Roots characters

Appears from the start

The first son of Omoro and Binta Kinte, born in the Mandinka village of Juffure in the Gambia. Raised in a Muslim family, he learns his people's language, customs, history, work, and religious duties as he grows toward manhood.

Appears from the start

Kunta's father, a respected Mandinka man of Juffure. He names his first son, teaches him family identity and religious practice, and represents the paternal line through which Kunta understands his place among the Kintes.

Appears from the start

Kunta's mother, whose household labor, discipline, and care shape his early life in Juffure. As her firstborn grows, she balances affection with the community's expectations that he become increasingly independent.

First appears in chapter 6

Kunta's younger brother. His birth changes Kunta's position in the family, giving the older boy both pride and new responsibilities as he advances through the stages of Mandinka childhood.

First appears in chapter 12

The senior instructor who oversees Kunta's age group during its formal manhood training. Exacting and authoritative, he teaches endurance, discipline, communal duties, and the history expected of Mandinka men.

First appears in chapter 31

An older enslaved musician on the Virginia plantation who plays the fiddle at white social events. Talkative, shrewd, and experienced in plantation life, he is one of the first people able to bridge the isolation surrounding the newly arrived African.

First appears in chapter 38

A physician and Virginia plantation owner who treats Kunta after slave catchers mutilate his foot. He purchases Kunta from his brother's plantation, placing him among enslaved workers whose treatment is less chaotic but whose bondage remains absolute.

First appears in chapter 44

The enslaved cook in Dr. Waller's household. Capable, sharp-spoken, and accustomed to hearing news through the house, she is established on the plantation when Kunta begins working there.

First appears in chapter 52

The daughter of Kunta and Bell, born enslaved in Virginia. She grows up in a close household shaped by Bell's practical care and Kunta's determination that his child know her family identity.

First appears in chapter 53

The Waller family's daughter and Kizzy's childhood companion. Their closeness gives Kizzy unusual access to reading and writing, but it remains constrained by the power Missy Anne's family holds over Kizzy and her parents.

First appears in chapter 61

A poor North Carolina plantation owner whose consuming interest is breeding and fighting gamecocks. He buys Kizzy after she is separated from her family and exercises complete legal power over her life.

Also known as Chicken George

First appears in chapter 67

Kizzy's son on Tom Lea's plantation. As a boy he is lively, confident, and quick with people, and he is fascinated by the gamecocks that dominate Lea's attention.

First appears in chapter 69

An elderly enslaved trainer of Tom Lea's fighting cocks. He recognizes George's interest and begins teaching him the demanding craft of caring for and handling gamecocks.

First appears in chapter 73

A deeply religious young woman whom George courts. She values family stability and plain dealing more than the gambling world surrounding his work with fighting cocks.

First appears in chapter 85

George and Matilda's son, trained as a blacksmith. Serious, skilled, and more restrained than his father, he earns an important position within the family through a trade needed on every plantation.

First appears in chapter 88

A young enslaved woman admired for her skill with cloth and dye. Her talent, self-possession, and affection attract the blacksmith Tom.

First appears in chapter 104

A granddaughter of Tom and Irene who grows up in Henning, Tennessee. She marries Will Palmer, and their household becomes the next setting in which the family's account of Kunta Kinte is repeated to younger generations.

First appears in chapter 110

The daughter of Cynthia and Will Palmer. Educated at Lane College, she meets Simon Alexander Haley and carries her family's oral history into the household in which their son Alex will grow up.

First appears in chapter 112

An ambitious student whom Bertha meets through college. His education is supported by determined work, scholarship, and family sacrifice, and he hopes to build a professional life in agriculture.

First appears in chapter 120

The author as a member of the family narrative. He inherits repeated fragments about an African ancestor, a river, a guitar, and a few African words, and investigates whether they can be connected to a specific family and place in West Africa.