Alex Haley
Alex Haley | |
---|---|
Born | Alexander Murray Palmer Haley August 11, 1921 Ithaca, New York, U.S.[1] |
Died | February 10, 1992 Seattle, Washington, U.S. | (aged 70)
Occupation | Writer |
Education | Alcorn State University Elizabeth City State University |
Spouse | Nannie Branch (1941–1964) Juliette Collins (1964–1972) Myran Lewis (1977–1992)[2] (his death) |
Relatives | Simon Haley (father) George W. Haley (brother) |
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)[1] was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a 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 and family history.[3]
Haley's first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, a collaboration through numerous lengthy interviews with Malcolm X.[4][5][6]
He was working on a second family history novel at his death. Haley had requested that 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.
Early life and education
Alex Haley was born in
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 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 became a 20-year career in the United States Coast Guard.[11]
Haley traced back his maternal ancestry, through genealogical research, to Jufureh, in The Gambia.[12]
Coast Guard career
Haley enlisted as a mess attendant. Later he was promoted to the rate of
After
Haley's awards and decorations from the Coast Guard include the
Literary career
After retiring from the U.S. Coast Guard, Haley began another phase of his journalism career. 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.[14] 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.[15]
Throughout the 1960s, Haley was responsible for some of the magazine's most notable interviews, including one with
.The Autobiography of Malcolm X
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, was Haley's first book.[17] It describes the trajectory of Malcolm X's life from street criminal to national spokesman for the Nation of Islam to his conversion to Sunni Islam. It also outlines Malcolm X's philosophy of black pride, black nationalism, and pan-Africanism. Haley wrote an epilogue to the book summarizing the end of Malcolm X's life, including his assassination in New York's Audubon Ballroom.
Haley ghostwrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X based on more than 50 in-depth interviews he conducted with Malcolm X between 1963 and Malcolm X's February 1965 assassination.[18] 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 X for Playboy.[18]
The initial interviews for the autobiography frustrated Haley. Rather than discussing his own life, Malcolm 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 X. After several meetings, Haley asked Malcolm X to tell him something about his mother. That question drew Malcolm X into recounting his life story.[18][19]
The Autobiography of Malcolm X has been a consistent best-seller since its 1965 publication.[20] The New York Times reported that six million copies of the book had sold by 1977.[5] In 1998, Time magazine ranked The Autobiography of Malcolm X as one of the 10 most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century.[21]
In 1966, Haley received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for The Autobiography of Malcolm X.[22]
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
In 1976, Haley published
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.[24]
Roots was eventually published in 37 languages. Haley won a special Pulitzer Prize for the work in 1977.[25] The same year, Roots was adapted as a popular television miniseries of the same name by 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.[1][3]
In 1979, ABC aired the sequel miniseries,
Haley was briefly a "writer in residence" at
Plagiarism lawsuits and other criticism
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 (equivalent to $3,036,429 in 2023).[27][28]
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.[29][30] 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 the most likely genealogy would be different from the one described in Roots.[31]
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.
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.[33]
Later life and death
Early in the 1980s, Haley worked with
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
At his request, the novel was finished by David Stevens and was published as Alex Haley's Queen in 1993. Earlier the same year, it was adapted as a miniseries of the same name.[37][38]
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 cantilevered barn, using a design by architect Maya Lin. The building now serves as a library for the CDF.[39]
Awards and recognition
- In 1977, Haley earned a 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.")[40]
- In 1977 Haley received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, for his exhaustive research and literary skill combined in Roots.[41]
- In 1977, Haley received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[42][43]
- The food-service building at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Petaluma, California, was named Haley Hall in honor of the author.
- In 1999 the Coast Guard honored Haley by naming the cutter USCGC Alex Haley after him.[44]
- 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.[45]
- 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.[46][47]
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, in Knoxville, Tennessee, maintains a collection of Alex Haley's personal works in its Special Collections Department. 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 & Company, and various affiliated groups.[48] Portions of Alex Haley's personal collection is also located at the
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 heritage and family history.[50]
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-wraught iron bench with individual iron leaves made by community members.[51] 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.[52] 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
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d Wynn, Linda T. "Alex Haley, (1921–1992)". Tennessee State University Library. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
- ^ "The anguish of Alex Haley's widow with her husband's literary legacy dispersed, she's locked in a bitter probate battle". Phoenix New Times. November 11, 1992. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
- ^ a b Thompson, Krissah (November 14, 2017). "Her mother said they descended from 'a president and a slave.' What would their DNA say?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ Stringer, Jenny (ed), The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English (1986), Oxford University Press, p 275
- ^ a b Pace, Eric (February 2, 1992). "Alex Haley, 70, Author of 'Roots,' Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-415-13351-7. Archivedfrom the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ^ "Roots author had Scottish blood". March 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ David Lowenthal. The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History. p. 218.
- ^ Marc R. Matrana. Lost Plantations of the South. p. 117.
- ^ "DNA testing: 'Roots' author Haley rooted in Scotland, too". April 7, 2009. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ^ a b c d African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard, US Coast Guard Historians Office
- ^ "Alex Haley Mosque opens". The Final Call. July 13, 1999. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ISBN 0-312-26122-5.
- ^ Shah, Haresh (December 13, 2013). "Face to Face with the Master of Magical Realism". Playboy Stories. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- ^ "Martin Luther King Jr.: A Candid Conversation With the Nobel Prize-Winning Civil Rights Leader". Playboy. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
- ^ Brown, Les (February 15, 1979). "TV Sequel to 'Roots': Inevitable Question". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ "Text Malcolm X Edited Found in Writer's Estate". The New York Times. September 11, 1992. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c Haley, "Alex Haley Remembers", pp 243–244.
- PBS. Archivedfrom the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ Seymour, Gene (November 15, 1992). "What Took So Long?". Newsday. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ Gray, Paul (June 8, 1998). "Required Reading: Nonfiction Books". Time. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ "Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards – Winners by Year – 1966". Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ Kirichorn, Michael (June 27, 1976). "A Saga of Slavery That Made The Actors Weep". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ Daemmrich, JoAnna (September 11, 1992). "Statue of author of 'Roots' is proposed". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "Special Awards and Citations". The Pulitzer Prizes. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- Rome Sentinel. Archivedfrom the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ Stanford, Phil (April 8, 1979). "Roots and Grafts on the Haley Story". The Washington Star. p. F.1.
- ^ Lubasch, Arnold H. (December 15, 1978). "'Roots' Plagiarism Suit Is Settled". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Ottaway, Mark (April 10, 1977). "Tangled Roots". The Sunday Times. pp. 17, 21.
- ^ MacDonald, Edgar. "A Twig Atop Running Water – Griot History," Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter, July/August 1991
- ^ Mills, Elizabeth Shown; Mills, Gary B. (March 1984). "The Genealogist's Assessment of Alex Haley's Roots". National Genealogical Society Quarterly. 72 (1).
- ^ Beam, Alex (October 30, 1998). "The Prize Fight Over Alex Haley's Tangled 'Roots'". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Brockell, Gillian (May 10, 2023). "MLK's famous criticism of Malcolm X was a 'fraud,' author finds". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Hill, Jim (June 12, 2006). "Equatorial Africa: The World Showcase Pavilion that We Almost Got". Jim Hill Media. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ^ Norton, Dee; Fry, Donn (February 10, 1992). "Alex Haley Dies -- Author Who Inspired Millions With 'Roots' Suffers Apparent Heart Attack In Seattle". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "'Roots' author Alex Haley to be buried in Tennessee". United Press International. February 12, 1992. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Jennings, Gary (July 6, 1993). "Book World". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ Jordan, Tina (May 14, 1993). "In 'Queen', Alex Haley's Roots Are Showing". Entertainment Weekly. No. 170. Archived from the original on September 11, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ^ "Museum staff members visit Alex Haley Farm", Museum of Appalachia Newsletter, June 2006.
- ^ "The 1977 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Special Citations and Awards"
- ^ "NAACP Spingarn Medal". Archived from the original on August 2, 2014.
- American Academy of Achievement. Archivedfrom the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ "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". American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Alex Haley USCG cutter Archived February 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, US Coast Guard
- ^ Medals and Awards Manual, COMDTINST M1650.25D (May 2008), US Coast Guard
- ^ "Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal". United States Army Human Resources Command. United States Army. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "Republic of Korea Korean War Service Medal". Air Force Personnel Center. United States Air Force. August 5, 2010. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ Haley, Alex. "Alex Haley Papers". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
- ^ "Alex Haley papers, 1960-1992 | Broward County Library African-American Research Library and Cultural Center". caad.library.miami.edu. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Memorial". May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ "The History Center in Tompkins County - Black History". thehistorycenter.net. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- ^ "Ithaca's Block of Black History: Alex Haley's Birthplace". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
References cited
- "African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard". US Coast Guard Historians Office. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- "Chief Journalist Alex Haley Award" (PDF). Medals and Awards Manual, COMDTINST M1650.25D (May 2008). US Coast Guard. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- "Text Malcolm X Edited Found in Writer's Estate". The New York Times. September 11, 1992. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- "The Time Has Come (1964–1966)". PBS. Archivedfrom the original on April 23, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- Haley, Alex (1992). "Alex Haley Remembers". In Gallen, David (ed.). Malcolm X: As They Knew Him. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-88184-850-6. Originally published in Essence, November 1983.
- Perks, Robert; Thomson, Alistair, eds. (2003) [1998]. The Oral History Reader. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-13351-7. Archivedfrom the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- Stringer, Jenny, ed. (1986). The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-212271-1. Archivedfrom the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- Wynn, Linda T. "Alex Haley, (1921–1992)". Tennessee State University Library. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
External links
- Alex Haley Roots Foundation
- Alex Haley Tribute Site
- Alex Haley (Open Library)
- Alex Haley at IMDb
- The Kunta Kinte–Alex Haley Foundation
- Official Roots: 30th Anniversary Edition website
- Alex Haley at Library of Congress, with 41 library catalog records