After one year at Alcorn, he transferred to Elizabeth City State Teachers College in North Carolina. Haley graduated from high school at the age of 15 and enrolled at Alcorn A&M College (Alcorn State University) in Mississippi. Haley was proud of his father, whom he said had overcome the immense obstacles of racism to achieve high levels of success and provide better opportunities for his children. Upon Will's death, Haley's parents returned to Tennessee where Simon procured work at Lane College. At the time of his birth, Haley's father, Simon, a World War I veteran, was a graduate student in agriculture at Cornell University, and his mother, Bertha, was a musician and teacher.įor the first years of his life, Haley, who was called Palmer during childhood, lived with his grandparents Cynthia and Will in Henning, Tennessee, while his father finished his studies. Haley was born Alexander Murray Palmer Haley on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York. Nonetheless, Roots has remained a groundbreaking work in the public imagination. Major controversy ensued, however, when Haley was accused of plagiarism and presenting historical and genealogical inaccuracies. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book was turned into a 1977 miniseries that became one of the most popular TV shows of all time. The following decade, Haley made history with his book Roots, chronicling his family line from Gambia to the enslaved-holding South.

He eventually helmed a series of interviews for Playboy magazine and later co-authored The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Coast Guard for two decades before pursuing a career as a writer.

Harold courlander roots