Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer "Alex" Haley 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 African American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAutobiographer
Date of Birth11 August 1921
CityIthaca, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Most of us prefer to be as quiet as possible about giving, because every time it's publicized that we do something, if it's something of the nature of giving, we'll be doubly besieged, and you really get sick of being always criticized no matter what you do.
Roots is not just a saga of my family. It is the symbolic saga of a people.
I think one of the most fascinating things you can do after you learn about your own people is to study something about the history and culture of other people.
I tell younger writers that indeed it is devastating to be rejected. You feel like the bottom dropped out of your world.
You're always being judged. No matter what you do, it's not the right thing. If you didn't become successful, then you'd be pointed at as one of those creatures down their who didn't take advantage of this or that, who didn't climb and rise and so forth.
The main thing you got to remember is that everything in the world is a hustle.
My parents were teachers and they went out of their way to see to it that I had books. We grew up in a home that was full of books. And so I learned to read. I loved to read.
Never completely encircle your enemy. Leave him some escape, for he will fight even more desperately if trapped.
I certainly wasn't seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students. My homemade education gave me, with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America. Not long ago, an English writer telephoned me, asking questions. One was, "What's your alma mater?" I told him, "Books.
The way to succeed is never quit. Thats it. But really be humble about it.
I travel a lot. It used to be, when I would go to any country, I could guarantee that the first question would establish my name, and the fact that I've written Roots, and the third question, at least no later than the fourth question would not be a question, so much as a statement, something like, "We understand that in America white people do such and such bad things to black people."
When you clench your fist, no one can put anything in your hand.
Beginning writers must appreciate the prerequisites if they hope to become writers. You pay your dues - which takes years.
The anti-blackness has generated new forms of youth involvement in anti-whiteness, which in some cases is appalling.