Alex Palmer Haley (1922-1992)

Born in Ithaca, New York, to two black parents, no one ever suspected that Alex Haley would become an influential man to the minds of Americans for generations to come. Alex Haley wrote the book ROOTS, a true book on the account of a Black family from back to when they were captured and taken as slaves. The foundation of this book was that of his own family, starting from seven generations up with Kunta …

…of his maternal family from when Kunta Kinte was taken to the Americas on one of the first slave ships. Haley's twelve years of research proved to be worth it when his book turned out to be a great success. It sold 8.5 million copies, it won 271 awards and was made into one of the top-rated television shows ever broadcast. The success of the book made Haley a rich man, a millionaire. Haley died on February 10, 1992