Alex Haley

Acclaimed author Alex Haley served a 20-year career in the Coast Guard prior to pursuing a full-time journalism career. Haley’s role as a journalist began as a writer and senior editor at Reader’s Digest. His career soared when he was featured as one of Playboy Magazines first African American interviewers, with his first piece covering Miles Davis. During his successful journalism career, Alex interviewed many African American cultural icons, most notably Malcolm X. Their conversation became the basis for the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.” Haley also authored award-winning book “Roots,” which told the story of his family’s history and their relationship with slavery.

Alex Haley was born in New York in 1921. At a young age, his parent-teachers– moved back to Tennessee, and Alex spent a considerable amount of time with his grandparents. In 1939, Haley left college to join the Coast Guard, quickly working his way up the ranks. Up until his retirement from the Coast Guard in 1959, Alex served as the Coast Guards’ chief journalist and throughout his military career received several awards, including the American Defense Service Medal, WWII Victory Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.

Haley retired from the Coast Guard and began working as a freelancer in New York City, working for Reader’s Digest. In 1962, Haley landed his big gig when Playboy offered him the opportunity to interview Miles Davis. This interview skyrocketed Haley to fame, and he quickly became Playboy magazine's go-to African American interviewer, where he interviewed Martin Luther King Jr., Sammy Davis Jr, Quincy Jones, George Lincoln Rockwell, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X. Haley’s time with Malcolm X was so influential that in 1965, Haley released his first book, “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” which told the story of the civil rights movement through the eyes of the icon. Even after finding fame, one could find Haley hanging around Kansas City Kansas’ The Hub bookstore where he was known to give and attend lectures while traveling across the country.

In 1976, Haley released “Roots,” which detailed his family’s history and recounted the lived experience of an African American family brought to the US via the slave trade. Alex spent more than 10 years tracing back his family history based on the stories told by his grandmother and her family. The story is told through the eyes of Haley’s relative, Kunta Kinte, who was captured in 1767 and brought to the US. The novel was such a hit that the following year, it was adapted into a nationally televised mini-series. More than half the country tuned in to watch a record-breaking number.

Alex and his brother created the Kinte Corporation, established to study African American genealogies. He married Myra Lewis in 1972 and the pair had three children. Following “Roots” Haley released several more projects and even a few more novels pursuing his passion for writing up until his death in 1992. In 1999, the Coast Guard named a cutter after Haley and awarded him the Korean War Service Medal.

Haley’s nephew, David Haley, serves as a US senator for Kansas. 

Alex Haley, History. November 9th 2009. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://www.history.com/topics/Black-history/alex-haley.

Alex Haley, https://www.encyclopedia.com/. May 29th 2018. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/alex-haley.

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley, Alex Haley. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://alexhaley.com/biography/.

Alex Haley Tells the Story of His Search for Roots, Alex Haley. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://alexhaley.com/2018/08/06/alex-haley-tells-the-story-of-his-search-for-roots/.

Ziegler, Laura. In The 1960s, This Bookstore Was The Place For Black Culture In Kansas City, Kansas, KCUR. October 29th 2019. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://www.kcur.org/community/2019-10-29/in-the-1960s-this-bookstore-was-the-place-for-Black-culture-in-kansas-city-kansas.