Initially, the transition was difficult Haley was already 38 years old, and had no connections outside the military in the literary or publishing worlds. By 1959, Haley had served 20 years with the Guard, and resigned his post in the hopes of becoming a full-time writer. He served in this position for seven years, covering internal issues and overseeing Coast Guard public relations. The Coast Guard also began to take notice of Haley’s writing talent, and in 1952, he was promoted to chief journalist. He began to devote more time to his writing, and eventually, the stories were published in small magazines and journals. Frustrated and bored on long voyages, Haley began to write short stories to amuse himself. He attended college for two years before becoming restless, and at the outbreak of the second World War, he enlisted in the U.S.

Two years later, when Haley was 10 years old, his mother died suddenly, leaving her husband alone to raise three sons.Īlthough Haley graduated from high school at age 15, he never excelled as a student. This idyllic childhood did not last, however, as the boys were separated from their grandmother in 1929 when Haley’s father accepted a teaching position in Alabama. She was an animated storyteller, and entertained Haley and his two younger brothers with tales of their ancestors and the African village where their family had originated. In Tennessee, Haley’s grandmother played a vital role in his upbringing. The family remained separated while Simon Haley completed his graduate degree. Haley’s mother, Bertha Palmer Haley, felt isolated in the cold northern town, and after the birth of their children, she convinced her husband to allow them to move south to Henning, Tennessee, and live with her parents while he continued his studies. His father, Simon Haley, was a graduate student in agriculture at Cornell University at the time of his birth. Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, on August 11, 1921.

His work encouraged black families to explore the rich histories of their ancestors. 1921-1992 Alex Haley, the acclaimed author of the novel Roots, dedicated much of his career to lecturing on African American genealogy.

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