Alex Haley

Alex Haley (1921-1992), African-American author, whose contributions to American letters led to the popularization of Black history and helped to promote racial understanding. Haley was born in Ithaca, New York. Although not academically outstanding, either at school or at university, Haley was determined to become a writer. He practised and perfected his craft during his early years in the Coast Guard. After retiring from the Coast Guard at the age of 37, he moved to New York to actively pursue a career as a writer. He had no immediate success until he interviewed jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and, later, political activist Malcolm X for Playboy magazine. The meeting with Malcolm X led to his co-authoring The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965). This became an important text for Black nationalists involved in the struggles of the 1960s. It also received much critical acclaim, and was widely adopted as required reading for students of literature and history classrooms.

Immediately after the success of the Autobiography, Haley began work on the family saga, Roots (1976), which subsequently received dozens of awards, including citations by the Pulitzer and National Book Award committees. Almost 9 million copies were sold, and it has been translated into 26 languages. Its impact on American culture was increased by the screening of a television adaptation in 1977. It is estimated that 130 million Americans saw at least one episode of the eight-part series. Roots recounted the story of Haley's search for his ancestors and triumphantly recorded his tracing of his lineage back to a West African village. Haley used his imagination to fill in the details of the family story and created a series of portraits which moved many Americans of all racial backgrounds to take up an interest in genealogy.