Editing Alex Haley

{{short description|American writer (1921–1992)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{Infobox writer
| name             = Alex Haley
| image            = Alex Haley.jpg
| caption          = Haley in 1980
| birth_name       = Alexander Murray Palmer Haley
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1921|08|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Ithaca, New York]], U.S.<ref name="tnstate.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Haley.htm |title=Alex Haley, (1921–1992) |first=Linda T. |last=Wynn |publisher=Tennessee State University Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803170852/http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Haley.htm | archive-date=August 3, 2004 | url-status=dead| access-date = 2013-10-07}}</ref>
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1992|02|10|1921|08|11|mf=y}}
| death_place      = [[Seattle]], Washington, U.S.
| occupation       = Coast Guardsman, writer
| years_active     = 1939–1992
| spouse           = {{marriage|Nannie Branch|1941|1964|reason=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Juliette Collins|1964|1972|reason=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Myran Lewis|1977}}<ref>{{cite news|title=The anguish of Alex Haley's widow with her husband's literary legacy dispersed, she's locked in a bitter probate battle|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1992-11-11/news/the-anguish-of-alex-haley-s-widowwith-her-husband-s-literary-legacy-dispersed-she-s-locked-in-a-bitter-probate-battle/|work=[[Phoenix New Times]]|date=November 11, 1992|access-date=December 6, 2013|archive-date=December 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211151311/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1992-11-11/news/the-anguish-of-alex-haley-s-widowwith-her-husband-s-literary-legacy-dispersed-she-s-locked-in-a-bitter-probate-battle/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| relatives        = [[Simon Haley]] (father)<br>[[George W. Haley]] (brother)
| module           = {{Infobox military person
| embed         = yes
| embed_title   = Military service
| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[United States Coast Guard]]
| branch_label  = [[Military branch|Branch]]
| serviceyears  = 1939–1959
| rank          = [[Chief Petty Officer]]
}}
| children         = Lydia, William Alex, Dolores, and Alexander Murray Palmer Jr.
}}
'''Alexander Murray Palmer Haley''' (August 11, 1921&nbsp;– February 10, 1992)<ref name="tnstate.edu" /> was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family]].'' [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] adapted the book as a [[Roots (1977 miniseries)|television miniseries of the same name]] and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of black American history and inspired a broad interest in [[genealogy|genealogy and family history]].<ref name=Thompson>{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Krissah|title=Her mother said they descended from 'a president and a slave.' What would their DNA say?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/classic-apps/her-mother-said-they-descended-from-a-president-and-a-slave-what-would-their-dna-say/2017/11/14/49865ca0-98c5-11e7-87fc-c3f7ee4035c9_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 19, 2017|date=November 14, 2017|archive-date=November 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119084256/https://www.washingtonpost.com/classic-apps/her-mother-said-they-descended-from-a-president-and-a-slave-what-would-their-dna-say/2017/11/14/49865ca0-98c5-11e7-87fc-c3f7ee4035c9_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Haley's first book was ''[[The Autobiography of Malcolm X]]'', published in 1965, a collaboration through numerous lengthy interviews with [[Malcolm X]].<ref name=Stringer>Stringer, Jenny (ed), ''The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English'' (1986), Oxford University Press, p 275</ref><ref name=TimesObit /><ref>{{cite book |title=The Oral History Reader |editor1-last=Perks |editor1-first=Robert |editor2-last=Thomson |editor2-first=Alistair |year=2003 |orig-year=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-13351-7 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr5Aleo5arsC&pg=PA9 |access-date=October 26, 2015 |archive-date=April 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424215726/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr5Aleo5arsC&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}</ref>

He was working on a second family history novel at his death. Haley had requested that [[David Stevens (screenwriter)|David Stevens]], a screenwriter, complete it; the book was published as ''[[Queen: The Story of an American Family]].'' It was adapted as a miniseries, ''[[Alex Haley's Queen]]'', broadcast in 1993. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chicago |date=1993-02-14 |title=`QUEEN’ TAKES ANOTHER LOOK AT HALEY’S FAMILY ROOTS |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/02/14/queen-takes-another-look-at-haleys-family-roots/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
[[File:Henning Alex Haley Home and Memorial.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Haley's boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee, in 2007]]
Alex Haley was born in [[Ithaca, New York]], on August 11, 1921, and was the eldest of three brothers (the other two being [[George W. Haley|George]] and Julius) and a half-sister (from his father's second marriage). Haley lived with his family in [[Henning, Tennessee]], before returning to Ithaca with his family when he was five years old. Haley's father was [[Simon Haley]], a professor of agriculture at [[Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University|Alabama A&M University]], and his mother was Bertha George Haley (née Palmer), who had grown up in Henning. The family had [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]], other African, [[Cherokee]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], and [[Scottish-Irish American|Scottish-Irish]] roots.<ref>{{cite news|title=Roots author had Scottish blood|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7917605.stm|date=March 1, 2009|access-date=April 13, 2015|archive-date=June 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605163653/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7917605.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History|author=David Lowenthal|page=218}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Lost Plantations of the South|author=Marc R. Matrana|page=117}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=DNA testing: 'Roots' author Haley rooted in Scotland, too|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/genetics/2009-04-06-haley-dna_n.htm|date=April 7, 2009|access-date=April 13, 2015|archive-date=April 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414024313/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/genetics/2009-04-06-haley-dna_n.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The younger Haley always spoke proudly of his father and the obstacles of racism he had overcome.

Like his father, Alex Haley was enrolled at [[Alcorn State University]], a historically black college in Mississippi and, a year later, enrolled at [[Elizabeth City State University|Elizabeth City State College]], also historically black, in Elizabeth City, [[North Carolina]]. The following year, he withdrew from college. His father felt that Alex needed discipline and growth, and convinced him to enlist in the military. On May 24, 1939, Alex Haley began what was to become a 20-year career in the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name="USCG1">African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard, US Coast Guard Historians Office</ref>

Haley traced back his maternal ancestry, through genealogical research, to [[Jufureh]], in [[The Gambia]].<ref name="jufureh">{{cite web|url=http://finalcall.com/international/1999/haley-mosque7-13-99.htm|title=Alex Haley Mosque opens|work=The Final Call|date=July 13, 1999|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-date=October 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006082544/http://finalcall.com/international/1999/haley-mosque7-13-99.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Coast Guard career==
[[File:Alex haley US coast guard.png|thumb|upright|Haley during his service in the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]]]]
Haley enlisted as a mess attendant. Later he was promoted to the rate of [[Petty Officer Third Class|petty officer third-class]] in the [[Naval Rating|rating]] of [[Steward's assistant|steward]], one of the few ratings open to black personnel at that time.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jerrold M. |last=Packard |title=American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow |year=2002 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0-312-26122-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/americannightmar00pack/page/189 189] |url=https://archive.org/details/americannightmar00pack |url-access=registration }}</ref> It was during his service in the [[Pacific War|Pacific theater of operations]] that Haley taught himself the craft of writing stories. During his enlistment other sailors often paid him to write love letters to their girlfriends. He said that the greatest enemy he and his crew faced during their long voyages was not the Japanese forces but rather boredom.<ref name=USCG1 />

After [[World War II]], Haley petitioned the U.S. Coast Guard to allow him to transfer into the field of journalism. By 1949 he had become a [[Petty officer, first class|petty officer first-class]] in the rating of a journalist. He later advanced to [[chief petty officer]] and held this rank until his retirement from the Coast Guard in 1959. He was the first chief journalist in the Coast Guard, the rating having been expressly created for him in recognition of his literary ability.<ref name=USCG1 />

Haley's awards and decorations from the Coast Guard include the [[Good Conduct Medal (United States)|Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal]] (6 awards represented by 1 silver and 1 bronze [[service star]]), [[American Defense Service Medal]] (with [[battle clasp|"Sea" clasp]]), [[American Campaign Medal]], [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]], [[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]], [[World War II Victory Medal]], [[Korean Service Medal]], [[National Defense Service Medal]], [[United Nations Service Medal]], and the [[Marksmanship Medal|Coast Guard Expert Marksmanship Medal]].<ref name=USCG1 /> The Republic of Korea awarded him the War Service Medal, ten years after he died. The United States Coast Guard dedicated the cutter formerly known as USS ''Edenton'' to Haley by recommissioning it as {{USCGC|Alex Haley|WMEC-39|6}} in July 1999. The cutter currently serves from [[Kodiak, Alaska]].

==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>

==Later life and death==
[[File:Henning Alex Haley Memorial.jpg|thumb|upright|Haley's grave beside his boyhood home at Henning, Tennessee in 2010]]
[[File:USCGC Alex Haley.jpg|left|thumb|upright|USCGC ''Alex Haley'' (WMEC-39)]]

Early in the 1980s, Haley worked with [[the Walt Disney Company]] to develop an [[Equatorial Africa]] pavilion for its [[Epcot Center]] theme park. Haley appeared on a [[CBS]] broadcast of Epcot Center's opening day celebration, discussing the plans and exhibiting concept art with host [[Danny Kaye]].  Ultimately, the pavilion was not built due to political and financial issues.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hill|first1=Jim|date=June 12, 2006|title=Equatorial Africa: The World Showcase Pavilion that We Almost Got|url=http://jimhillmedia.com/columnists1/b/jeff_lange/archive/2006/06/13/2979.aspx|publisher=Jim Hill Media|access-date=June 9, 2015|archive-date=June 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610050218/http://jimhillmedia.com/columnists1/b/jeff_lange/archive/2006/06/13/2979.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

Late in the 1970s, Haley had begun working on a second historical novel based on another branch of his family, traced through his grandmother Queen; she was the daughter of a black slave woman and her white master.

He did not finish the novel before dying in [[Seattle, Washington]], of a heart attack on February 10, 1992.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Norton |first1=Dee |last2=Fry |first2=Donn |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920210&slug=1474889 |title=Alex Haley Dies -- Author Who Inspired Millions With 'Roots' Suffers Apparent Heart Attack In Seattle |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=February 10, 1992 |access-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811160201/https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920210&slug=1474889 |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was buried beside his childhood home in Henning, Tennessee.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/02/12/Roots-author-Alex-Haley-to-be-buried-in-Tennessee/3974697870800/ |title='Roots' author Alex Haley to be buried in Tennessee |work=United Press International |date=February 12, 1992 |access-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230511003813/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/02/12/Roots-author-Alex-Haley-to-be-buried-in-Tennessee/3974697870800/ |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

At his request, the novel was finished by [[David Stevens (screenwriter)|David Stevens]] and was published as ''[[Queen: The Story of an American Family|Alex Haley's Queen]]'' in 1993. Earlier the same year, it was adapted as a [[Alex Haley's Queen|miniseries of the same name]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Jennings |first=Gary |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/07/06/book-world/99e52d18-d1eb-4db1-80db-bfb5b27e19e0/ |title=Book World |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 6, 1993 |access-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511005002/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/07/06/book-world/99e52d18-d1eb-4db1-80db-bfb5b27e19e0/ |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jordan |first=Tina |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/05/14/queen-alex-haleys-roots-are-showing/ |title=In 'Queen', Alex Haley's Roots Are Showing |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=170 |date=May 14, 1993 |access-date=May 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911194430/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,306562,00.html |archive-date=September 11, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Late in Haley's life he had acquired a small farm in [[Clinton, Tennessee]], although at the time it had a [[Norris, Tennessee]] address. The farm is a few miles from the [[Museum of Appalachia]], and Haley lived there until his death. After he died, the property was sold to the [[Children's Defense Fund]] (CDF), which calls it the Alex Haley Farm. The nonprofit organization uses the farm as a national training center and retreat site. An abandoned [[barn]] on the farm property was rebuilt as a traditional [[cantilever]]ed barn, using a design by architect [[Maya Lin]]. The building now serves as a library for the CDF.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20061120080316/http://www.museumofappalachia.com/Newsletter%20June%202006.pdf Museum staff members visit Alex Haley Farm]", ''Museum of Appalachia Newsletter'', June 2006.</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
* In 1977, Haley earned a [[Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards|Pulitzer Prize Special Award]] for ''Roots'' ("Alex Haley, For Roots, the story of a black family from its origins in Africa through seven generations to the present day in America.")<ref>[https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/alex-haley "The 1977 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Special Citations and Awards"]</ref>
* In 1977 Haley received the [[Spingarn Medal]] from the [[NAACP]], for his exhaustive research and literary skill combined in ''Roots''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal-winners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802063355/http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal-winners|url-status=dead|title=NAACP Spingarn Medal|archive-date=August 2, 2014}}</ref>
* In 1977, Haley received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/|access-date=August 18, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Our History Photo: Academy guests of honor: sports journalist Howard Cosell, Alex Haley, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and the Emmy Award-winning actor Edward Asner at the 1977 Banquet of the Golden Plate during the American Academy of Achievement Summit held in Orlando, Florida.|publisher= [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/|access-date= August 18, 2020|archive-date= August 6, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200806042622/https://achievement.org/our-history/|url-status= live}}</ref>
* The food-service building at the U.S. Coast Guard [[Training Center Petaluma|Training Center]], [[Petaluma, California]], was named Haley Hall in honor of the author.
* In 1999 the Coast Guard honored Haley by naming the [[USCG Cutter|cutter]] {{USCGC|Alex Haley|WMEC-39|6}} after him.<ref name="cutter">[http://www.uscg.mil/datasheet/haleywmec.asp ''Alex Haley'' USCG cutter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210031711/http://uscg.mil/datasheet/haleywmec.asp |date=February 10, 2009 }}, US Coast Guard</ref>
* The U.S. Coast Guard annually awards the Chief Journalist Alex Haley Award, which is named in honor of the writer as the Coast Guard's first chief journalist (the first Coast Guardsman in the rating of journalist to be advanced to the rate of chief petty officer). It rewards individual authors and photographers who have had articles or photographs communicating the Coast Guard story published in internal newsletters or external publications.<ref name=USCG2>Medals and Awards Manual, COMDTINST M1650.25D (May 2008), US Coast Guard</ref>
* In 2002 the [[Republic of Korea]] (South Korea) posthumously awarded Haley its [[Korean War Service Medal]] (created in 1951), which the U.S. government did not allow its service members to accept until 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrc.army.mil/Default.aspx?ID=10726 |title=Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal |date=April 11, 2016 |website=United States Army Human Resources Command |publisher=[[United States Army]] |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128105125/https://www.hrc.army.mil/Default.aspx?ID=10726 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7846 |title=Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal |date=August 5, 2010 |website=Air Force Personnel Center |publisher=[[United States Air Force]] |access-date=June 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401041919/http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7846 |archive-date=April 1, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Works==
* ''[[The Autobiography of Malcolm X]]'' (1965), biography
* ''[[Super Fly T.N.T.]]'' (1973), screenplay
* ''[[Roots: The Saga of an American Family]]'' (1976), novel
* ''Alex Haley Tells the Story of His Search for Roots (1977)'' – 2-LP recording of a two-hour lecture 
* ''[[Palmerstown, U.S.A.]]'' (1980–1981), TV series
* ''A Different Kind of Christmas'' (1988), stories
* ''[[Queen: The Story of an American Family]]'' (1992), novel
* ''Alex Haley: The Playboy Interviews'' (1993), collection
* ''Never Turn Back: Father Serra's Mission (Stories of America)'' (1993), editor, stories
* ''[[Mama Flora's Family]]'' (1998), novel

==Legacy==

===Collection of Alex Haley's personal works===
The [[University of Tennessee]] Libraries [https://www.lib.utk.edu/special Special Collections] maintains a collection of Alex Haley's personal papers. The works contain notes, outlines, bibliographies, research, and legal papers documenting Haley's ''Roots'' through 1977. Of particular interest are the items showing Harold Courlander's lawsuit against Haley, [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday & Company]], and various affiliated groups.<!-- That the legal papers are "of particular interest" seems quite subjective. --><ref>{{cite web|last=Haley|first=Alex|title=Alex Haley Papers|url=http://dlc.lib.utk.edu/spc/view?docId=ead/0012_000898_000000_0000/0012_000898_000000_0000.xml|access-date=October 6, 2011|archive-date=April 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425051132/http://dlc.lib.utk.edu/spc/view?docId=ead%2F0012_000898_000000_0000%2F0012_000898_000000_0000.xml|url-status=live}}</ref>
Portions of Alex Haley's personal collection is also located at the [[African-American Research Library and Cultural Center]] at the [https://digitalarchives.broward.org/digital/collection/alexhaley Special Collections and Archives] in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://caad.library.miami.edu/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=60|title=Alex Haley papers, 1960-1992 &#124; Broward County Library African-American Research Library and Cultural Center|website=caad.library.miami.edu|access-date=January 28, 2021|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125100859/http://caad.library.miami.edu/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=60|url-status=live}}</ref> The [https://about.me/kwflegacy Keeper of the Word Foundation] in [[Detroit, Michigan]] maintains Alex Haley's Coast Guard notes, writings, and love letter notes that developed Haley's writings. Along with the digital unpublished ''Autobiography of Malcolm X''  and ''Epilogue'', omitted introduction and chapters, outline, letters, handwritten notes, Haley's complete interviews of Malcolm X's, poetry and edited notes, and digital rights.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

===Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial===
In the city dock section of Annapolis, Maryland, there is a memorial to mark the arrival location of Kunta Kinte in 1767. The monument, dedicated on June 12, 2002, also celebrates the preservation of [[African-American history|African-American heritage]] and family history.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kintehaley.org/the-memorial/ |title=The Memorial |date=May 16, 2017 |access-date=2020-08-11 |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814085858/https://kintehaley.org/the-memorial/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Alex Haley Birthplace Memorial & Historical Marker===
In May 1993, the Alex Haley Memorial Project in [[Ithaca, New York]] created a memorial pocket park at Alex Haley's birthplace in town, 212 Cascadilla Street; the park contains a carved granite marker and a hand-wrought iron bench with individual iron leaves made by community members.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History Center in Tompkins County - Black History |url=https://thehistorycenter.net/Black-History#:~:text=In%201993,%20a%20year%20after,his%20birth%20on%20Cascadilla%20Street. |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=thehistorycenter.net |language=en}}</ref> Funded by the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County, the Alex Haley Memorial Project members also acquired a New York Historical Marker for the site, placed outside the 212 Cascadilla Street home in August 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ithaca's Block of Black History: Alex Haley's Birthplace |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2021/02/15/ithaca-s-block-of-black-history--alex-haley-s-birthplace |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=spectrumlocalnews.com |language=en}}</ref> Located nearby at 408 North Albany Street is the Alex Haley Municipal Pool, which also opened in 1993, immediately across the street from the [[Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC)]], one of the area's prominent community centers.

==See also==
* [[Alex Haley House and Museum]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===References cited===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/h_Africanamericans.asp |title=African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard |publisher=US Coast Guard Historians Office |access-date=2010-10-07 |archive-date=September 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921052813/http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/h_Africanamericans.asp |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |title=Chief Journalist Alex Haley Award |url=http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/1000-1999/CIM_1650_25D.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916083532/http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/1000-1999/CIM_1650_25D.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 16, 2008 |work=Medals and Awards Manual, COMDTINST M1650.25D (May 2008) |publisher=US Coast Guard |access-date=December 31, 2012 }}
* {{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 }}
* {{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 }}
* {{cite book |last=Haley |first=Alex |editor-last=Gallen |editor-first=David |title=Malcolm X: As They Knew Him |year=1992 |publisher=Carroll & Graf |location=New York |isbn=0-88184-850-6 |chapter=Alex Haley Remembers |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/malcolmxastheykn00gall }} Originally published in ''[[Essence (magazine)|Essence]]'', November 1983.
* {{cite book |title=The Oral History Reader |editor1-last=Perks |editor1-first=Robert |editor2-last=Thomson |editor2-first=Alistair |year=2003 |orig-year=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-13351-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr5Aleo5arsC&pg=PA9 |access-date=October 26, 2015 |archive-date=April 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424215726/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr5Aleo5arsC&pg=PA9 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English |year=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-212271-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Vr1RWniW_YC&q=the+autobiography+of+malcolm+x+co-authored&pg=PA275 |editor1-first=Jenny |editor1-last=Stringer |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128105125/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Vr1RWniW_YC&q=the+autobiography+of+malcolm+x+co-authored&pg=PA275 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Haley.htm |title=Alex Haley, (1921–1992) |first=Linda T. |last=Wynn |publisher=Tennessee State University Library |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803170852/http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/Haley.htm |archive-date=August 3, 2004 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 7, 2013 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Biography|United States}}
* [http://www.alexhaley.com Alex Haley Roots Foundation]
* [http://www.alex-haley.com Alex Haley Tribute Site]
* [https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL217730A/Alex_Haley Alex Haley (Open Library)]
* {{IMDb name|0355077}}
* [http://www.kintehaley.org The Kunta Kinte–Alex Haley Foundation]
* [http://www.rootsthebook.com Official ''Roots: 30th Anniversary Edition'' website]
* {{LCAuth|n78089814|Alex Haley|41|}}
* [https://digitalarchives.broward.org/digital/collection/alexhaley Alex Haley Papers] at [[African-American Research Library and Cultural Center]], [[Broward County Library]]

{{Roots}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Alex Haley
|list =
{{Bancarella Prize}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction}}
{{PulitzerPrize SpecialCitations Letters}}
{{Spingarn Medal}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haley, Alex}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
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