Alex Haley: Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1989: Angels, Legends, and Grace

Abstract

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Alex Haley's legacy is forever tied to his legendary works--The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots: The Saga of an American Family, two of the most influential books on the black experience in the twentieth century. When his Autobiography of Malcolm X appeared in 1964, it transformed America's understanding of black life and culture, and Haley's work on Malcolm X quickly became essential reading in the sixties for students in the Civil Rights Movement. Alex Haley, 1990, courtesy of the William R. Ferris Collection in the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina. Alex Haley's legacy is forever tied to his legendary works--The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots: The Saga of an American Family, two of the most influential books on the black experience in the twentieth century. When his Autobiography of Malcolm X appeared in 1964, it transformed America's understanding of black life and culture. The book moved readers, just as Richard Wright's Native Son did when it was first published in 1940. Twenty-four years apart, Haley and Wright each parted the veil of race in America and exposed, with unvarnished clarity, angry black rage. Haley's work on Malcolm X quickly became essential reading in the 1960s for students in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1976--twelve years after The Autobiography of Malcolm X--the release of Alex Haley's book and television miniseries Roots marked a historic moment in publishing and media history. hundred and thirty million Americans watched the miniseries over eight nights, and the book sold six million copies during its first year of publication. The Roots television series featured LeVar Burton (Kunta Kinte), Leslie Uggams (Kizzy), and Ben Vereen (Chicken George), as well as a musical score by Quincy Jones. The series won nine Emmys and a Peabody, and the book won the Pulitzer Prize. Alex Haley's two books reflect the Janus-faced, complex person who created them. Haley is completely absent from the pages of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. With consummate skill, he shapes his interviews with Malcolm X into a powerful, first-person narrative driven by the voice of the speaker. Roots, in contrast, wraps its story around Haley's own voice and uses his personal life as its anchor. Haley's story becomes everyman's story and achieves a rare universality in which the viewer reflects, There, but for the grace of God, go I. During the sixties and seventies, I felt a special kinship with Alex Haley, and in the eighties he called and invited me to spend a weekend with him on his beautiful farm in Norris, Tennessee. Alex hosted my family and friends from throughout the country for three days of conversation, music, and meals. My brother Grey Ferris and his wife Jann were among the guests that Alex hosted. During the weekend, Grey spoke with Alex about his effort to consolidate county and city schools in our home of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grey explained that he felt their recently completed consolidation would prevent the creation of a predominantly black city and white county school system. The process had been difficult, and Grey invited Alex to visit Vicksburg and spend time with teachers and students who were part of this change. Alex graciously accepted. His coming to Vicksburg in 1989 was a major event for the city and assured that the school consolidation was successful. In 1990, Alex was a featured speaker on our Center for the Study of Southern Culture's historic College on the Mississippi Delta Queen trip. He was joined by Mose Allison, Eli Evans, Shelby Foote, B.B. King, and Jeff MacNelly, all of whom spoke or performed during the week-long trip from Memphis to New Orleans. During his final talk, Alex related the story of Amazing Grace and explained that the hymn was inspired by the suffering of slaves crossing the Atlantic. He said, One of every four enslaved Africans died on the slave ships. …