I just finished reading Roots for the very first time. Why the hell didn’t I read this book earlier? I think everyone in America should read this book. I’ve never felt so proud to be African-American in my life. The first 100 pages or so were pretty boring but once I reached the point where Kunta Kinte was captured by the slave traders I was absolutely riveted…I couldn’t put it down. I think I read the last 150 pages in one day.
I would love to trace my family genealogy back to Africa the way Alex Haley did. I’d love to know more about my Indian heritage too. My dad’s mother was 1/2 Indian and I don’t even know what tribe. I know relatives have tried and reached a dead end fairly quickly. Both my parents are from the same area in rural South Carolina and the county courthouse burnt down around 1910 or so. There might be something at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. There’s a Wingate college in North Carolina. Sometimes I wonder if that family owned my forebearers.