Alex: This is how I heard about the boy, Kunta Kinte. And this is how I'll tell you the story.
[Woman singing indistinctly]
The two most important days in a man's life are the day he is born and the day that he understands why.
[Indistinct shouting]
[Man groans]
[Grunts]
[Screaming]
[Grunts]
[Exhales sharply]
There was once a rich and sophisticated city named Juffure in a Mandinka kingdom in West Africa. It was located on the banks of the Kamby Bolongo, the Great River of the Gambia.
[Woman singing indistinctly]
Like the Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, Mandinka kept slaves as servants. Some slaves married into these families, others paid ransoms to be free.
♪♪
Then Europeans arrived in great sailing ships. Some Mandinka were corrupted by European g*ns and gold, creating a violent market for slaves. But the many Africans who fought European plundering suffered brutal reprisals. Kunta Kinte's family were warriors loyal to the king. On the day that Kunta was born, the Kinte family had a violent clash with their rivals, the Koros...
[Man shouts indistinctly]
...who were loyal only to their greed.
[Man shouting in Mandinka]
[Grunting]
[Groaning]
It would take Kunta a long time to understand why he was born into this world, but when he did, it was as clear as the sky above the Kamby Bolongo.
Permission?
I do not need permission.
The king needs my sons and I to support him.
The king knows you sail upriver to buy slaves at favorable prices.
He knows you're trading them for English g*ns.
None of this is your business, Omoro Kinte.
We control who goes up and down the river.
For our Mansa, the king.
[Grunts]
Aah!
[Screams]
Do not sacrifice your sons for your own greed!
[Horse whinnies]
[Drum playing]
[Horse grunting]
[Screaming]
♪♪
[Screams, grunts]
Push, push.
[Breathing heavily]
[Indistinct conversations]
Push.
Aah! Aah!
Push! Push!
[Drumming continues]
[Indistinct conversations]
Turn.
Go. Wait.
[Laughter]
[Binta screaming]
[Drumming stops]
Binta: [Singing in native language]
[Laughter]
[Singing continues]
Now you can enter, brave Mandinka warrior.
[Laughter]
[Humming]
[Woman singing indistinctly]
You must hear your name first.
You are Kunta Kinte, son of Omoro and Binta Kinte.
Grandson of Kairaba Kunta Kinte and Yaisa.
You must always honor your ancestors, the ones who love you and watch over you.
Your name is your spirit.
Your name is your shield.
♪♪
Allahu Akbar!
Behold Kunta Kinte, the only thing that is greater than you.
♪♪
[Indistinct conversations]
[Laughs]
[Cheering]
[Laughs]
I am king of the Kamby Bolongo!
[Laughs]
[Laughs]
[Gasps]
Crocodile!
Aah! Aah!
[Laughter]
Kunta, don't run away.
You are so sour.
A crocodile would spit you out.
[Chuckles]
Jinna, come swim down river with me.
Then we will see who's scared of crocodiles.
Sitafa: Back to work, Jinna.
And I don't see many oysters in your basket.
Because they have disappeared into your belly.
[Laughter]
Kunta, don't bother with that girl.
Soon an older warrior will take her for his bride.
Jinna is getting married?
One of the Koros.
He agreed to bring her into the family.
Then she can bother the Koros instead of you.
[Xylophone playing]
[Woman singing in native language]
[All singing in native language]
[Singing continues]
[Rhythmic clapping]
[Singing continues]
[All cheering]
Kunta!
[Speaks native language]
No, Kunta. This is not the time.
Control your temper.
Anger is the path to poor decisions.
Lamin is hungry.
Go to my room and get a bowl of cooked rice.
But he's sleeping.
Is this back talk?
[Rhythmic clapping continues]
Cooked rice.
[Sword clangs]
[Shouting]
Make me proud.
Kunta: [Panting]
Aah!
[Panting]
♪♪
Aah.
Man: Aah!
Uncle Silla!
Did I ask you to speak?
No, Uncle Silla.
If I didn't ask you to speak, why do you keep saying my name?
I'm dying of thirst.
Aah! Is there water?!
Man: Of course there is water.
If I had run as far as you, I would want water, too.
But what you want is of no importance.
I am your Kintago!
All: Peace be with you.
Kintago: [Speaks native language]
And with you.
May Allah's mercy rain upon you.
You will need it.
Your lives will be measured by what you do now.
Only the bravest will be selected to become warriors to serve your king.
But if you fail, no woman will bear your children.
You must leave Juffure and live your days somewhere else.
Now stand up!
Line up!
And shut up!
Your jujuo is across the river.
You will live there like the old Mandinka way in warm, comfy lean-tos.
What are you waiting for?
Now cross the river.
Go!
[Whip cracks]
[All shouting]
[All grunting]
Go! Go!
♪♪♪♪
[Horse whinnying]
Kitango: For a Mandinka warrior, one horse is worth 20 men in battle.
I know you have been taught to ride by your family, but not a horse like this.
He is a king of a royal line that goes back to the great kings of Mali.
[Horse whinnies]
Who will ride him?
Kunta volunteers.
But I don't see a saddle or reins.
This horse will never allow a boy like you to put a bit in his mouth.
And what if your enemy took your saddle?
Would you try to run without your horse?
Silla: Hands up together.
But how will I hold on?
[Whip cracks]
Kintago: what are your legs for?
[Grunts]
[Horse whinnying]
Kunta: Aah! Aah!
[Breathing shallowly]
[Shouts]
Slow! Wait, slow down!
[Breathing shallowly]
Go around. Go around.
Go around! Go around!
[Horse whinnies]
[Grunts]
[Groaning]
[Horse snorting]
[Horse whinnies]
This king of horses has made you all look weak, unprepared.
You have far to go if you want to be called a Mandinka warrior.
This horse could feel your fear because you are only thinking of yourselves, not about the horse.
[Man singing in native language]
[All singing in native language]
[All grunting]
Kintago: Are we moving?
Why do I still feel we are on the riverbank?
Faster.
If we met an enemy, this would be a canoe full of dead warriors.
My hands are like monkey paws.
Faster! Faster!
Paddle!
[Horn blowing]
You hear that?
[Horn blows]
The enemy approaches.
We must stop the enemy on the river, or he will k*ll you and att*ck your families.
This can't be real, is it?
Your weapons are at your feet.
But these are not sharpened.
Oh.
Did you all forget to prepare your weapons in advance?
There is a word for a Mandinka who is unprepared in battle.
A sl*ve.
I see them.
It's only Master Silla.
Addo, stand up.
Use your javelin.
att*ck your enemy before he kills you.
What if I hit Master Silla?
A warrior who hesitates is a dead warrior.
Throw now.
[Grunts]
Aah!
Kunta! Up!
If you cannot fight your enemy across the river, you will be k*lled!
Taken as a sl*ve!
Kunta: [Grunts]
[Grunts]
Kintago: I will not tolerate your insolence.
You disobeyed my order.
I instructed you to use your javelin.
Instead, you insulted Silla Ba Dibba, your teacher.
I defeated my enemy.
Kunta Kinte, we will see if you are as good as you think you are.
You will be given a head start.
If you make it back to our jujuo before the others catch you, you can continue your training.
But if you are caught, you will fail your training.
You will never become a warrior, and you will be banished.
[Shouts]
Now run, Kunta Kinte.
Run!
Go!
[Panting]
[Man speaks native language]
[Man speaks native language]
[Man shouting in native language]
[Cow lows]
[Laughs]
♪♪♪♪
You sure the dead man was from Juffure?
Kunta: Yes, Uncle Silla. I knew him.
His name was Musa.
His family trades rice and oysters.
His neck was tied like a goat.
The Koros have gone too far.
First they defy the king and sell slaves from upriver without permission.
Now they're taking our own to sell for g*ns.
Brother, it's too dangerous to be this far from Juffure.
Especially for our sons.
The Koros can take them as hostages and hold them for ransom.
We must fight them, Fa.
It's far easier to rush into fighting than to stop it once it starts.
[Shrieks]
Kintago: He is asking you a question.
What is the warrior's first responsibility?
To serve his king.
[Shrieks]
[Men shout in native language]
[Shrieks]
He says you are wrong.
To honor Allah.
[Shrieks]
[Men shout in native language]
[Shrieks]
[Men shout in native language]
Also wrong.
The first duty of a Mandinka warrior is to raise a family, to have children, to pass on our way of life.
This starts with a clean and healthy foto.
What we're about to do to you has been done to your fathers and their fathers and all of your forefathers.
The paste will help numb you a little, but not enough.
The pain will help you remember Kasa Boyo.
And trust me, you will remember it.
Hold out your foto!
Kunta Kinte.
[Screams]
[Howls]
[Villagers singing in native language]
Jinna.
I missed your wedding.
But I am not married, Kunta.
[Shrieks]
[Villagers cheer]
Kunta.
Rise up, mother.
I'm sorry for coming inside your new home without your permission, Kunta Kinte.
I'm happy to see you, mother.
I made you a prayer rug, a bowl for rice, and... and beads.
♪♪
The guests will be arriving soon.
♪♪
[Humming]
♪♪
[Laughs]
Omoro: Have you ever seen his like?
[Horse whinnies]
Now that you will serve in the king's cavalry, your horse should be the best.
His line traces back to the great herds of the Sahara.
[Horse whinnies]
If I accept this horse... must I stay in Juffure?
I don't understand.
Juffure is our home.
Why would you leave?
To study in Timbuktu.
Then we'd never see you again.
Binta: That's true.
It is very, very far, Kunta.
I need to know if I can attend university.
Test myself against the best students in the world.
Timbuktu is a giant city with aggressive and ambitious people where boys fight like dogs to be accepted in the university.
It'll be my own fight.
You would do this to your mother?
I won't allow it.
Are you ordering me to stay?
I want you to perform your duties to this family like I did, like my father did, and his father before him.
I won't always be there to clean up the trouble you cause, Kunta.
Listen to your elders.
Stay here.
Stop filling your head with dreams.
And forget that girl.
We will make you a better match.
♪♪
Old Mandinka say they shall bring him back to us in peace.
[Horse neighs]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You scared him.
A wild-tempered horse.
Perfect for you, Kunta.
So, Kalabi Koro chose someone else?
I turned him down.
But I know the right warrior for me.
If he even exists.
Kunta: My parents want to arrange a marriage for me.
I turned them down, too.
But I came to speak to you.
There's nothing to talk about.
Now they say you are going to Timbuktu to study.
Far, far away.
Instead of serving the king or taking a wife.
Jinna. Look, will you slow down?
I agree.
And you should only choose the right warrior.
Jinna, I'm the right warrior.
You know this.
We both do.
Everyone in Juffure tells me what I can't do, but...
[Sighs]
...I know what I want.
Lopes: Peace be upon you, brother.
And upon you.
You look familiar.
Yes.
I think I have seen you.
You are the boy of Omoro Kinte.
You speak Mandinka, but you're not one of us.
I speak many languages.
How else can a man make a living here on the Kamby Bolongo?
[Horse grunts]
Go home, girl, quickly, or I will b*at you.
[Chuckles]
Djeliba Koro: It's time your family pay for all the trouble they have caused me, Kunta.
Come peacefully.
The ransom negotiations should not take long, then you can go free.
Go free?
I am free.
Run! Tell my father!
sh**t her!
[Grunts]
Yah!
[Screams]
♪♪
Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!
[Horse whinnies]
♪♪
[Speaks native language]
[Horse whinnies]
Hyah!
[Horse whinnies]
[Grunts]
[Men shouting]
Djeliba Koro: How long must I endure your family?
[Both grunting]
There will be no ransom.
Sell the boy to the English with the other captives.
Take as many of his friends as you can.
I want Omoro Kinte to feel what I feel.
[Whip cracks]
Man: Hove! Bring him forward!
Drop him now!
[Branding iron sizzling]
[Screams]
Djeliba Koro: Three crates of muskets.
That's twice their worth.
These men are warriors.
Two crates. No more.
Restrain him!
Take him down, for God's sake.
[Man speaks native language]
Aah!
Hove! Bring him forward Get him.
[Grunting]
Stop wriggling!
Drop him down!
Kunta: Uncle Silla!
Uncle Silla!
[Screams]
Move him on!
[In distance]
Man: All hands on deck!
[Indistinct shouting]
[Indistinct conversations]
[Man coughing]
[Man shouts indistinctly]
[Ship rumbles]
[Man grunting]
Silla: Kunta!
Uncle Silla! Are you here?
[Groans]
Uncle Silla!
Kunta!
Uncle Silla! What is this noise?
The ship is getting ready to move.
I cannot breathe.
Why is there no air in this hole?
Are we under water?
[Coughs]
[Exhales sharply]
How long have we been here?
Do you speak Mandinka, father?
Man: [Coughing]
[Vomits]
Uncle Silla.
I soiled myself.
Like an animal.
I'm ashamed.
The shame is not ours, Kunta.
[Water splashes]
[Indistinct conversations]
[Groaning]
They hurt you, Uncle Silla.
Your voice comforts me.
What if the Koros hurt my father and my mother and my brothers?
Uncle Silla, how will my family find us?
[Man singing in native language]
Silla: Kunta.
I think Allah sends us dreams to guide us.
Dream of seeing your family again.
Will you do that for me, Kunta?
Yes, Uncle Silla.
Fa.
Please find me.
[Man singing in native language]
Shh.
[Screaming]
[Sobbing]
Taylor: Up!
Clear a path!
Davies: I want food in every black belly.
Move!
Just b*at them back!
Peck: Back! Move your filthy legs!
Man: Eat!
Don't look at me, monkey.
Clear a path! Move!
Don't let them spit it out.
Back back!
Move, monkey!
Taylor: Move sharply, lads!
Faster they're fed, faster we're out of this privy.
Peck: Shove it in their faces, but make them eat.
Watch their hands, boys, and their teeth.
Eat now or go hungry.
Quickly, or you'll get nothing.
Feed him, boy!
Eat, n*gg*r.
No "n*gg*r eat."
Here's another one who won't eat, Captain.
A sharp poke in the ribs if you need, boys.
Secure his chin.
Don't fight me, monkey.
[Grunting]
Davies: Hold him still.
Hold still.
[Kunta grunting]
Pour it now, boy.
Listen for the gurgle.
Kunta: [Gurgling]
Down it goes.
Young fool!
Don't let even one starve himself, Mr. Taylor.
A dead n*gg*r is money lost.
Out. Out when you're done.
You'll eat or suck metal, but food will get in your belly.
We got more work up on deck, boys.
[Spitting]
[Panting]
[Door slams]
Silla: Kunta Kinte.
You will not live if you do not eat.
Let me die.
Kunta!
Live!
Live! See what comes!
Do you know what will come?!
Does Allah?!
[Breathes shallowly]
[Thunder crashing]
Man: Come on!
[Shouts indistinctly]
Brothers, I am Silla Ba Dibba from Juffure.
How many are Mandinka here?
We must help each other.
Mandinka sold the Wolof to the Portuguese!
[Men shouting in native languages]
Brothers, stop!
Stop!
We will not survive as enemies.
I've been in chains on this ship for two moons.
I do not want to survive.
[Thunder crashing]
[Woman singing in native language]
[Sailors shouting]
[Singing in native language]
[Singing in native language]
Come inside, Kunta.
[Singing continues]
[Humming]
Taylor: Up, up, up, n*gg*r*s!
Get up! Move!
On your feet!
Get them moving, Mr. Peck!
Move!
Peck: Get up! Move!
Back! Run!
Move!
Run! Move!
[Indistinct shouting]
Move!
Up, n*gg*r!
Faster!
Aah!
Up!
Carrington: Get them in line!
Move!
Don't look at me!
[Whip cracking]
Move!
Stay in line.
Keep it straight!
Scrub them down, Mr. Taylor.
Yes, Mr. Carrington. Boy.
Eyes open, lad.
Back in line.
Okay!
[Slaves shout]
Taylor: Keep an eye, lads.
Every second out of the hold, dancing with the devil, lads.
Do your jobs.
[Grunting]
[Screaming]
Drum!
[Drum playing]
Now, you're gonna jump!
You're gonna stretch your limbs, work your muscles!
Keep it up until the drum stops!
[Drum rhythm continues]
Jump!
Jump!
Jump! Jump!
Move! Move!
Jump! Move!
[Drum rhythm continues]
[Singing in native language]
Davies: Bring me the girl I like.
Bring her now, Mr. Carrington.
Yes, Captain.
Mr. Peck.
[Singing continues]
Jinna!
Kunta!
Jinna!
Hey!
Kunta!
Davies: Very, very pretty.
I've got some extra food for you.
[Screams]
Grab her! But don't hurt her.
No cuts or scars!
Mr. Taylor!
[Jinna crying]
What's going on here now?
Grab her!
Kunta!
Grab her!
[Speaks native language]
[All shouting]
[Crying, speaking native language]
That n*gg*r girl has provoked them.
Take them down now, Mr. Taylor.
Move!
Come on!
Taylor: Move! Move!
I know when my cargo starts to turn bad, Mr. Carrington.
We need an example.
We need to make them think twice about starting trouble.
That one with the wound.
[Grunts]
His arm is diseased.
It must come off.
Yes, Mr. Carrington.
Make sure they all watch.
Peck: Get over here.
Silla: Aah!
Get him on the deck.
Hold that arm out.
Hold him steady.
[Screaming]
[Screams]
Man: [Coughs]
I was dreaming of my daughters.
They would always run to me when I came home.
Arms waving like the wings of a stork.
Keep your dreams to yourself.
I am not a brave man, Kunta.
But if the time comes, I'll fight.
And if we die, the spirits of our ancestors will tell our families that we tried to come home to them.
[Breathing heavily]
♪♪
Is there another man who will fight with me to take this ship?
♪♪
I will fight with the boy from Juffure.
[Men shouting in native languages]
And I will see you again.
[Drumming]
Bring the girl to me.
Mr. Peck.
[Drumming faster]
[Singing louder]
They broke the chain!
[g*nshots]
Man: sh**t the ones in front! sh**t them!
Davies: Get behind the door, everyone!
Carrington: Fire at will!
Don't let them get behind the doors, lads!
Close it now!
Watch out!
[All grunting]
Close it!
Close the damn door!
Man: Help me! Help me!
[All shouting]
Close the damn door!
Watch out!
Carrington: I'm going for the other g*n!
♪♪♪♪♪♪
[Thunder rumbles]
♪♪
Davies: Look at his eyes.
He's not worth feeding.
♪♪
[Indistinct conversations]
Franklin: Proof is in the pigmentation, gentlemen.
Fresh off the boat... Guinea boys.
You will notice their midnight hue, their sizable feet.
Rare opportunity to purchase lifelong laborers and natural breeders... [Door opens] ...females, young and lively with them.
Hips for childbearing, shoulders for field work.
Fine form for the kitchen workplace.
$300.
Who will start for $300?
Let the scramble commence.
[Indistinct conversations]
Man: Open his mouth.
Don't tarry, gentlemen. Someone else will buy.
This one has the flux.
Six minutes, gentlemen.
Take my word. They'll all be sold.
Master.
Strong boy.
Ahh.
Franklin: Three sold over here!
[Sniffs]
[Grunts]
Hey, boy! Stand still.
Franklin: Sold!
Cough.
[Shouts]
Cough.
[Coughs]
[Grunts]
Come.
Franklin: Sold! Sold!
[Horse whinnies]
Hey! No Guineaman talk.
Just Virginia talk here.
Now, you call me Samson.
Settle down.
We almost at Massa's farm.
[Horse whinnies]
♪♪
[Humming]
Samson: Hey! Guineaman!
Come back here, Guineaman!
I said come back here!
Settle down, boy!
[Panting]
Come back here!
Hey, one of you grab him!
Aaron: Get away, Guineaman! You're gonna get us all hanged!
[Panting]
Samson: Come back, Guineaman!
[Horse grunts]
Woman: That there's a Guineaman.
If the overseer asks for me, tell him Miss Elizabeth sent me to the Albrights' party.
[Laughter]
Of course, if there's a pretty little filly in there who needs a good hard ride, tell him I'm gonna be playing all night long.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
You the new Guineaman?
No, no, no. Can't be here. Get back!
Samson: What you done to me, boy? What you done to me?
Kunta: [Grunts]
[Irish accent]
You let him get away.
He... he... he... he a slippery one, Massa.
What's that?
Your words are hubble-bubble to me, African.
I didn't tell you to leave, Fiddler.
Miss Elizabeth said she wants me to be on time, so that's what I intend to do.
She won't mind if you linger a moment, as a... as a favor to me.
Step away from the African.
Samson: Y-y-yes, Massa.
[Grunts]
How many mistakes you gonna make?!
Big, stupid bear of a n*gg*r, eh?
You can't do what you're told, huh?
How many?! How many?! How many?!
Samson: No!
What's Master Waller gonna say if you k*ll him?
I'm an artist with a club, just like you and your fiddle, Fiddler.
[Screams]
Know just when to stop.
[Whimpering]
You just had your first lesson in how things work.
All these fancy Virginian gentlemen, they don't understand you.
But I do.
You can't buy a sl*ve.
You got to make a sl*ve.
John: Connelly. Georgia man is here to buy.
Ephraim, here.
Candide, and... yes, Miss Ellen.
Connelly: Come on, you're going Georgia way.
Not my mama! You can't!
Not me, Massa! Please!
Ah, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush.
Come on.
Get them in the wagon.
Please!
Get ahold of them.
Got my daughter!
Get them inside!
Waller: That one's a fine cook and I gave you a damn fine price for her.
All right?
Samson, sir.
He's more trouble now than help.
It'll send a message to them all and put some extra money in your pocket.
Very good.
[Snaps fingers]
All right, come on, take him.
Get him in the back of the wagon.
Come on, move. Hurry up.
Samson work harder than anybody on this farm, Master Waller.
[Breathing shallowly]
Massa, please.
My daughter, Massa.
John: Sure about Samson?
Who we gonna get to break the African boy?
Need to speak to you about that, sir.
In private.
Get the African chained up in a tobacco shed.
[Ellen crying]
Tabitha: Mama!
[Door opens]
John: This one is easily spooked.
Elizabeth.
I told you, this is no place for my wife.
And I almost obeyed you, darling.
I only came to find Fiddler.
Fiddler: Massa Waller.
Yes.
They told me that you wanted to see me.
They didn't tell me why.
Connelly here tells me that you knew the African girl over at the Randolph place.
I wouldn't say I knew her, Massa.
We didn't do much talking.
That was years ago.
Fine notion, sir.
Fiddler knows his way around an African.
Let him handle the boy.
John. We spoke at length.
No more purchases for a while, and look what you did.
Brother, I do not like holding so much of your debt.
What on earth are you talking about?
I'm gonna get 30 years good service out of him.
And I have money in my pocket from selling the n*gg*r*s that he's replacing.
Fiddler: Massa Waller, that's a brand-new Guineaman.
It's a mighty responsibility.
Much more responsibility for an overseer than it is for a fiddle player like me.
No, no, Fiddler. He's yours starting today.
And if the boy proves to be recalcitrant, then he'll go in my pocket, too, courtesy of the Georgia man, same as Samson.
What are we calling this one?
William: Does the lady have a proposal?
Hey. Hey!
In Dorset, we had an old sl*ve in the stables.
Don't you ever look at my wife.
He taught me to abandon sidesaddle.
Sit astride a stallion.
Call this one Toby.
Named after the horse or the sl*ve?
Both.
Come along, Connelly.
Yes, sir.
Come up to the house as soon as you're finished.
I want to hear all about the Albrights' party.
Mrs. Albright put on a barrel of weight.
Look like a newborn calf at the udder.
I knew it. I want all the details.
Yes, ma'am.
You're hurt.
It's nothing to fuss about.
William.
William: Hmm?
Yes, that could go septic.
I'll attend to you up at the house, Fiddler.
Thank you, ma'am.
Damn Albrights.
Playing for six hours.
Asked the oldest son if I could take some time to rest 'cause my fingers were clawing up.
Spoiled boy took my hand, held it over a candle flame.
I still had to play more tunes.
But you a tune I never was expecting to play.
Just calm down! Calm down.
Calm down.
Why you think that overseer got Massa to give you to me, huh?
'Cause overseer know that you're gonna take off again.
Then the Massa, he gonna have to blame me.
I'll end up like Samson, going out Georgia way.
You gonna start working today.
You'll be planting a new tobacco field.
Try to say this word.
Tobacco.
Tobacco.
Tobacco.
That's right.
Tobacco like a hole in a water bucket.
Makes a... makes a field run dry.
Run field dry.
It's gonna be a long summer.
k*lling heat, biting flies.
Stay light so long, it seem like the night gonna never come.
I'm gonna get Miss Elizabeth to hand you back over to the overseer.
I got me a nice, warm spot like an old hound right there at the fireplace by her feet.
I ain't gonna let no Guineaman get me kicked back out to that field.
You understand me, Toby?
Kunta Kinte.
No, no, listen to me.
Massa's wife done named you Toby.
Kunta Kinte.
[Speaking native language]
I ain't got time to chinwag with a Guineaman.
Toby. Toby!
[Speaks native language]
Toby! Toby! Toby! Toby! Toby! Toby! Toby!
You're gonna be Toby now, and you're gonna be Toby forever.
And I don't care nothing about your Africa ways.
You gonna work hard, and you gonna cause no trouble, you hear me, Toby?
Kunta Kinte!
♪♪
Man: ♪ Life is smoke ♪
♪ So this be true ♪
♪ Tobacco gon' my life renew ♪
♪ Don't fear death ♪
♪ No killin' care ♪
♪ Soul's gonna rise ♪
Kunta: [Humming]
Blaine: Hey.
Hey!
[g*n cocks]
Back to work.
I'm gonna come by and see you tonight.
If you want me... you can have me.
Understand?
Kunta: No.
That be so bad?
Go.
♪♪
Aaron: Come on, now, move fast, n*gg*r, before you gets us all in trouble.
No n*gg*r. Mandinka.
Fiddler: Snuck you something from the kitchen.
With honey.
Always hungry when you working in the field.
I remember that.
Thank you, Fiddler.
Your boy ain't keeping up, Fiddler.
Need to get these hog's heads to the Liverpool packet.
Miss that ship, I'm telling Mr. Waller it's your fault.
Almost done.
I'm getting about damn tired of you, Guineaman!
Fiddler: I got this. I got this.
[Grunting]
Aaron: What's the matter?
You don't want to fight, Guineaman?
Come here!
Don't stop.
Fiddler: Come on, then.
Come on out of that hole. Come on.
Get up, Toby.
Come on!
Back to work.
Toby.
Get up.
On your feet.
No Toby.
Kunta Kinte.
Toby! Toby!
[Grunting]
I got him! I got him! I got him! I got this.
Your name's Toby.
Now, get up, Toby.
Listen to me.
You're gonna get your head cracked open like a Chesapeake oyster.
I need you to get up.
All right, hear me?
Connelly: Next time he doesn't answer to Toby, you're the one gets a b*ating.
Let's go right now, ask Miss Elizabeth what she think about all that.
You think she can keep you safe?
Like the Queen of England.
Ain't just Toby don't know who he really is.
Fiddler: You think that Mandinka god hear you?
Best thing to forget all that.
White folk don't like no Africa god.
Get you in bad trouble, Toby.
[Clicks tongue]
I can't believe I got to ride 10 mile, then I got to work all damn night.
Miss Elizabeth called me a... a prodigy.
Prodigy just mean that she... she... she rent me out and she keep all the money.
[Chuckles]
Kunta: [Singing in native language]
What's that tune?
[Singing continues]
Long time ago...
I swear that my grandmama sang that...
'fore I got sold.
There was a man on the farm, played this old Africa guitar.
He... he... I think he played it, too.
No guitar.
Kontingo.
I've been chasing that tune i-in my head for... a long, long time.
You must be putting that Mandinka magic on me.
Making me think of too many things tucked away real deep inside.
My mother sings this to me... every night when I'm young.
It's a real pretty song.
I'm gonna figure it out.
Maybe build me one of them...
Fiddler: ...Africa guitars.
This song is mine.
Nobody in this place can have it.
It's okay.
It's okay.
[Chuckles]
I can wait till you share it with me.
Mama sing her boy a song like that, she must be a fine lady.
Got to have a fine... fine family.
[Door closes]
♪♪
[Chisel scraping]
♪♪
William: You cut me off!
Now I'll pass you.
Elizabeth: Come on!
One day, she gonna let Massa's brother catch her, and this whole farm gonna catch on fire.
[Chuckles]
I got a surprise for you later.
Surprise in this place be when toubab do their own work.
Elizabeth: [Panting] I won.
Or did you let me win?
No, no, no, I did my best.
[Chuckles]
Although I must say I've become rather partial to the view from second place.
[Chuckles]
Elizabeth: Walk him down, Toby.
See that he gets a good wash.
Oh, and I like to spoil him with a bucket of carrots.
Understand?
Don't be afraid, Toby.
Toby?
Please do this for me.
Fiddler: Miss Elizabeth being really kind to you.
That's her favorite horse.
Just do what she say, all right?
Elizabeth: Fiddler.
Why are you making me wait after all I do for you?
Get the boy to take my horse to the stable now.
Yes, ma'am.
He's gonna do it. I promise.
Just got to, uh, be a little patient with him, that's all.
Stop protecting Toby.
You pick up those reins and tend to my horse.
John: Is there a problem here, my dear?
Elizabeth: I want Toby to attend to my stallion.
I asked Fiddler for his assistance, but he's not helping me.
You do as Mrs. Wal...
Connelly.
Toby.
Obey my wife immediately.
Toby!
Obey my wife immediately.
Toby!
William: John.
You are supposed to have trained the boy.
Clearly you've not been doing your damn job, Fiddler.
Yes, Massa.
He gonna clean your horse, take care of your horse real fine, Miss Elizabeth.
Real fine.
Connelly: Get back to work, Toby.
Back to work.
[Fiddle playing]
I thought I'd carved out a life for myself.
How'd these white folks get to me?
[Chuckles]
I guess your Mandinka magic is starting to work on me.
[Laughs]
Fiddler.
What road is north?
Just follow the dead n*gg*r*s hanging from the trees.
Get you right there.
[Sighs]
I can't stay here.
When right time come, I go north.
Ain't no right time.
Overseer could walk backwards and catch you in them irons.
And the day you run, that's my last day on this farm.
Besides, can't just fly off north like a bird.
Country ain't like it used to be.
White folks cutting down old trees fast as they can and putting up new houses.
You got to twist and turn your way to get there.
And paddyrollers on the road all the time just hunting for n*gg*r*s like you.
I'm not scared of paddyrollers.
Stupid never scared.
Of course, ain't that many paddyrollers on the road around Christmas.
A man could vanish before anybody could tell he gone.
And the Massa be having a grand celebration for the baby Jesus.
Everybody occupied then.
How soon this English Christmas is coming?
It's almost here.
♪♪
Elizabeth: Merry Christmas, Caesar.
Caesar: Merry Christmas to you, too, Miss Elizabeth.
Merry Christmas, Abigail.
Abigail: Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.
Merry Christmas, Pollidore.
Much obliged, ma'am.
Merry Christmas.
Blessing to you, ma'am.
Merry Christmas, July.
[Man speaks native language]
[All cheering]
[Laughter, indistinct conversations]
[Woman singing in native language]
[All singing in native language]
[Laughter in distance]
[Singing continues in distance]
[Door opens]
Came in to check on you.
All right. Now you done it.
Can't put that chain back together again.
That's for sure.
Need to get you off of this farm 'fore the overseer sees what you did.
Got to put a lot of miles between you and this farm 'fore they know you're gone.
[Laughter in distance]
[Indistinct conversation]
These boys experts at catching slaves.
They not going to catch me.
Not on her big horse.
You know how to ride that hot-blooded stallion?
She been riding horses all her life, and... and she can't even handle it.
Don't ride like English lady.
Ride like Mandinka warrior.
I know what to do.
Fancy white folk like to hear a real musician around Christmastime.
Me.
I'll play so they... so they can't take they eyes off me.
But I'm really playing for you.
You understand me?
That special surprise I been working on.
So, when you hear my fiddle playing, that'll tell you that the overseer, he ain't walking around.
And it's time for you to go.
At least one of us gonna be free.
Fiddler. What name is you?
Name from your mother?
Henry.
I remember that's what she called me.
Henry.
Thank you.
[Fiddle playing]
[Horse grunts]
Blaine: Stay out tomorrow?
Connelly: I'll go up to the house and offer Mrs. Waller a merry Christmas.
Enjoy her hospitality.
Now, Waller will drink himself to an early bed.
You can spend the rest of the night with your wife, but be back early.
Give the slaves a half day without work.
[Horse grunts]
Shh.
Now you fly for me.
[Fiddle playing]
[Applause]
[Plays Binta's lullaby]
[Singing in native language]
[Binta's lullaby continues]
[Horse whinnies]
♪♪
[Horse whinnies]
[Horse whinnies]
[Horse snorts]
♪♪
[Dogs barking]
[Horse snorts]
Run like a warrior.
[Dogs barking in distance]
[Barking continues]
[Panting]
♪♪
[Grunting]
Connelly: [Whistling]
Blaine: Got the black bastard!
Saved you the trouble of burying him.
[Pounding on door]
Man: Fiddler!
Fiddler!
[Horse whinnies]
[Horse snorts]
Massa Waller, Massa Waller.
Can I talk to you about Toby?
He had to know the African would escape while he was playing for you at your party.
He probably planned it with him.
Fiddler, what do you got to say?
Fiddler: Boy just got scared, that's all.
I can teach him better. Just give me one more...
Fiddler: [Grunts]
[Both grunting]
Always acting so cocksure and pleased, as if we're the same!
I ain't the same as you!
I'm not a n*gg*r, understand?!
I ain't no n*gg*r.
You ain't the same!
I ain't the same!
Connelly: We ain't the same!
I don't never want to be the same as you!
Never want to be the same as you!
I'm sorry, Massa Waller.
Miss Elizabeth.
Massa Waller.
Sell him.
Or you'll ruin this farm.
The other gentry will laugh at you.
The African boy, he's young.
He's got... he's got years of work in him.
Not this one.
You can't trust Fiddler.
Don't do this, Massa.
Don't do it.
I spent all my life working with you.
Turn him into money in your pocket.
And I made you... good money.
Send word to the broker.
Get a good price for me, huh?
William: I'll buy him.
This is none of your business, brother.
The amount of money that you owe me, brother, the entire estate is my business.
Anyone looks away takes a turn.
Connelly: Toby, I'm gonna give you a chance to avoid this.
Maybe Mr. Waller will let everyone enjoy this blessed day.
I want you healthy so you'll work hard.
All you have to do is tell me your name.
I'm Kunta Kinte.
Connelly: Son of a...
[Whip cracks]
[Screams]
Your name is Toby.
Now tell me your name.
I am Kunta Kinte.
That's not your name.
[Screams]
Toby's your name.
Now, what is your name?
Say it.
[Weakly]
Kunta Kinte.
[Grunts]
[Whip cracks]
[Screams]
Toby's your name.
Now, I'll ask you again. Tell me your name.
Say it!
[Screams]
Say it!
Say it!
[Screams]
Toby!
Say it.
Kunta: [Breathing shallowly]
Just Say it.
Kunta Kinte.
[Grunts]
Connelly: Toby!
It's Toby! Now say it!
Toby! Damn you.
Please! Please!
You black n*gg*r bastard.
Please.
You will not move from here till you say your name, not if night falls or a new day comes.
Now, you will say Toby.
Say it. Say it!
Say it!
Kunta: [Screams]
Say it!
[Whip cracks]
[Screams]
Omoro, I heard my boy.
Please.
I'm here.
No, Binta.
I can't see our boy.
I've looked for him everywhere.
Connelly: Just say it, boy.
He isn't coming home.
Connelly: Say it!
[Whip cracks]
Say it!
[Grunting]
Say it!
Say it!
Say your name your owner's wife chose for you.
Say your name so you know this ain't Africa.
This is Virginia, and you're the property of John Waller, like the horses and hogs, nothing more!
Now, say your name so you know what you are.
[Weakly]
Kunta Kinte.
Say it.
Say it.
Say it!
Say it!
[Grunting]
Say your name!
Say it!
Say Toby!
Tell me your name! Say it, damn you!
[Screaming]
Toby!
Say Toby! Just say your name!
He said it.
[Whip cracks]
He said it.
Say it again, louder.
What's your name?
[Screams]
What's your name?
[Grunts]
[Weakly]
Toby.
[Groans]
He said it.
Massa Waller, he said it.
[Groaning]
Toby.
Get me that grease inside there!
Connelly: Go home now.
Everyone go on. Go.
Tomorrow's another work day.
If you came from another plantation, get back there.
Holiday's over. Go.
[Groans]
Where that grease?
Where are you?
I'm here, son.
I'm here.
Fa. Please.
Please don't leave me alone.
You ain't alone, son.
You got lots of people here who care about you.
It don't matter what the Massa call you.
You keep your true name inside.
I'm gonna keep it there, too.
I promise.
This ain't your home.
But it's where you got to be.
Kunta: [Cries softly]
I don't know what else to say to you.
All I know is... Rain that fall in Virginia get b*rned off by the sun... [Groans] ...Rise up to the clouds, and then them clouds, they drift away.
They may drift all the way across the ocean till they get to that river you call Kamby Bolongo.
Maybe the same rain that fall here fall there on your own people.
And I know they want you to live.
[Breathes shallowly]
And they know your true name.
Kunta Kinte.
Son of Omoro Kinte.
You live, Kunta Kinte.
You live.
♪♪
01x01 - Part 1
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"Roots" chronicles the history of an African sl*ve sold to America and his descendants. A remake of the 1977 miniseries and based on the novel "Roots: The Saga of an American Family".
"Roots" chronicles the history of an African sl*ve sold to America and his descendants. A remake of the 1977 miniseries and based on the novel "Roots: The Saga of an American Family".