Continuity mistake: When Chicken George comes back for the first time and sees Matilda, he walks towards her and takes off his white gloves. He is then seen hugging her with the white gloves back on.
Part 1 Roots: The Saga of An American Family - S1-E1
Factual error: The slave ship 'Lord Ligonier' flies the White Ensign. This has always been reserved for the Royal Navy; British merchant ships (as American ships were in 1765) have flown the Red Ensign since 1674.
Revealing mistake: In episode 2, when Kunta Kinte is on the slave ship 'Lord Ligonier', the slaves are trying to take over. During the fight, one of them is going up to a white man and if you look up in the sky you can see a trail from an airplane.
Continuity mistake: At the camp, holding the black people after cruising them away, the man steals the drum sticks. He plays the drums with one stick upside-down, and in the next scene, they are gone.