In 1978 Alex Haley agreed to pay Harold Courlander {the author of 1967's "The African"} $350,000 in an out-of-court settlement for plagiarism. Harold "Hal" Courlander deserves to have his name above that of Haley's as the author of "Roots."
he died in Seattle Washington at one of his condo he was with his mistress when he passed his brother sold most of his estate at the time of his death he paid the author of the african 600 hundred thousand in the late 70s for passage lifted from his book
After seeing your page, I assumed you were old enough to remember circa 1970's television. Before each episode of Roots aired, Haley would appear wearing a khaki safari suit, in a jungle backdrop, sometimes sitting in a dugout canoe. He would introduce that evening's episode with an anecdote about his family. He was heavily involved with the show. The ripoff of the "The African" was news to me. I was more acquainted with his ripoff of Alice Walker and Malcolm X. Well known in literary circles.
Haley immediately fell under the scrutiny of most in the Black literary scene. White's thought "this is the militant faction, they're simply jealous of Mr. Haley's success and didn't care for his view of slavery" Nothing could be farther from the truth. They were contemptuous of Mr. Haley because he had stolen their work! Alex prayed on Black writers almost exclusively. His victims are a who's who in contemporary Black literature.
Alex Haley lived in his magnificent plantation outside Atlanta, replete with the finest antebellum mansion in the South. It had everything but slaves. He died their, a very wealthy man. Writing, like everything else is a business. Alex Haley knew the "business" of writing. It's not the author of the book. It's who's name is on the book. He was actually a decent investigative journalist. However, his literary career was built on the works of others, many others. He was a literary criminal.
Every night, Alex would introduce each episode of Roots. He would appear in a khaki Safari suit, sitting in a dugout canoe.(in the Warner Bros. back lot) He would deliver the most outrageous lie in sixty second segments concerning his genealogical family tree in relationship to that evenings show. There was a huge serge genealogical research all over the country, much with mixed results, but that didn't matter. This intros are what made Alex a star.
Two deep/intellectual men Alex Haley & Spike Lee, Roots is amazing alot of serious shit. Spike's films are amazing too well put together on the real! Oh and R.I.P. Alex Haley
At the time of this interview, Spike Lee was riding the wave of success. "Malcolm X" was a big, fat hit. The soft spoken man asking the questions was a media figure from his childhood. He had no knowledge at all of the character of this individual. Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm was almost a working script for his film. Haley's star had faded. Spike may not have known then, I'm sure he knows now. He was talking to one of the great literary frauds of our time.
Don't listen to Spike, listen to Haley. It's much softer here but he had a wonderful voice. Starting deep in his stomach, it sounded like malasis dripping on hot tiles. It was one of those "tell us a story" kind of voices. Alex would tell you a story, someone elses story. Many here are simply too young to remember the incredable impression and impact this man had on this country in the fall of 1977. Alex
You are wrong, Gouda. It is said that Alex Haley took some bits from The African to recreate Kunta Kinte's life when before he was brought to America. Nonetheless there is no concrete evidence to support these claims as of today. All of the characters and places described in the book are real and there are plenty of documents the author used, that will comply. The dialogue and many of the events that occurred in some of the character's life, are admittedly fiction though.
The Shabaz widow received roughly $2200 from a settlement with Haley. This is approximately 1 week the book generates in royalties. But his all time theft was "Roots" If you would like to read "Roots" simply read Alice Walker's "Jubilee" It is "Roots" You can see where Haley lifted entire characters off the page. He was a plagiarist of the first caliber. In 1976, Alex Haley was one of the most beloved men in America, Alice Walker had the good since to keep her mouth shut.
"Roots" isn't much, It's no longer in print. The book that Alex Haley will be remembered for is the "Autobiography Of Malcolm X" This is the book that writer's dream of writing. It's still published throughout the world and has generated tens of millions in royalties. The problem, Alex stole it. This is the book Malcolm X wrote in prison. There is a convoluted story of how Haley got his name on it but he stole it. As Malcolm X was coming to this realization, he was shot to death.
Sup Sheldon! I dig your work mannnnn! Thx for helping me out with letting me brand DRT ! Imma make ya proud Brotha! We shall overcome! Malcom says you done good! Let's march in Washington state , and join joe DRT and Ro, in the revolutionary turning of the page of history , with the return of the Mack, Jesus H Christ! Help Joey approach New Yawk, and black America , the right way , so we can take whats ours, and give it back to BLACK (AND brown , and generationally screwed ppls). I know you down! Tell Jesus I said he can come back n play for the Sonics , long as I can keep his girl for the trade ! Hahaha 🤣😂 and I love y'all mothasuckas! Goteeeem! #Rojo2022!
