![]() But between that time and the 1970s, an effort – part sentimental, part systematic – had been underway by some Southern apologists to re-frame the story. To many Americans in 1977, the show's grim picture of slavery was new and disturbing – though it would have been familiar to their great-great grandparents. The 19th century readers of "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" (1845), "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1851) and "12 Years a Slave" (1853) had no illusions about what slavery was. "Roots" is so mainstream now (in 2016, a remake was aired by The History Channel) that it's hard to remember how revolutionary it was in its day. Overnight, genealogy became a national craze that cut across racial and social lines. Praise – and ratings – for "Roots" went through the roof. ![]() Viewers discussed the episodes in classrooms and living rooms they began to talk about their own ancestors. In our nation's history we had always treated slaves as objects, non-humans. Things that were owned. ![]() ![]() "There really is no such thing as a slave. ![]()
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