Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. 10.8 lin. ft. (15 boxes).

Summary

1. Correspondence, interviews, financial records, writings and project files, documenting Alex Haley's activities from 1969 to 1990. Among the papers are working files for Haley's interviews with Miles Davis, Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), Sammy Davis, Jr., Jim Brown and Quincy Jones, and published in Playboy magazine. The correspondence, dating from 1969 to 1990, provides a broad picture of the different types of activities Haley was involved in, such as public speaking and public appearances, the Roots and Kinte foundations, board memberships, projects with Warner Brothers, Disney Corporation and Readers' Digest, as well as fan mail relating to Roots and in general. There are also letters from aspiring writers and genealogists seeking advice and assistance, royalty files for Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm ̲̲X, and correspondence with his literary agent and his publisher. The collection also contains information regarding the foreign editions of Roots and a promotion file for Haley's last book, A Different Kind of Christmas. In addition there are files from different writing and television projects Haley worked on. These include articles on Leontyne Price and Leadbelly, a television series called "Phone Man," some files related to the production of "Palmerstown," and files for a proposed mini-series, "The China Story."
2. Included in the collection are some files relating to Malcolm X. One file contains copies of letters Malcolm X wrote from Cairo and Mecca in 1964 to Art Peters and to M.S. Handler, a reporter who wrote the introduction to the autobiography; two postcards to Haley from Mrs. Betty Shabazz; the copy of a note from Malcolm X advising Haley that he wanted the contract with his publisher amended so that royalties would go to the Muslim Mosque and in the case of his death to his wife. Another file deals with an article Haley wrote in 1971, "The Legacy of Malcolm X," and includes several drafts of the manuscript and a letter from Haley to the editor of Harper's magazine, discussing his writing style.

Subject

1. Haley, Alex
2. Davis, Sammy, Jr., 1925-1990 > Interviews
3. Davis, Miles > Interviews
4. Brown, Jim, 1936-2023 > Interviews
5. Jones, Quincy, 1933- > Interviews
6. Leadbelly, 1885-1949
7. Price, Leontyne
8. X, Malcolm, 1925-1965 > Interviews
9. Ali, Muhammad, 1942-2016 > Interviews
10. African Americans > Biography
11. African American authors

Call number

1. Sc MG 472

Note

1. Photographs and audio recordings separated to the Photographs and Prints Division and the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division respectively.

Source (note)

1. Alex Haley Estate

Biography (note)

1. African-American historian, author of Roots and co-author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Provenance (note)

1. Purchased at the Alex Haley Estate auction in 1992.

Author

1. Haley, Alex.

Title

1. Alex Haley papers, 1967-1990.

Biography

1. African-American historian, author of Roots and co-author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Provenance

1. Purchased at the Alex Haley Estate auction in 1992.

Source

1. Alex Haley Estate Purchase 1992 SCM 92-58

Connect to:

1. Finding Aid

Local subject

1. Black author.

Research call number

1. Sc MG 472