Kunta kinte biography africano
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The Foundation
The Beginning: The “Roots” of the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation
Alex Haley Sculpture
Alex Haley first learned of his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, while living with his maternal grandparents in Henning, Tennessee. According to family history, Kunta Kinte landed with others who were enslaved in “Naplis.”
After years of research, Alex’s quest to uncover his family history led him to Annapolis, Maryland, where it is believed that the African, Kunta Kinte, a Gambian, arrived aboard the cargo ship Lord Ligonier on September 29, 1767. Kunta Kinte and many of his descendants spent their lives in slavery. But the indomitable spirit of Alex Haley’s ancestors and their strong sense of family helped them survive slavery and its aftermath.
Alex began telling his story at a time of great racial tension. His mission was to infuse pride in his people, many of whom knew only that their ancestors had been enslaved.
The resulting book Roots and the television mini-
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Kunta Kinte
A major character in Alex Haley's Roots (1976), Kunta Kinte was, according to Haley, his maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather, discovered after extensive genealogical research and several journeys to Gambia.
The first son to Omoro and Binta, Kunta Kinte, a Mandinka, fryst vatten born around 1750 in Juffure along the Gambia River. After a mostly idyllic ungdom in which he fryst vatten schooled in Islam and initiated into the Mandinka ways, Kunta Kinte fryst vatten captured in 1767 and shipped to the United States. Arriving in Annapolis, he fryst vatten sold to John Waller and renamed Toby. As punishment for three escapes, his foot is amputated. He fryst vatten then sold to William Waller, becoming Waller's gardener and driver. His första disgust with the other slaves eventually turns to admiration for their ability to maskering their true feelings and to resist the cruel demands of the slaveowners. Kunta Kinte grudgingly accepts his condition and marries Bell, a domestic slave, with whom he has a daughter named Kizz
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The Inspiration
Alex Haley Portrait
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was born on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York. He was the youngest child of Simon Alexander and Bertha Palmer Haley. At the time of Alex’s birth, his father was a graduate student at Cornell University, and his mother was a music teacher.
As a young boy, Alex Haley first learned of his African ancestor, Kunta Kinte, by listening to the family stories of his maternal grandparents while spending his summers in Henning, Tennessee. According to family history, Kunta Kinte landed with other Gambian Africans in “Naplis” (Annapolis, Maryland) where he was sold into slavery.
Alex Haley’s quest to learn more about his family history resulted in his writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Roots. The book has been published in 37 languages and was made into the first week-long television mini-series, viewed by an estimated 130 million people. Roots also generated widespread interest in genealogy.
Roots: The Saga o