Roots resulted in a cultural phenomenon in the United States, kindling a deeper interest in African American history and heritage. It also forced the country to do a re-examination of its social and racial history. It made Americans look at where they stood on racial issues at the time the novel was published, in the late 1970s. The novel sets out to trace the author's family history, back to the first member of the family to set foot in America, Kunta Kinte. Haley had heard stories about this man from his grandmother, a man she referred to as the African. The family had an oral tradition, passing on the tales of this man and his descendants, through each generation.