Alex Haley

Haley was born Alexander Murray Palmer Haley on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York. Alex Haley was a writer whose works of historical fiction and reportage depicted generations of African American lives. He is widely known for Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The author is credited with inspiring a nationwide interest in genealogy and contributing a larger awareness to the horrors of racism and slavery and their place in American history. While some critics have condemned Haley for his fiction masquerading as historical facts, others perceive him as an important storyteller who, despite his wrongdoings, was able to reveal broader truths. Source