The largest statue in Knoxville, Tennessee, sits on a hill at the entrance of Morningside Park. At 13 feet, the statue is in the likeness of Alex Haley, author of “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.” He has arguably sold more copies of his most famous books than any other African-American writer.
While born in Ithaca, New York, the world-renowned writer spent his first childhood years in Henning, Tennessee, and later made his forever home in Clinton, Tennessee, at 61. Despite being a heavily celebrated author of his time, many controversies surrounding his work have affected his legacy and reputation.
Alex Haley graduated from high school at the young age of 15 and attended college before enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was limited in what he could do as a Black person then, so he began in the mess hall as a cook. During his off time at night, Haley would write because his dream was to be a writer. He first wrote romance stories and then started a newspaper on the ship called “The Seafarer” to keep other coast guards informed of happenings on board. The coast guards would write letters to their families and send a copy of “The Seafarer,” and it wasn’t long before people got word of Haley’s talent for writing allowing him to work his way up to Chief Journalist within the U.S. Coast Guard.
After leaving the military, Haley moved to Harlem, New York, and wrote upwards of 18 hours a day to make a name for himself as a writer. One article published in June of 1954 in Reader’s Digest, a popular magazine, was called “The Harlem Nobody Knows” about the rise of Black excellence and wealth in New York City. Eventually, Alex Haley became the Chief Interviewer for Playboy Magazine. While the magazine is known for featuring women in the nude, Haley was pivotal in interviewing people who played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement, and the magazine had a widespread impact on a predominantly White population. Some interviewees included Cassius Clay, Quincy Jones, Malcolm X and even Ku Klux Klan leader, George Lincoln Rockwell. Haley admits Rockwell’s interview was most memorable, citing Rockwell’s words that “the easiest thing in the world to sell is hate.” Alex Haley also got the opportunity to interview Martin Luther King Jr. before he was assassinated. He gave the longest interview to any publication to get his ideas out to middle-class Whites.
Haley was fascinated by Malcolm X who agreed to let Haley write an autobiography about him. Haley interviewed Malcolm X more than 50 times between 1963 and 1965. In the last interview, Malcolm X told Haley that “he did not expect to live long enough to read the book in its finished form.” He was assassinated two weeks after the finished manuscript. The book became a bestseller and sold more than five million copies.
Alex Haley grew up listening to the stories of his ancestors. At five, he would listen to his grandmother’s oral history while she cooked in the kitchen. Haley became fascinated with learning about his history and tracked his maternal family in Gambia, Africa. He visited the village of Juffureh, where his ancestor Kunta Kinte was kidnapped at 15. Although it took him twelve years, Haley wrote “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” which went on to sell more than 15 million copies. It is considered a fictionalized account of Haley’s family history, and Haley later admitted that parts of Roots contained passages from Harold Courlander’s “The African.” He settled out of court for $650,000.
While plagiarism is hard to defend, “Roots” helped shape a better understanding of Black history and slavery as well as the Black experience because of its widespread popularity. The book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1977. It was adapted into a TV show that same year and was the most popular show of the year. It would later debut a second show in 2016.
Alex Haley made his home in Clinton, Tennessee, where he fell in love with the people of Appalachia. He was working on a book that conveyed the culture of Appalachia but died from a heart attack before he finished the novel. In an interview, Haley said he would like to be remembered most for “finding the good and praising it.”
