Quote Originally Posted by sharpdressedscot View Post
I'd like to point something out. When somebody's ancestors did something that hurt the world or people in it, people tend to want to forget it ever happened. Sure, we can't erase it but we can learn from it. And not everything in history was about inventions or people discovering things or places, people died! Last year as part of our education we had to watch "Roots," it's a story of an African slave and his new life on the plantation, after we watch it our teacher proposed a good question (Not word for word): "Should we learn about things like this, even if it is very graphic?"
I am very surprised to read this.

It has been conclusively shown that at two separate points, Alex Haley hit brick walls in in his research and could go no further in tracing his ancestry. So, he took liberties with the facts and started tracing families' ancestries that were not his own.

This is fairly well-known in genealogical circles. I am sure that if you Google, you can find the details.

"Roots" is an interesting read, and it tells a story that comports with a narrative that some would like to believe, but much of it is fiction, not fact, so I am surprised to see it taught as if it was history.