Where does Kunta Kinte come from?

(CNN) Kunta Kinte Island sits at the mouth of the Gambia River. Though tiny -- it is barely big enough to house some ruins of its past and a baobab grove -- the role it has played in world history has been large indeed. read more

Kunta Kinte's life story also figured in two US-made 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. read more

Kunta Kinte is a protagonist in Alex Haley’s novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Written in 1976, Haley’s novel follows Kunta Kinte from his capture by white slavers in Gambia to his life as a slave in the United States. read more