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

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The Farmhouse &

Haley's Knoxville Connections

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