Alex HaleY & The Haley Heritage Square

Learn about the trailblazing author who inspired us all to discover our roots.

"Find the good and praise IT." - Alex Haley

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley

(August 11, 1921 - February 10, 1921)

Alex Haley was a Black American author, journalist, and historian. Born in Ithaca, New York, his formative years as a child were spent in Henning, Tennessee which had a profound impact on his life.

In 1939, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard where he developed an affinity both for writing and for the sea. He made history by becoming the first Chief Journalist in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1952. After retiring from the service in 1959, he pursued writing full-time for established magazines such as Reader's Digest were he worked as a senior editor. In 1964, he released his first book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X. A critical success, Alex went on to publish what was the crowning moment of his career, Roots: The Saga of an America Family in 1976. 

Alex's second book, which documented his maternal lineage and the brutalities of slavery in America, was a cultural phenomenon that sparked a sense of pride in millions of families regarding their own roots and the common struggle of humankind. Despite his newfound stardom following Roots, Alex remained forever connected to Tennessee. In 1982, he came to Knoxville and then to Clinton in later years where he remained for much of the remainder of his life.

Early Years

Alex Haley’s early life was closely tied to Henning, Tennessee, where his grandfather, Will E. Palmer, built the family home at 200 South Church Street around 1918. Palmer was a Black businessman and community leader, and the home was considered the largest residence owned by a Black family in Henning at the time. Although Haley was born on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York, to Simon and Bertha Haley while they were pursuing their education, Henning remained a regular place of residence for the family during his childhood.

Haley, the oldest of four children, spent many summers in Henning with his grandmother, Cynthia Palmer. During these visits, he listened as family members shared oral histories about their ancestors, including individuals referred to as Chicken George and “The African,” and accounts of their settlement in West Tennessee. These family narratives were part of Haley’s childhood experiences throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

"Most special city" - Haley's Knoxville Connections

Alex Haley first arrived in Knoxville on May 20, 1977, as part of a three-day homecoming across Tennessee that began in Henning and continued on to Memphis. His visit to Knoxville was marked by public recognition from local institutions, including Knoxville College, the City of Knoxville, the University of Tennessee, and the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. That afternoon, Haley spoke to students at Knoxville College about the importance of family, particularly the role of grandparents in preserving history, and the responsibility individuals carry to contribute positively to the world. Later, he was honored at a formal reception at the Civic Coliseum, where community members gathered to meet him and request autographs of Roots.



Although warmly received in 1977, Haley’s deeper connection to East Tennessee developed after his return in 1982 for the World’s Fair. During that visit, he attended African-American Activities Day and toured the Museum of Appalachia in Anderson County at the invitation of John Rice Irwin. As he learned more about the region’s people and history, Haley grew increasingly drawn to East Tennessee. By the late 1980s, he had purchased property in and around Knoxville, and his relationship with the University of Tennessee further rooted him in the community through teaching, scholarship support, and the donation of his papers to the university’s Special Collections Library, where the Alex Haley archives remain today.