Prop manacles worn by LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte in <i>Roots</i>
date: label: date made
content: 1977
name: label: user
content: Roots
notes: label: Description
content: Actor LeVar Burton wore these prop manacles in the miniseries <i>Roots</i> (ABC, 1977), a dramatic portrayal of slavery as experienced by several generations of one family. Based on Alex Haley's autobiographical novel, <i>Roots</i> began with Kunta Kinte, an African youth brought to America as an enslaved person in the 1700s, and ended with the emancipation of his descendants during the Civil War. Watched by more than 100 million people, it was a significant departure from programs that had traditionally relegated blacks to minor, stereotyped roles.
topic: label: Subject
content: Television
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: National Treasures exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: Entertainment Nation
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Wolper Organization
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1993.0170.02
label: catalog number
content: 1993.0170.02
label: accession number
content: 1993.0170
objectType: label: Object Name
content: shackles, prop
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 1/2 in x 53 in; 16.51 cm x 134.62 cm