Alex Haley Quotes

United States, Writer
August 11, 1921 – February, 10, 1992.

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of African American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history.

When you clench your fist, no one can put anything in your hand, nor can your hand pick up anything.

Alex Haley
- Up
- Hand
If I had been taking hashish, I could not have dreamed of this.

Alex Haley

In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it.

Alex Haley
- Good
- Writing
The family is our refuge and our springboard; nourished on it, we can advance to new horizons. In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.

Alex Haley
- Family
- Future
- Past
Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.

Alex Haley
- Children
- Grandparents
You don't spend twenty years of your life in the service and not have a warm, nostalgic feeling left in you … It's a small service, and there's a lot of esprit de corps.

Alex Haley
- Life
- Feeling
- Small
Early in the spring of 1750, in the village of Juffure, four days upriver from the coast of The Gambia, West Africa, a manchild was born to Omoro and Binta Kinte.

Alex Haley
- Spring
Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you.

Alex Haley
- Reality

Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.

Alex Haley
- Up
- Help
- Fence
Have family reunions. There is something magic about the common sense of a blood bond. It's not less magic for black, white, brown or polka dot. The reunion gives a sense that the family cares about itself and is proud of itself. And there is the assumption that you, the family member, are obligated to reflect this pride and, if possible, add to it.

Alex Haley
- Family
- Black
- Proud
When you start about family, about lineage and ancestry, you are talking about every person on earth. We all have it; it's a great equalizer. White people come up to me and tell me that Roots has started them thinking about their own families and where they came from. I think the book has touched a strong, subliminal pulse.

Alex Haley
- People
- Up
- Great