Image: ABC
What is the story of "Roots" about, in general?
Potatoes
Carrots
How to garden
Slavery
"Roots" is a story of slavery as told by the author, Alex Haley. He traced the story of his ancestors in Gambia, who were brought to America as slaves.
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What is the name of the main slave character in the story?
Kunta Kinte
Named Toby (but not Toby McGuire) by the white slave owners, the main character, Kunta Kinte is played by Lavar Burton in the early years of the story.
James Almos
Toby McGuire
Lavar Burton
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Where did Kunta Kinte originally come from?
Georgia
Alabama
South America
Africa
Kunta was born to a Mandinka warrior in Gambia, West Africa, but was captured as a young boy while looking for wood to make a drum for his brother. He endured many hardships. He tried to keep the name that was given to him at birth and not adopt his slave name, Toby.
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Kunta Kinte was brought to America on a ship captained by what actor, probably known better for his role as a newsman?
Ed Asner
Edward Asner portrayed the captain of the slave ship, Captain Thomas Davies. Asner is probably better known for his role as Lou Grant on the television show of the same name and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Lou Grant
Fred Tyler Moore
Thomas Davies
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When Kunta Kinte arrived in the United States, he was sold to a plantation owner in Virginia who assigned an older slave to show him how to speak English and perform his duties as a slave. What was this older slave’s name?
Diddler
Fiddler
Fiddler, played by Louis Gosset Jr., was an older slave that was assigned to teach Kunta Kinte to speak English and perform his duties as a chattel slave, after Kunta was sold to a plantation owner in Virginia
Jingles
Bo Diddly
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Kunta Kinte refused his slave name at first. What was done to make him accept his new name?
He was whipped
A slave handler named Ames, played by Vic Morrow, forced another slave to whip Kunta Kinte. The whipping continued until he acknowledged his new name, Toby.
They cut part of his foot off
They beat Fiddler for not doing his job
They starved him
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As the character of Kunta Kinte aged in the story, what actor portrayed him?
Edward James Almos
Morgan Freeman
John Amos
John Amos portrayed the older Kunta Kinte in the story. He may be better known as the father, James Evans, on the show “Good Times.”
Samuel Jackson
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In 1776, when Kunta was given to a new slave owner as payment for a debt, he promptly tried to escape. What was the result of this attempt?
He went to England
He was captured and had half of his foot cut off
Kunta was captured, then, in an attempt to prevent further escape attempts, the slave catchers cut off half of his foot. He soon met his future wife, who was the cook for his new owner. She cared for his wounded foot and wounded spirit.
He met his wife
He was killed
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What was the name of the cook who Kunta later married?
Claire
Madge
Bell
Madge Sinclair is the actress who portrayed Bell. Bell was the cook for the family that owned both her and Kunta. The two later married and had a daughter, who became an important part of their legacy.
Bella
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What did Kunta name his daughter?
Elizabeth
Kizzy
Kunta named his and Bell’s daughter Kizzy, a word from his native language which means "stay put." This demonstrated Kunta’s hope that she would never be sold away from her family.
Lizzy
TayTay
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What was the name of the slave that Kizzy wanted to marry?
Toby
Noah
Kizzy wanted to marry another slave, named Noah. However, the plantation overseer wanted to sell Noah, in order to buy a cotton gin.
George
Tom
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Master Reynolds' niece was possibly the result of an adulterous affair. What was this child’s name?
Kelly Anne
Missy Anne
Sandy Duncan is the actress who portrayed Missy Anne. She became best friends with Kizzy until later in the story, when Missy Anne betrayed Kizzy.
Anne Marie
Sandy Duncan
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What was Missy Anne doing that could have gotten Kizzy in a lot of trouble?
Teaching her to sew
Teaching her math
Teaching her to read
Missy Anne taught Kizzy to read and write, which was strictly forbidden. This could have gotten both of them in trouble, but especially Kizzy, as she was property and it was against the law.
Teaching her to escape
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What did Kizzy do with her secret skill, reading and writing, that caused a big problem for all involved?
She forged checks
She did Missy Anne's homework
She wrote a book
She forged travel papers for a slave she loved
Kizzy forged travel papers for a slave she loved and he tried to escape. Upon his capture, he was beaten until he revealed where he got the travel pass. This caused Kizzy’s owner to sell both her and the slave that tried to escape. Missy Anne was strongly reprimanded for her actions.
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What happened to Kizzy when she was sold to her new master, Tom Moore, played by Chuck Connors?
She escaped
She was raped
When Kizzy was sold to her new master, Tom Moore, he used his master owner privileges and impregnated her. She gave birth to a son that Tom called George.
She got married
She was freed
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What did Kizzy discover when she was taken back to her old master in hopes of seeing her parents?
They had run away
They had been freed
They had been sold
One had died, and the other had been sold
When she returned to her former home, Kizzy discovered that her mother Bell had been sold away and that her father Kunta Kinte had died. She visited his gravesite for her final farewell to him.
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What did Kizzy do when she visited her father Kunta’s grave site?
She cried uncontrollably
She tried to run away
She altered the name on his grave marker
Kizzy used a small stone to scratch out the name Toby and write Kunta Kinte, his noble given name from his African tribe, on her father’s grave marker. This was the first and only time she visited his grave.
She left flowers at the grave
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Kizzy’s son George learned a new skill under the tutelage of an older slave, at the orders of his master/father Tom Moore. What was this new skill?
Carpenter
Playing the fiddle
Making barrels
Cockfighting
George learned about cockfighting from an older disgruntled slave named Mingo. Eventually, George became the chief trainer and became "cock of the walk.”
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What happened to George through his cockfighting experiences?
He escaped
He was sold
He met a free black man
George met a free black man and learned that he could buy his own freedom. This caused George to have hope that he would someday be a free man as well, who could own property and buy his family back.
He met his wife
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What event caused Tom Moore to threaten George at gunpoint?
He caught George trying to escape
He caught George reading
The Nat Turner Rebellion
The Nat Turner Rebellion was an event where a slave named Nat Turner led an uprising that led to the deaths of over 50 whites and over 100 blacks. 55 of the rebels were tried and executed, including Nat Turner, when he was found after hiding for six weeks.
The Nat King Cole rebellion
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After being threatened by their owner, Tom Moore, Kizzy and her son George did what?
Escaped
Made plans to buy their freedom
Kizzy and George started making plans to buy their freedom, because after being threatened by Tom Moore and his wife things became even more unpleasant on the plantation.
Killed Tom and his wife
Made plans to escape
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When Kizzy and her son George started planning to buy their freedom, what secret did Kizzy reveal to her son?
That she wasn’t really his mother
That Tom was actually his father
Kizzy told George that the white man, Tom, who owned her, was in fact his father. He had never acknowledged his son.
That she had a gun hidden away
That she had money hidden away
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Due to his skills as a chicken trainer, what nickname did George “earn”?
George the Chicken Trainer
Trainer George
Chicken George
George came to be called Chicken George because of his remarkable skills at training fighting chickens. He was considered the “cock of the walk” due to this skill and his cocky way of strutting around.
George the Chicken Master
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What happened that caused George to go to England to train fighting chickens?
Tom Moore lost a bet with a Brit
Tom Moore made a large bet on a fight with a British fighting chicken owner named Sir Eric Russell. He couldn’t pay, so he sent George to train chickens and other chicken trainers as a partial payment for the debt.
Tom Moore sold George
George earned his freedom
George ran away
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What promise did Tom Moore make to George?
He promised not to sell Kizzy, or his wife and kids
He promised George his freedom upon his return
Tom Moore made the promise to George that when he returned from Sir Eric Russell’s that he would give him his freedom. He only reluctantly agreed to keep his word after much persuasion from George.
He promised to teach George's sons to train chickens
He promised to pay George for working
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What happened when George returned home from working for Sir Eric Russell?
He learned his wife had died
He learned his mother had died
When George returned from England, he discovered that his mother Kizzy had died mere months before his return, and that his sons had been sold to another master.
He learned his son had died
He learned that Tom had died
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Did Tom Moore keep his promise to George and set him free?
No
After much reluctance, yes
After much persuasion, George finally convinced Tom Moore to free him, reluctantly. George soon discovered that he must leave the state or he could lose his newfound freedom.
After George paid him a large sum of money
No, he sold him instead
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What did George do, once he was set free?
He went North
When George was set free, he learned that if he stayed in North Carolina for 60 days he would lose his freedom. Because of this, he headed North to try to work as a cockfighting trainer and await the end of the Civil War, so that his sons could be freed.
He helped his sons escape
He bought his sons freedom
He went back to England
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What happened to George’s son, Tom, that jeopardized his and his family’s safety?
He drowned a man in a fight
Tom got in a fight with a man that tried to rape his wife and subsequently drowned him in a blacksmith's quench trough. This made him a target of a group of hooded men who began to harass Tom and other members of his family.
He escaped
He helped his family escape
He killed his master
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What trick did Tom devise in order to identify hooded riders that were terrorizing his community?
Security video cameras
He dressed in a hood too
Special horseshoes
Tom, being a blacksmith, devised a horseshoeing method that made recognizable tracks so he could tell who was who among the hooded figures.
Made a snare to catch a rider
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What happened when Tom reported to the sheriff the identities of the hooded riders that were terrorizing them?
They were arrested
Nothing happened
The sheriff knew them and tipped them off
The sheriff was friends with the hooded riders' leader, so he tipped them off. They rode again and terrorized Tom, whipping him badly. Nothing was ever done to stop them.
The sheriff was one of them
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What happened to the farm of Sam Harvey?
A crooked politician basically stole it
A crooked politician named Senator Arthur Justin, played by Burl Ives, tricked Harvey out of the land and then imposed heavy debt on Harvey’s former slaves, who had stayed on to sharecrop. This basically made them the Senator's slaves.
He sold it
It was all burned by the hooded riders
Tom bought it
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What happened when Chicken George returned from fighting in the Civil War?
George took them to land he owns in Tennessee
When George returned, he plotted with the others on how to get them all to his land in Tennessee. Eventually, they all packed up and moved there to start a new life.
George bought their freedom
George was killed by the hooded riders
George killed the leader of the hooded riders
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What happened when the group reached the land in Tennessee?
There were hooded riders waiting for them
George retold the story of Kunta Kinte
When they reached George’s land in Tennessee, he recited the story of Kunta Kinte being taken from Africa and their family history, up to the point of their arrival in Tennessee.
George fell ill and died
George’s wife died
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Why did Alex Haley write the story of "Roots"?
He thought it would make money
To spread awareness of the cruelty of slavery
So people wouldn’t forget slavery
Because it was the story of HIS family heritage, his roots
Alex Haley wrote "Roots" because it was the story of his family. He traced his family roots back to Kunta Kinte, the original slave that was kidnapped and brought to America from Africa. Controversy later brewed over plagiarism and some artistic license taken by Haley, but all in all "Roots" sheds light on a dark period in history.
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