Roots

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Feb 21 2013

Hollywood by Choice

With all this talk about slavery and “Django: Unchained” we bring into focus writer Alex Haley, the man who dared to write a groundbreaking novel about his ancestors entitled “Roots.”

“Roots,” which originally aired in 1977 on the ABC Network, literally captured the heart and imagination of America and the world. Never before had anything focusing on the subject of slavery ever graced the airwaves with such power and authority as this mini-series.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Aug 11 2011

He began the Playboy Interviews and wrote ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X’

Today marks the birthday of writer Alex Haley. Although he is overwhelmingly known for his 1976 Pulitzer Prize winning family saga, “Roots,” Haley completed a 20-year career in the Coast Guard before embarking on a career as a journalist, and achieved such milestones as becoming a senior editor with Readers Digest, launched the Playboy Interviews, and wrote the “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” before publishing the tome with which he will forever be associated.

Oct 14 2010

Metamorphosis

In the predawn red-orange blue,
atop the dark mourning hill,
stood the old rugged cross true
gazing down upon us, still
 
the cockroach, in its deep grooves
picks the remnants of saviors past,
slowly and steadily it moves
along the sanguine buffet in its path.
 
And the feast is abundant here,
as it moves down middle passages,
along tribal fissures and cultural fear
spiritual and political ravages
 
it flits its wings and continues descent,

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Sep 30 2010

Artist succumbs

What made the work of internationally known visual artist Varnette Patricia Honeywood so special was that she created images that connected African Americans with their roots.

So, if you saw the image of women in the kitchen hovering around the stove and pressing their hair, or two women whispering to one another sitting on a church pew, you immediately said “I remember that.”

Aug 12 2010

New York native was 82

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—Private funeral services were pending Wednesday for David L. Wolper, the Emmy-winning producer of the miniseries “Roots” and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Wolper, 82, died Tuesday night at his Beverly Hills home of heart disease and complications of Parkinson’s disease.

He was introduced to “Roots,” after meeting actress Ruby Dee at the Moscow Film Festival.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”