Man oh man guys. Tonight Oprah airs her reuniting of the ROOTS cast after 35 years and I cannot watch it. We do not have the OWN Network channel through our cable provider. I am so sad, but Oprah's network was at least generous enough to post "sneak peeks" of the show. Based off the sneak peaks they talked about the great impact that the making of ROOTS had on each actor/tress individually and on the world and how it made whites and blacks culturally aware at that time. The man who played the older Kunta Kinte, John Amos (played in Coming to America), said that "This generation has grown up with a false sense of inclusion." What he meant was that "a generation has grown up anticipating that every avenue of opportunity would be open to them, when in fact that was not the case." I had no idea that the young boy who played Kunta Kinte, LeVar Burton, was the handsome gentleman I saw on Reading Rainbow! I used to watch that show all the time!
It is so very ironic that I JUST got finished watching the entire ROOTS series and Oprah has "reunited" them. I was right on time. The series is still relevant I think and in fact, it would be good for everyone to watch it or watch it again. It would do several things-1) help us remember the hard and horrible past we came from, 2) remind us that we still have a long way to go, 3) help us to be culturally and socially aware of our stand in society and that we ought do our best not to be exclusive or prejudice and 4) watching it will naturally open for discussion about race in America and how it effects us. It is still relevant, hence why I cam up with my blog in the first place. I seek to remind myself where I stand in this world and my readers by being honest and observant in all of my surroundings. Hope you get to watch it!
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