due to a number of controversies surrounding the book's content. Ball and Jackson convincingly argue that Roots deserves a reconsideration because of its significant cultural and political contributions. They explain that in the 1970s, Roots provided a relatable and generic "American story" for white Americans who wanted to celebrate their immigrant past and a "deeply personal" and "collective family history" for black Americans (8).

Divided into three parts, the collection of interdisciplinary essays explores the tensions and contrasts within and about Roots, examines audiences' reception to the miniseries, and offers a critical examination of gender, politics, and the impact of the Roots phenomenon. In part 1, Clare Corbould analyzes reaction letters from "ordinary Americans" and shows that while many white viewers reacted positively to the show, only African American letter-writers used language such as "racism" and "discrimination" to explain the legacies of slavery. Tyler D. Parry examines Margaret Walker's plagiarism lawsuit against Alex Haley. Parry deftly explores how Walker's gender, race, and refusal to submit to Hollywood's whitewashed and exploitive nature negatively affected her case. Francesca Morgan demonstrates that Roots was part of a larger tradition of black genealogy that was ripe for expansion in the 1970s because of changes in historical methodology.

In part 2, the authors examine the miniseries and its sequel through the lenses of masculinity, labor struggles, the impact of the white gaze on storytelling, and the black military image. Delia Mellis shows that in Roots white masculinity was exhibited through violence and black masculinity was defined as survival and forbearance. She argues that these constructions worked to undermine black power ideology. Elise Chatelain compares the depictions of African American labor in the miniseries Roots and Backstairs at the Whitehouse. While both works reflect black servitude, Chatelain contends that storytelling from an African American perspective demanded recognition of discriminatory racial hierarchies. C. Richard King and David J. Leonard contend that Roots and Django Unchained are ultimately limited in their ability to address larger systemic oppression, because they are concerned with cultivating a white audience. Robert K. Chester examines the portrayal of black military members in Roots: The Next Generations. Chester contrasts the ideas of racial triumphalism abroad during World War II and the discrimination and violence that black military men faced at home.

Part 3 highlights Roots' impact on transnational conversations and movements for freedom. Martin Stollery demonstrates that while British mainstream media viewed Roots as an American phenomena and an opportunity to celebrate British abolitionism, black British people related to Roots based on their experiences in Britain and as part of a global black history. Similarly, Norvella Carter, Warren Chalklen, and Bhekuyise Zungu explore how Roots was linked to larger anticolonialism and antiapartheid struggles in South Africa. Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang details the personal and political impact of Roots on a retired military officer in Taiwan, who had been abducted from China at age fourteen.

The editors of Reconsidering Roots have compiled a thoughtful and critical examination of Roots and its legacies. Whether challenging the compromises made to satisfy the white gaze or exploring how Roots was linked to the growing trend of...