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VIEWS OPINIONS
Publl h r:Ch rle D. Kelty
dltor: Ter K I
an glng dltor: Wanda F. Roquemore
Contributor.: B mic Bro n - Danny Cooks - Mary Golliday -
Allison Jon - Fled n S. Riggs - Leah Samuel - Nathaniel
Scott - Ron Se gel - Carolyn Warfield - Vera White
Production nag r: Kascene Barks
Production: Kai Andrich- Anita Iroha
AccountEx cut/� .: Earlene Tolliver - Bob Zwalak
"
URG Loo in your
chlldren' . tory boo and
bat d po tively to make I
them proud and help insulate tbcm . ,
from racism. ' :
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"IT WAS TOO m tor tile
Rebels ••• the Union Army .urged
ahead the Confede broke
UN EMPLOYMENT
OFFICE.
II Rootsll __
An Ode 0 Alex Haley
respect for getting as mucb of the
slave reality he did on prime time
television for the entire nation to see.
It baa been Iq)011cd that mote tban
130 million viewers tuDed in to
tdl tbe ABC tclerialon broadcast
of "Roou" �ct in 1m.
Even before the publication of
"Roots," Haley had made blatory
wi th the publlcation of "T1te
Autobiography 0/ Malcolm X,"
bldl alIo became • beat seller.
With the reDewecl intcleIt in tile
life and Itruggle 0 Malcolm X,
are tbankful that Haley was able to
help document the evolution of Mal
colm into an intematiODllleader. '
Dr. Dorothy Height described
Alex Haley as "a modem propheL"
We agree. A prophet does more than
fotetell the future. Haley, in the
prophetic tradition of the African
Ametican liberation movement
poke and wrote about history by
tres lng ita importance for the
present When millioDl of persons
read and watched "Roots," a better
national consciousnesS emerged
concemlDg the urgency of doing
mote in the prelCllt to dWlenge the
lingering vCltlgu of Ilavery,
ae� tion IUd all forma of racial '
iDjustice.
Just about a month,before Haley's
BENJAMIN
CHAVIS
CIVIL
RIGHTS
JOURNAL
death, national cable television oct- :
works tebroadcutcd "Roots" to mil- .
lions of other viewers. One way to
pay tribute to the legacy of Alex :
Haley to continue his work of re- I
acarchiDg the "truth- of tbe mag- :
nltucle and de1aila of the trade and I
slavery of African people.
'AS THE NATION observes the '
SOOth IDDiversary of Columbus dis- '
covering "that he was lost, - it would '
be a fitting ode to Alex Haley for a ' ,
national inquiry into the truth of 500
yem of exploitation of the peoples :
of Africa, North and South America, :
and of � Caribbean.
Alex Haley 70 'years old and :
died from a heart attack while
preparing to lecture in Seattle, :
Wubington. Haley enjoyed his
om mid took dous bls labor of
bJatodcal IeICIICh. We thank God •
tor life IDd 'gifts of Ala Haley. '
We all UDdeIl1lDd better, due m the '
labor 0 Haley, the common roo of
II! humanity.
EDITORAL
MEN WKO. ARE E�R EST
�RE NOT �rAA\D
OF CONSEQUENCES.
-.0ARCUS �RVE'<
AI ttAST PAN �UAYLI
1'RIEP 1l) SERVe
�R/N� V16� AAM l
.s,� THl o.\YTOtt OMY N£WS
record in
By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR.
African American History Month
1992 witnessed the passing of a great
writer and historian. Alex Haley's
contributions to African and
American history were remarkable
and the impact of his writings and
research will have a long lasting im
print on the history of the United
States.
Haley was bom in Ithaca,' New
York in 1921 and was reared in the
southern town of Henning, Ten
nessee. As the author of the Pulitzer
Prize-winning book, "Roots: The
Saga 0/ an American Family, If Alex
Haley won the admiration of mil
lions of persons througho t the
wodd.
This bold African American
wrlterwith the stroke of his pen was
abler to shatter the false stereotypical
view about the so-called impos
sibility of tracing African American
genealogies bact to Afrlca.
In fact, "Roots" so successful
that the book and television
dIamatlzation helped to lnspite the
. establishment of thousands of com
munity genealogical societies and
family reunion clubs among African
Americans. "Roots" also made a sig
nificant contribution to reminding all
persons about the bideous and brutal
nature of the American and
European slave trade.
ALTHOUGH THERE ere
-some ho argued that "Roots"
romanticized the awful pain and
misery of slavery in the United
1Y0Uf'HN(T States, we believe that Alex, Haley
hould be given credit, praise and