When Roots aired 25 years ago today, whites and blacks saw the brutality and devastation slavery wreaked on a family and a nation.

        The eight-part series, based on writer Alex Haley's ancestral saga from Africa to America, was the most-watched series in history, with 130 million viewers.

        With the re-release of Roots, some community leaders and Tristate residents say it could inspire understanding about today's racial struggles.

        “Roots ... has relevance for all of us, because it gives us an idea of how to understand things that are happening right here in Cincinnati, between blacks and whites,” said Angelene Jamison-Hall, a professor of African-American literature at the University of Cincinnati.

        “It explains why whites were considered superior, and blacks were not seen as human beings. It delves into the origin of ... myths and stereotypes that exist in our country even to this day.”

        Rhonda Matthews, a white, 28-year-old West Chester Township resident, watched Roots on video.

        “Roots was a testament to the strength of the African-American family,” she said. “Blacks were portrayed in a way that wasn't trivial. It is a story that needs to be told as a part of America's continuing education.”

        Spencer Crew, the new executive director and CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, said, “The hope is that Roots will let everyone see how things have changed, as well as let everyone know there is a need for more change.”

        Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said he vividly recalls Kunta Kinte, an African portrayed by LeVar Burton, kidnapped and enslaved with shackles on his neck.

        “It humanized the issue of slavery; it showed us how human beings were treated as less, and how that can impact someone's perception of self,” Mr. Luken said.

        “It awakened ... a sense of "our story'” said Norma Holt Davis, president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP, “and made many of us want to know more about ourselves.

        “I think Roots also diminished some of the self-hatred African-Americans might have felt at that time, because we could take pride in the Africans' will to survive and to refuse to be broken.”

        The Hallmark Channel is showing the series every night this week on (Insight basic cable, Channel 39, and Time Warner digital Channel 129. A six-volume collector's DVD set retails for about $59.99.

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