The Gambia Kunta Kinteh Festival June 19 – 22 2025
Kunta Kinte 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.
Kunta Kinte’s life story figured in two US television series based on the book: the original 1977 TV miniseries Roots,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.