‘Roots’ Louis Gossett Jr. John Amos Insist Slavery ‘Needs To Be Remembered By Mankind’

hollywoodlife.com:

More than four decades after Roots first aired on television, the mini-series is “just as relevant and important now than ever,” according to John Amos. John, 82, portrayed the older Kunta Kinte in the landmark 1977 television event, and he tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that the series’ message is needed “even more so [today], especially in this political climate.” As conservatives argue over what can and cannot be taught in America’s classrooms, John and his Roots costar, Louis Gossett Jr., say that the younger generation needs to know the actual history and not a sugar-coated version of it. “I would think that [viewers] would get some that are receptive and keep an open mind of our history as a country, and they would be receptive to it and enlightened by seeing Roots again and elevated because they see the incomparable human spirit that is the substance of America,” John tells HollywoodLife. “We all came here one way or another whether in the ships’ first-class or on the bottom of the ships figuratively… to have a better life.” “So one way or another, Roots is more important now, perhaps as it was even then.

It was revelatory, and it can still be revelatory to some less-enlightened individuals by what really happened during the period of slavery,” adds Amos. “When you think about the impact of it on a global basis, that is the institution of slavery itself — it needs to be recorded, needs to be remembered by mankind so it never ever happens again.

And yet, it is ongoing. There is still slavery in the world.” Related Gallery “It is going to take us all to save us all,” Louis, 85, tells HollywoodLife. “Our planet is dying.