25 Quotes by Alex Haley
Alex Haley was an American writer best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Roots," which tells the story of a family of African-American slaves and their descendants over several generations. Haley's work helped to popularize the study of African-American history and culture, and it remains a seminal work of literature to this day. Haley also worked as a journalist and biographer, and his work often focused on issues of race and identity in America. (Bio)
Alex Haley Quotes
In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.
In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage- to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.
Every time an old person dies, it's like a library burning down.
The way to succeed is never quit. Thats it. But really be humble about it.
When you clench your fist, no one can put anything in your hand. (Meaning)
Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.
Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you. (Meaning)
Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.
You can never enslave somebody who knows who he is.
Unless we learn from history, we are destined to repeat it. This is no longer merely an academic exercise, but may contain our worlds fate and our destiny.
I wasn't going to be one of those people who died wondering what if? I would keep putting my dreams to the test - even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the shadowland of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from.
Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.
You have to deal with the fact that your life is your life.
When you start about family, about lineage and ancestry, you are talking about every person on earth.
Never completely encircle your enemy. Leave him some escape, for he will fight even more desperately if trapped.
In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it.
Your attitude is everything. Believe in yourself and trust your material. To be a successful writer, write every single day where you feel like it or not. Never, never give up, and the world will reward you beyond your wildest dreams.
We all suffer. If a man's wise, he learns from it.
Raw, naked truth exchanged between the black man and the white man is what a whole lot more of is needed in this country - to clear the air of the racial mirages, cliches, and lies that this country's very atmosphere has been filled with for four hundred years.
My fondest hope is that 'Roots' may start black, white, brown, red, yellow people digging back for their own roots. Man, that would make me feel 90 feet tall.
The main thing you got to remember is that everything in the world is a hustle.
History is written by winners.
I think one of the most fascinating things you can do after you learn about your own people is to study something about the history and culture of other people.
Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there's a big difference between being a writer and writing. In most cases these individuals are dreaming of wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at the typewriter. You've got to want to write, I say to them, not want to be a writer. The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune, there are thousands more whose longing is never requited. Even those who succeed often know long periods of neglect and poverty. I did.
― Alex Haley Quotes
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Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
