News about Alex Haley

Members of the National Education Union were told that it was 'narrow-minded' and that they should be barred from history lessons. Yesterday, conference delegates overwhelmingly agreed with decolonizing the curriculum because it now "does not reflect the plurality of children's ethnic backgrounds." The union will lobby the government to ensure that all educational programs respect the 'integral essence of Black contribution to society.' Roots, a 1977 novel by Alex Haley, tells the tale of a family's enslavement, and the American civil war over a period of decades.

Leslie Uggams, an actress, is paying tribute to her late Roots co-star Louis Gossett Jr., who died at the age of 87 this week. Louis shared "the best stories of anyone I ever knew," Emmy Award nominee Kizzy Reynolds, who appeared in Alex Haley's book Roots: The Saga Of An American Family (1976) revealed. 'He was just mesmerizing,' she told People. He'd just keep us roaring with laughter, and then baffled me with, "I can't believe this tale, this is amazing," he said.

Students are asked to return their 2022-2023 yearbooks after a quote on a senior page attributed to Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party. The quote was used by an unidentified student, and it's unclear if the student will be allowed to attend graduation. Following the incident, Interim Head of School Claude Grubair and Board Chair Matthew Chilton released a statement alerting the community that the school was working with multiple groups, including the Anti-Defamation League.

After the pair spent decades in jail for their suspected involvement in the 1965 shooting, the jury will hear from 83-year-old Muhammad Aziz and the family of the late Khalil Islam, who died in 2018, worth a collective $36 million. Following a nearly two-year probe by their lawyers and the Manhattan DA, both men were cleared in November after a string of doubts raised by historians and legal experts over inconsistencies in the lawsuit that resulted in their conviction being reversed. Officials in New York have now decided to pay $26 million for the unlawful convictions, with the state expected to fork over an additional $10 million.