Editing Alex Haley (section)

==Literary career==
After retiring from the U.S. Coast Guard, Haley began another phase of his career in journalism. He eventually became a senior editor for ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' magazine. Haley wrote an article for the magazine about his brother George's struggles to succeed as one of the first black students at a Southern law school.

===''Playboy'' magazine===
Haley conducted the first interview for ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine. Haley elicited candid comments from jazz musician [[Miles Davis]] about his thoughts and feelings on racism in an interview he had started, but not finished, for ''Show Business Illustrated'', another magazine created by ''Playboy'' founder [[Hugh Hefner]] that folded in early 1962. Haley completed the interview and it appeared in ''Playboy'''s September 1962 issue.<ref>{{cite web |title=Face to Face with the Master of Magical Realism |url=https://playboystories.me/2013/12/13/face-to-face-with-the-master-of-magical-realism/2/ |first=Haresh |last=Shah |date=December 13, 2013 |work=Playboy Stories |access-date=January 1, 2019 |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102002111/https://playboystories.me/2013/12/13/face-to-face-with-the-master-of-magical-realism/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> That interview set the tone for what became a significant feature of the magazine. Rev. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s ''Playboy'' Interview with Haley was the longest he ever granted to any publication.<ref>{{cite web|title=Martin Luther King Jr.: A Candid Conversation With the Nobel Prize-Winning Civil Rights Leader|url=http://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-a-candid-conversation-with-the-n-1502354861|work=Playboy|access-date=May 1, 2015|archive-date=May 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505121823/http://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-a-candid-conversation-with-the-n-1502354861|url-status=live}}</ref>

Throughout the 1960s, Haley was responsible for some of the magazine's most notable interviews, including one with [[George Lincoln Rockwell]], leader of the [[American Nazi Party]]. He agreed to meet with Haley only after gaining assurance from the writer that he was not Jewish. Haley remained professional during the interview, although Rockwell kept a handgun on the table throughout it. (The interview was recreated in ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'', with [[James Earl Jones]] as Haley and [[Marlon Brando]] as Rockwell.)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/15/archives/tv-sequel-to-roots-inevitable-question-new-oral-memoir.html |title=TV Sequel to 'Roots': Inevitable Question |first=Les |last=Brown |date=February 15, 1979 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 5, 2016 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=September 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929000516/http://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/15/archives/tv-sequel-to-roots-inevitable-question-new-oral-memoir.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Haley also interviewed [[Muhammad Ali]], who spoke about changing his name from Cassius Clay. Other interviews include [[Jack Ruby]]'s defense attorney [[Melvin Belli]], entertainer [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], football player [[Jim Brown]], TV host [[Johnny Carson]], and music producer [[Quincy Jones]].

===''The Autobiography of Malcolm X''===
[[File:The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1st ed dust jacket cover).jpg|thumb|upright|''[[The Autobiography of Malcolm X]]'', first edition (1965)]]
''[[The Autobiography of Malcolm X]]'', published in 1965, was Haley's first book.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/11/arts/text-malcolm-x-edited-found-in-writer-s-estate.html |title=Text Malcolm X Edited Found in Writer's Estate |date=September 11, 1992 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=June 1, 2010 |archive-date=March 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304171251/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/11/arts/text-malcolm-x-edited-found-in-writer-s-estate.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It describes the trajectory of Malcolm&nbsp;X's life from street criminal to national spokesman for the [[Nation of Islam]] to his conversion to [[Sunni Islam]]. It also outlines Malcolm&nbsp;X's philosophy of [[black pride]], [[black nationalism]], and [[pan-Africanism]]. Haley wrote an epilogue to the book summarizing the end of Malcolm&nbsp;X's life, including [[Assassination of Malcolm X|his assassination]] in New York's [[Audubon Ballroom]].

Haley [[Ghostwriter|ghostwrote]] ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'' based on more than 50 in-depth interviews he conducted with Malcolm&nbsp;X between 1963 and Malcolm&nbsp;X's February 1965 assassination.<ref name=Haley243-244>Haley, "Alex Haley Remembers", pp 243–244.</ref> The two men had first met in 1960 when Haley wrote an article about the Nation of Islam for ''Reader's Digest''. They met again when Haley interviewed Malcolm&nbsp;X for ''Playboy''.<ref name="Haley243-244" />

The initial interviews for the autobiography frustrated Haley. Rather than discussing his own life, Malcolm&nbsp;X spoke about [[Elijah Muhammad]], the leader of the Nation of Islam; he became angry about Haley's reminders that the book was supposed to be about Malcolm&nbsp;X. After several meetings, Haley asked Malcolm&nbsp;X to tell him something about his mother. That question drew Malcolm&nbsp;X into recounting his life story.<ref name="Haley243-244" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/about/pt_201.html |title=The Time Has Come (1964–1966) |work=[[Eyes on the Prize|Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement 1954–1985]], [[American Experience]] |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] |access-date=May 31, 2010 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100423154235/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/about/pt_201.html| archive-date= April 23, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'' has been a consistent best-seller since its 1965 publication.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/77587304.html?dids=77587304:77587304&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |title=What Took So Long? |last=Seymour |first=Gene |date=November 15, 1992 |work=Newsday |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111230720/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/77587304.html?dids=77587304:77587304&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that six million copies of the book had sold by 1977.<ref name=TimesObit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/11/books/alex-haley-70-author-of-roots-dies.html |title=Alex Haley, 70, Author of 'Roots,' Dies |last=Pace |first=Eric |date=February 2, 1992 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-date=September 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913043838/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/11/books/alex-haley-70-author-of-roots-dies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1998, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine ranked ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'' as one of the 10 most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988496,00.html |title=Required Reading: Nonfiction Books |last=Gray |first=Paul |date=June 8, 1998 |magazine=Time |access-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-date=July 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723122939/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988496,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1966, Haley received the [[Anisfield-Wolf Book Award]] for ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/winners-by-year/#year-1966 |title=Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards – Winners by Year – 1966 |publisher=[[Anisfield-Wolf Book Award]]s |access-date=June 5, 2016 |archive-date=December 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209050635/http://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/winners-by-year/#year-1966 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===''Super Fly T.N.T.''===
In 1973, Haley wrote his only screenplay, ''[[Super Fly T.N.T.]]'' The film starred and was directed by [[Ron O'Neal]].

===''Roots''===
[[File:Roots The Saga of an American Family (1976 1st ed dust jacket cover).jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family]]'', first edition (1976)]]
In 1976, Haley published ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family]]'', a novel based on his family's history, going back to slavery days. It started with the story of [[Kunta Kinte]], who was kidnapped in [[The Gambia]] in 1767 and transported to the [[Province of Maryland]] to be sold as a [[Slavery|slave]]. Haley claimed to be a seventh-generation descendant of Kunta Kinte, and his work on the novel involved twelve years of research, intercontinental travel, and writing. He went to the village of [[Juffure]], where Kunta Kinte grew up and listened to a tribal historian ([[griot]]) tell the story of Kinte's capture.<ref name="tnstate.edu" /> Haley also traced the records of the ship, ''[[Lord Ligonier (slave ship)|The Lord Ligonier]]'', which he said carried his ancestor to the Americas.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/27/archives/a-saga-of-slavery-that-made-the-actors-weep-a-moving-saga-of.html|title=A Saga of Slavery That Made The Actors Weep|last=Kirichorn|first=Michael|date=June 27, 1976|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 6, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612182801/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/27/archives/a-saga-of-slavery-that-made-the-actors-weep-a-moving-saga-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Haley stated that the most emotional moment of his life occurred on September 29, 1967, when he stood at the site in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], where his ancestor had arrived from Africa in chains exactly 200 years before. A memorial depicting Haley reading a story to young children gathered at his feet has since been erected in the center of Annapolis.<ref>{{cite news |last=Daemmrich |first=JoAnna |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/09/11/statue-of-author-of-roots-is-proposed/ |title=Statue of author of 'Roots' is proposed |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=September 11, 1992 |access-date=April 3, 2018 |archive-date=April 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404073121/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-09-11/news/1992255013_1_kunta-kinte-kinte-alex-haley-wrote |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Roots'' was eventually published in 37 languages. Haley won a [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|special Pulitzer Prize]] for the work in 1977.<ref name=pulitzer>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Special-Awards-and-Citations |title=Special Awards and Citations |website=The Pulitzer Prizes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224112755/http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Special-Awards-and-Citations |archive-date=December 24, 2015 |access-date=November 2, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The same year, ''Roots'' was adapted as a popular [[Roots (1977 miniseries)|television miniseries]] of the same name by [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. The serial reached a record-breaking 130 million viewers. ''Roots'' emphasized that black Americans have a long history and that not all of that history is necessarily lost, as many believed. Its popularity also sparked a greatly increased public interest in [[genealogy]].<ref name="tnstate.edu" /><ref name=Thompson/>

In 1979, ABC aired the sequel miniseries, ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'', which continued the story of Kunta Kinte's descendants. It concluded with Haley's travel to Juffure. Haley was portrayed at different ages by [[Kristoff St. John]], ''[[The Jeffersons]]'' actor [[Damon Evans (actor)|Damon Evans]], and [[Tony Award]] winner [[James Earl Jones]].  In 2016, [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History]] aired a [[Roots (2016 miniseries)|remake of the original miniseries]]. Haley appeared briefly, portrayed by Tony Award winner [[Laurence Fishburne]].

Haley was briefly a "writer in residence" at [[Hamilton College (New York)|Hamilton College]] in [[Clinton, Oneida County, New York|Clinton]], New York, where he began writing ''Roots''. He enjoyed spending time at a local bistro called the Savoy in nearby [[Rome, New York|Rome]], where he would sometimes pass the time listening to the piano player. Today, there is a special table in honor of Haley at the Savoy, and a painting of Haley writing ''Roots'' on a yellow legal tablet.<ref>{{cite news |last=Haley |first=Chip Twellman |url=https://romesentinel.com/stories/rome-woman-recalls-working-as-secretary-to-roots-writer-haley,57126 |title=Rome woman recalls working as secretary to 'Roots' writer |work=[[Rome Sentinel]] |date=September 21, 2014 |access-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121045155/https://romesentinel.com/stories/rome-woman-recalls-working-as-secretary-to-roots-writer-haley,57126 |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Plagiarism lawsuits and other criticism===

[[File:Henning Alex Haley Historic Marker.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Historical marker in front of Alex Haley's boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee in 2007]]

{{See also|Harold Courlander#Roots and plagiarism}}
{{See also|Roots: The Saga of an American Family#Historical accuracy}}

''Roots'' faced two lawsuits that charged plagiarism and copyright infringement. The lawsuit brought by [[Margaret Walker]] was dismissed, but [[Harold Courlander]]'s suit was successful. Courlander's novel ''The African'' describes an African boy who is captured by slave traders, follows him across the Atlantic on a slave ship, and describes his attempts to hold on to his African traditions on a plantation in America. Haley admitted that some passages from ''The African'' had made it into ''Roots'', settling the case out of court in 1978 and paying Courlander $650,000 ({{Inflation|US|650000|1978|fmt=eq}}).<ref>{{cite news | author=Stanford, Phil | title=Roots and Grafts on the Haley Story | work=The Washington Star | page=F.1 | date=April 8, 1979}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/15/archives/roots-plagiarism-suit-is-settled-roots-plagiarism-suit-is-settled.html |title='Roots' Plagiarism Suit Is Settled |first=Arnold H. |last=Lubasch |date=December 15, 1978 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 29, 2018 |archive-date=February 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214001858/http://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/15/archives/roots-plagiarism-suit-is-settled-roots-plagiarism-suit-is-settled.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In his biography of Haley, the academic Robert J. Norrell uses court transcripts and eyewitness testimony to show the judge in this trial, Nixon-appointee [[Robert Joseph Ward|Robert Ward]], not only lacked experience but was hostile to the defendant. According to an anonymous source, Judge Ward made it clear he thought Haley incapable of writing ''Roots'' at all.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norrell |first=Robert J. |title=Alex Haley and the books that changed a nation |date=2015 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1-137-27960-6 |location=New York}}</ref>

Genealogists have also disputed Haley's research and conclusions in ''Roots''. The Gambian ''griot'' turned out not to be a real ''griot'', and the story of Kunta Kinte appears to have been a case of [[circular reporting]], in which Haley's own words were repeated back to him.<ref name=ottaway1977>{{cite news|last1=Ottaway|first1=Mark|title=Tangled Roots|agency=The Sunday Times|date=April 10, 1977|pages=17, 21}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">MacDonald, Edgar. "A Twig Atop Running Water – Griot History," ''Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter'', July/August 1991</ref> None of the written records in Virginia and North Carolina line up with the ''Roots'' story until after the Civil War. Some elements of Haley's family story can be found in the written records, but with a different genealogy than what he described in ''Roots''.<ref name="mills1984">{{cite journal|last1=Mills|first1=Elizabeth Shown|last2=Mills|first2=Gary B.|title=The Genealogist's Assessment of Alex Haley's Roots|journal=National Genealogical Society Quarterly|date=March 1984|volume=72|issue=1}}</ref>

Haley and his work have been excluded from the ''Norton Anthology of African-American Literature'', despite his status as the United States' best-selling black author. [[Harvard University]] professor [[Henry Louis Gates Jr.]], one of the anthology's general editors, has denied that the controversies surrounding Haley's works are the reason for this exclusion. In 1998, Gates acknowledged the doubts surrounding Haley's claims about ''Roots'', saying, "Most of us feel it's highly unlikely that Alex actually found the village whence his ancestors sprang. ''Roots'' is a work of the imagination rather than strict historical scholarship."<ref>{{cite news|last=Beam |first=Alex |title=The Prize Fight Over Alex Haley's Tangled 'Roots' |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=October 30, 1998}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Jonathan Eig]] suggested that Haley had made a number of fabrications in his 1965 ''[[Playboy]]'' interview with [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], including embellishing his criticisms of Malcolm X.<ref name="WashingtonPost">{{cite news |last=Brockell |first=Gillian |title=MLK's famous criticism of Malcolm X was a 'fraud,' author finds |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/05/10/mlk-malcolm-x-playboy-alex-haley/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 10, 2023 |access-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510150456/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/05/10/mlk-malcolm-x-playboy-alex-haley/ |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>