WATERLOO - Thirty years ago, the miniseries "Roots" made television history.

For eight consecutive nights during the week of Jan. 23, 1977, the country was riveted by ABC's and executive director David L. Wolper's take on Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his African ancestors. Several generations of a slave family were traced in one- and two-hour segments, beginning with the young Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), who was shipped by slave raiders from West Africa to America in the 1700s.

Digging for roots

"Roots" achieved many firsts, the most apparent being the series' focus on African-Americans and their history.

"The greatest accomplishment of 'Roots' is giving African-Americans a lineage to hang on to - even if it was Haley's," said Cherie Nelson, Courier columnist and graphic artist. "We now have a better idea of our roots and where we come from."

Haley's ability to trace his ancestry encouraged others to do the same, and people are still completing their family trees, said Michael Blackwell, director of the University of Northern Iowa Center for Multicultural Education.

"('Roots') was about chronicling one man's odyssey to discover his heritage a little bit more directly," he said. "It certainly did lead people to want to do that on their own regardless of what their background was, to learn more and find out. … I think that all of that kind of interest can be attributed quite directly to 'Roots.'"

Pierre-Damien Mvuyekure, a UNI professor of English and African-American literature, pointed to the recent PBS series "African-American Lives" as proof the impact of "Roots" on genealogical study is alive and well. The series, headed by Henry Louis Gates Jr., chair of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University, used genealogy, oral history, family stories and DNA analysis to trace the lineage of accomplished African-Americans including Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Bishop T.D. Jakes.

"Today, more than ever, African-Americans want to trace their roots back to whatever they can find," said Mvuyekure. "Haley's book and movie are more poignant today than in 1977."

Race relations

Despite ABC executives' fears "Roots" would be a ratings disaster, it scored the highest television ratings ever at the time. The numbers were proof blacks were not the only ones tuning in.

"This really wasn't just the history of the African-American experience; it was the history of how African-Americans related to white people. I'm sure many who watched who were not African-American were interested in seeing how that relationship was portrayed," said Stephen Winzenburg, an associate professor of communications at Grand View College in Des Moines.

"Certainly in many cases it made whites look really bad. The fact that it was so sweeping and over an eight-night period and there were so many characters in it made it more than just a movie. … Night after night it showed the tragic experience of slavery and how some of our ancestors were part of that tragedy."

The topic of race was an uncomfortable one, and "Roots" gave the white and black communities common ground in discussing their history and relationships to one another, said David Meeks, executive director of the Waterloo Human Rights Commission.

"A lot of times people would say they didn't want to talk about (slavery), 'Let's focus on the right now and move forward. Why is it such a big deal?' But 'Roots' put it into perspective. Going back 400 years, this is a whole culture that was left out of the American dream," said Meeks.

"I think white America could begin to understand that white privileges have long been a standard of this country. That's why there is so much anger and division among African-Americans and other minorities."

Growth in Hollywood

"Roots" didn't just affect the way Americans saw each other. It changed the way the country watched television.

Network executives were unsure whether people would keep tuning in night after night, so the miniseries aired prior to February sweeps. If it did poorly, high sweeps ratings would help ABC recover.

"After they saw the ratings they were kicking themselves," said Winzenburg. "Roots" jumpstarted the miniseries craze and pushed the boundaries of television at the time.

"Visually it wasn't something that had been seen before. For prime time TV it was very progressive. There was nudity in it, rape in it. It was shocking at the time. They showed natives with naked breasts, and I'm not sure they could even do that today," said Winzenburg.

Though all eight installments of "Roots" collectively earned 37 Emmy nominations and nine wins, Winzenburg said critics landed on both sides of the fence.

"I remember a mixed bag. Some critics actually didn't care for it. They thought it was a kind of sanitized version of slavery. Others thought it was a sensationalized version of what happened," he said. "Whenever you're making something historical you can never seem to please people."

One thing history has proven is that "Roots" changed things for African-American actors.

"Looking at the history of TV, it was a turning point for treating racial issues seriously through drama," said Winzenburg.

Up to that point, he said, African-Americans were mostly featured on comedies like "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons."

The miniseries' impact on the entertainment industry seems especially poignant given this year's Academy Awards race, in which there are a record number of non-white nominees in the major categories, the majority of whom are black. During tonight's broadcast, many predict black performers Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Forest Whitaker will take home Oscars for their work.

Still, said Blackwell, Hollywood and the rest of the country have a long way to go before reaching true equality.

"The movie industry is not and the movie-going public are not really there yet as far as being fully receptive to a variety of roles for African-Americans to play on screen," he said. "I think there's still a lot of stereotyping that goes on, and it's easy to represent African-Americans in ways that are not necessarily flattering."

Though major awards have been given in the last few years to black actors and actresses like Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, Blackwell said, their successes are exceptions to the rule.

"It's nice to see, and it's about time, but I don't think the vast majority of African-American actors and actresses really get good solid roles to play. It's usually something to do with family dislocation or violence of some sort … or something to do with hip-hop culture. There is still a long way to go."

Lasting impact

"Of course it wasn't necessarily the intention of Alex Haley and the show to really effectuate any kind of social or structural change in the United States, but it's just interesting to note that here, 30 years later, there are many issues and challenges that African-Americans had back then that they still are dealing with now," said Blackwell.

If the original airing of "Roots" had not happened in 1977, and it aired for the first time today, the event would most likely be much different, said Winzenburg.

"If the film were made now it probably would be made on HBO and not on network TV. They would show much more graphic sexuality and violence, and it would probably be closer to reality," he said.

If "Roots" were shown today, though, it would still make a considerable impact - this time on a whole new generation, said the Rev. Don Carver, a board member of KBBG radio station.

"Believe me, they need to be impacted," he said. "In a historical context it's not an old story. It's not too late to make a change."

Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com.