Media Madness

From “Roots” to “Yes We Can!”

February traditionally is the month of presidents’ birthdays, Valentine’s Day and in the contemporary world: Black History Month.  The Henrietta Public Library has many audio-visual items that illustrate the importance of the black spirit in our society. 

Many of us remember the end of January 1977 when seemingly the whole world tuned in for the mini-series Roots. Based on the bestseller by Alex Haley, this monumental event starred LeVar Burton, Cicely Tyson, Ben Vereen, Ed Asner, Lesley Uggams, and several other top-notch stars in the tale of Kunta Kinte, a young Gambian, enslaved and raised on a plantation in the American South. The story recounts the lives of Kunta and two more generations of Kintes until emancipation steers their course to a new life in Tennessee. Two years later ABC Television would present Roots: the Next Generations which continued the story leading to Haley’s desire to search his family’s history. The library owns both of these titles on DVD and VHS.

Jennifer Hudson may not have won the number one spot on American Idol but she has captured millions of fans with her “Cinderella-like” rise as Effie in the film version of the hit musical Dreamgirls.  Who can forget her show stopping solo “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going”. When I saw it in the movie theater, people broke out in applause!  Many of you probably heard her sing an inspiring rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XLIII.  Despite the recent tragedy of her mother, brother and nephew’s murders, she has carried on with grace and fortitude. Her first solo album, Jennifer Hudson is still on the charts. This Oscar and Grammy award winner has a huge career still to come!

Finally, the Henrietta Public Library owns President Obama’s autobiographical works, Dreams from My Father and Audacity of Hope on compact disc. The President reads both of these works in his riveting voice. His fine telling of his life story and his positive oratory, make this sound recording better than the average author reading. His message of hope is clear and well worth the listen.

The library owns many fine DVDs, videos, music compact discs and audio books on compact disc and cassette capturing the many dimensions of Black-Americans – come to the library and check us out!

Nancy Maxwell
Audio-visual Librarian