A8 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20 , 2022
black history monthBlack History MonthThe Washington Post has compiled a selection of content that helps to tell
the stories of how Black people have shaped the country’s government,
economy and culture. We also are keeping watch for President Biden’s
nomination of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. For more Black
history, visit wapo.st/black-history-month-2022.BY DAVE KINDYIn March 1960, a rookie report-
er published a magazine article
that would spark a historic shift
in African American literature.
Appearing in Reader’s Digest,
“Mr. Muhammad Speaks” was an
in-depth examination of the Na-
tion of Islam, led by Elijah Mu-
hammad, and its growing attrac-
tion to Black Americans.
The story itself was nothing
groundbreaking, though it pro-
vided a balanced representation
of the facts and offered insight
into a movement that many
White Americans found frighten-
ing. But for its author, it led
directly to writing two of the
most consequential works of
Black history of the 20th century,
books that would redefine Ameri-
can literature and change the
way the country viewed race rela-
tions.
The writer was Alex Haley,
who had just retired from the U.S.
Coast Guard at age 39. Following
the publication of the Nation of
Islam story, he would co-write
“The Autobiography of Malcolm
X” and chronicle his own heri-
tage in the fictionalized “Roots:
The Saga of an American Family,”
which became a groundbreaking
and massively successful TV
miniseries. Haley wrote both
books while working at Reader’s
Digest, which this month marks
its 100 th anniversary, and the
publication funded his work on
“Roots.”
“I read all of Alex Haley’s books
before working at Reader’s Di-
gest but was really surprised that
I didn’t realize he was on staff
here,” said Jason Buhrmester, the
magazine’s chief content officer.
“Reader’s Digest basically paid
Haley for 12 years and covered all
of his travel expenses to write
‘Roots.’ That book had such a big
impact on America.”
Indeed, “Roots” was monu-
mental as literature — it won the
Pulitzer Prize in 1977 — and as a
means for getting American soci-
ety to examine the darker aspects
of its history. The 1976 novel,
based on Haley’s research i nto his
ancestors’ origins in Africa and
then in slavery, took the country
by storm. It was No. 1 on the New
York Times bestseller list for 22
weeks and has had a lasting
impact on generations of African
Americans who wanted to know
more about their forebears.
Haley’s depictions of the Mid-
dle Passage — the brutal forced
transportation of enslaved peo-
ple from Africa to America —
would leave a mark on countless
readers, including a young Henry
Louis Gates Jr. The literary critic,
historian, author and host of
“Finding Your Roots” on PBS was
profoundly changed when the
book was printed in a condensed
version by Reader’s Digest in
197 4, two years before the full text
was released by Doubleday.
“When I read the Reader’s
Digest excerpts of ‘Roots’ in 1974,
I was mesmerized — that’s the
only word for it,” Gates wrote for
the magazine’s centennial com-
memoration. He added: “I had a
serious bout of envy toward Alex
Haley. I wanted to be like him: I
wanted to reverse the Middle
Passage and find out where my
ancestors were from in Africa,
the motherland.”
“Roots” would also be revelato-
ry f or White Americans, who read
the book and watched the minise-
ries by the tens of millions. Many
would have their eyes opened to
the uncomfortable reality that
slavery was more than a “peculiarinstitution,” as Vice President
John C. Calhoun had called it in
1830: It was a violent, vicious
system of oppression based on
racial indignity.
“A lex Haley later said that 99
percent of the letters he got were
from White readers who said the
book completely changed the
way they viewed race relations in
America,” Buhrmester said.
Published in 1965 following
Malcolm X’s assassination, “The
Autobiography” would have a
similar impact on literature and
society. Haley met the outspoken
human rights activist while
working on the article about the
Nation of Islam. He interviewed
Malcolm X several times for the
piece and realized there was a
bigger story in describing how
the Muslim minister’s experi-
ences with racism and bigotry
shaped his character and fiery
oratory.
Haley convinced Malcolm X to
collaborate on the project. Haley
wrote most of the book, toning
down some of Malcolm X’s anger
to make the text palatable to a
wider audience.
Critics hailed “The Autobiog-
raphy of Malcolm X” as a master-
piece in explaining the divide
between White and Black Ameri-
ca. The New York Times called it
“brilliant, painful, important.”
The book is now considered a
classic, and its narrative would
influence generations of writers
and readers, who were beginning
to view racism and civil rightsthrough a new prism.
Unlike “Roots,” this book was
not published by Reader’s Digest;
Haley pursued it as an independ-
ent project, spurred on by his
work on the Nation of Islam story
— and the lessons he learned
about writing in his early years at
the magazine.
“In Haley, the editors found
someone who could untangle
sensitive topics in a way that was
relatable,” Buhrmester said. “He
could take someone controver-
sial like a Malcolm X and get to
the root of the thinking and the
logic behind the person. Haley
went by the maxim, ‘Find some-
thing good and praise it,’ which
he picked up at R eader’s D igest. It
was evident in all of his writing
for the magazine.”
Though it’s sometimes seen
today as a “grandma” magazine
(despite its large global reader-
ship), Reader’s Digest was hugely
influential in the 1950s and ’60s.
As the highest-circulation maga-
zine in the United States, it often
influenced public opinion on
such matters as communism, de-
mocracy, morality and values.
Haley started writing for Read-
er’s Digest as a freelancer in the
1950 s. He joined the publication
as a reporter in 1959 and even-
tually retired as a senior editor in- He died the following year.
He was proud of his tenure at
the magazine and acknowledged
an “undying debt” to it for help-
ing him succeed.
When the full version of his
novel was published in 1977, Ha-
ley wrote an article for Reader’s
Digest titled “What ‘Roots’ Means
to Me.” He discussed its success
as a book, its impact on race
relations and the way it inspired
millions of Americans of all
creeds to learn about their ori-
gins.
“In this country, we have been
like people who live in the same
house and tend to stay in our own
rooms, doing no more than peek-
ing out and then ducking back,”
he wrote. “If only we could all
come out together, say in the
living room, and learn more
about each other, we couldn’t
help but benefit. It would show
us our future as a collective
people — retaining, being proud
of, our differences, but coming
together in collective strength.
That, I believe, is the hope for
America.”
Rookie reporter’s Reader’s Digeststory spawned monumental worksAlex Haley’s 1960 article led to ‘Autobiography of Malcolm X’ and ‘Roots’FRED MOTT/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
Alex Haley in 1966. He had recently retired from the Coast Guard
when the i nfluential magazine published his examination of the
Nation of Islam, a movement that frightened many White people.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Malcolm X in Washington in May 1963. Published in 1965 after his assassination, the collaborative
autobiography was hailed as a masterpiece in explaining the divide between White and Black America.“When I read theReader’s Digest excerptsof ‘Roots’ in 1974, I wasmesmerized — that’s theonly word for it. ... I hada serious bout of envytoward Alex Haley.”
Henry Louis Gates Jr., literary critic,
historian, author and host of
“ Finding Your Roots” on PBS, writing
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