Editing Alex Haley (section)

===''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>