![]() He gave whites a compelling reminder of the ugliness of racial exploitation and blacks a sense of ownership of their past, with all its travails but also its triumphs.” ![]() “More than any other writer, he changed the way the masses of Americans understood the black experience. “Haley wrote the two most important works in black culture in the twentieth century,” argues Norrell. In Alex Haley and the Books That Changed a Nation, Robert Norrell recovers the extraordinary tale of the author and his monumental, controversy-laden bestsellers.Ī distinguished historian of African-American life at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Norrell sheds light on the avuncular, gifted storyteller who struggled to achieve professional success. Their common thread is Alex Haley, who collaborated with Malcolm X and then wrote about his own ancestors in an epic saga. ![]() ![]() The stories in these books reached ever-wider audiences through movies and television. Roots stimulated a massive appreciation for the African-American past, from the heritage of Africa through the trials of slavery. The Autobiography of Malcolm X enshrined its protagonist’s place in American history. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |