For the Keak da Sneak album, see Kunta Kinte (album).
Fictional character
Kunta Kinte
LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries Roots
First appearance
Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976)
In-universe information
Family
Omoro (father) Binta (mother) Belle (wife) Kizzy (daughter) George (grandson) Tom (great-grandson)
Kunta Kinte (/ˈkuːntɑːˈkɪnteɪ/KOON-tah KIN-tay; c. 1750 – c. 1822) is a fictional character in the 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1750, enslaved, and taken to America where he died around 1822. Haley said that his account of Kunta's life in Roots is a mixture of fact and fiction.[1]
Kunta Kinte's life story figured in two US television series based on the book: the original 1977 TV miniseries Roots,[2] and a 2016 remake of the same name. In the original miniseries, the character was portrayed as a teenager by LeVar Burton and as an adult by John Amos. In the 2016 miniseries, he is portrayed by Malachi Kirby.[3] Burton reprised his role in the 1988 TV movie Roots: The Gift.
^The Roots of Alex Haley". BBC Television Documentary. 1997.
^Bird, J.B. "ROOTS". Museum.tv. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2007.
^Campbell, Sabrina (May 30, 2016). "Malachi Kirby is Kunta Kinte in 'Roots' Remake". NBC News. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
KuntaKinte (/ˈkuːntɑː ˈkɪnteɪ/ KOON-tah KIN-tay; c. 1750 – c. 1822) is a fictional character in the 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by...
miniature replica of his 9-m (30-foot) statue of KuntaKinte that would be displayed on KuntaKinte Island. Kunta Kinteh Island is suffering heavy erosion and...
also recorded and released music as a solo artist and with the band KuntaKinte, who were renamed Tough Love. Catch were descended from Brattish, Slater's...
the village of Juffure, where KuntaKinte grew up and listened to a tribal historian (griot) tell the story of Kinte's capture. Haley also traced the...
played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), KuntaKinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids...
who are all credited as songwriters. "King Kunta" is a reference to the archetypal rebellious slave KuntaKinte, the basis of the main character from the...
1939) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the adult KuntaKinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying James Evans Sr. on...
Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2013. In 2016, Kirby starred as KuntaKinte in the American miniseries Roots, a remake of the 1977 miniseries of...
The Saga of an American Family, as the birthplace of Haley's ancestor KuntaKinte. After the publication of Roots, Jufureh became a significant tourist...
on 6 May 2011. In the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, KuntaKinte/"Toby" (John Amos as the adult KuntaKinte) had a marriage ceremony in which he and Belle (Madge...
Brown later played Tom Harvey (son of Chicken George, great-grandson of KuntaKinte, and great-grandfather of Alex Haley) in the 1977 television miniseries...
Bill Thomas (Raj and Dee's father) on What's Happening!!, and Omoro Kinte (KuntaKinte's father) in Roots. He also appeared on the first-season episode of...
board the ship and on plantations, including a memorable scene where KuntaKinte/Toby is whipped until he acknowledges his new name. A Hundred Horses...
was one of the final two actors to be considered for the lead role of KuntaKinte in the breakthrough miniseries Roots, which eventually went to LeVar...
family. He stated he was an outsider as a child in Germany, being called "KuntaKinte" (the African hero in the film Roots) by his classmates. After leaving...
in 1996. There is a family in the town who claim to be descendants of KuntaKinte and oral historian Kebba Kanji Fofana, the man who was supposed to have...
family's first ancestor to enter the United States was a young man named KuntaKinte, who lived near the Kamby Bolongo, or Gambia River, and was kidnapped...
Arrington was named after LeVar Burton, following the actor's portrayal of KuntaKinte in the 1977 television miniseries Roots. He has an older brother, Michael...
story is disputed. Kizzy Kinte, the daughter of KuntaKinte. As with her father, the existence of an historical Kizzy Kinte is disputed. John Knox (c...
to 1975. In the 1977 miniseries Roots, he played the first master of KuntaKinte, John Reynolds. Through the 1970s, Greene was the spokesman for Alpo...
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