An African American man has been arrested in eastern Iowa, the United States for kidnapping a white woman and forcing her to watch a nine-hour slavery documentary ‘Roots’ so she could ‘understand her racism’.

According to DailyMail, Police in Cedar Rapids, Eastern Iowa detained 52-year-old Trevor Noye on Monday on charges of first-degree harassment and false imprisonment.

The woman, who was not clearly described in previous reports as being white, was allegedly forced to sit with Noye and threatened when she tried to move from watching the 1977 TV miniseries.

He forced her to watch the nine-hour show, which details the ancestral line of the author Alex Haley, ‘so she could better understand her racism’, a police complaint said.

Noye threatened to “kill her and spread her body parts across Interstate 380 on the way to Chicago”, when she tried to move away, according to the Gazette.

Roots, which first aired on American TV in 1977, and follows the struggles of one African American family told over several generations.

The story starts with Kunte Kinte (pictured main), an African warrior sold into slavery, through to his great-grandchildren fighting for their freedom during the Civil WarRoots, which first aired on American TV in 1977, follows the struggles of one African American family told over several generations, starting with Kunte Kinte, an African warrior sold into slavery, through to his great-grandchildren fighting for their freedom during the Civil War.

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It remains the third most-watched US telecast of all time after the final episode saw around 100million viewers tune in.

The book and subsequent miniseries were seminal in opening the discussion about the legacy of slavery and race in America.