Alex Haley’s Roots

The Plagiarism Controversy

Alex Haley's Roots is one of the most popular and influential books ever written. It tells the story of Haley's family, tracing their ancestry back to Kunta Kinte, a young man who was kidnapped from Gambia in 1767 and sold into slavery in America.

Roots was a critical and commercial success, winning a Pulitzer Prize and being adapted into a popular miniseries.

However, Roots has also been the subject of controversy.

In 1978, author Harold Courlander sued Haley for plagiarism, alleging that large sections of Roots were copied from Courlander's 1967 novel The African.

Courlander’s lawsuit was eventually settled out of court, with Haley admitting that some passages of Roots had "found their way" into his book.

The Origins of Roots

Alex Haley began researching Roots in the early 1960s. He was inspired by his grandmother, Cynthia Murray Haley, who told him stories about her own family history.

Haley also traveled to Gambia, where he met with griots, or traditional storytellers. From these sources, Haley pieced together a story of his family's journey from Africa to America.

Haley's research was extensive, but it was not exhaustive. He did not have access to many primary…