I rented Roots the other day--it's almost 10 hours long! I'd forgotten most of it. It's intensely depressing of course, but very good to watch. I have a hard time believing Kunta Kinte is a wild one however, considering it's the same guy that later did Reading Rainbow. ;)
I'm glad Roots touched a little on the subject that many African chiefs were selling their own people into slavery. It definitely wasn't just the Anglos and Portugese. My big bro O told me that still happens in Muslim Africa; I looked it up and he's right! I stay out of it though--MY people the Slavs were NEVER slave traders. We were the slaves (look up the word relation between "Slav" and "slave") always. First the Romans, then the Ottomans. We weren't even considered human by the Nazis and Stalin. So I got my rights to stay out of the African slave trade, as I always remind my black and Anglo and Portugese friends. (E's interesting in that he enslaved himself--he's got Port. and black blood.)
That said, I guess I'm a bit guilty of WANTING to put at least ONE African in chains and drag him over to America! Ha ha! OK, off-color joke. Oh no! Another one! This oughta stop....Blah.