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| 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) Kizzy (daughter) George (grandson) Tom (great-grandson) |
Kunta Kinte (/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 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.