In March 1960, a rookie reporter 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 Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad, and its growing attraction to Black Americans.
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-author “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and chronicle his own heritage 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 marks its 100th anniversary Saturday, and the publication funded his work on “Roots.”
“I read all of Alex Haley’s books before working at Reader’s Digest 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 monumental as literature — it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1977 — and as a means for getting American society to examine the darker aspects of its history. The 1976 novel, based on Haley’s research into his ancestors’ origins in Africa and then in slavery, took the country by storm. It was number one on the New York Times bestseller list for 22 weeks and would have a lasting impact on generations of African Americans who wanted to know more about their forebears.
Haley’s depictions of the Middle Passage — the brutal forced transportation of enslaved people 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 1974, 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 commemoration. 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 revelatory for White Americans, who read the book and watched the miniseries by the tens of millions. Many would have their eyes opened to the uncomfortable reality that slavery was more than a “peculiar institution,” as Vice President John C. Calhoun had called it in 1830: It was a violent, vicious system of oppression based on racial indignity.
“Alex 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 experiences 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 Autobiography of Malcolm X” as a masterpiece in explaining the divide between White and Black America. 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 rights through a new prism.
Unlike “Roots,” this book was not published by Reader’s Digest; Haley pursued it as an independent 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 controversial like a Malcolm X and get to the root of the thinking and the logic behind the person. Haley went by the maxim, ‘Find something good and praise it,’ which he picked up at Reader’s Digest. It was evident in all of his writing for the magazine.”
Though it’s sometimes seen today as a “grandma” magazine (in spite of its large global readership), Reader’s Digest was hugely influential in the 1950s and ’60s. As the highest-circulation magazine in the United States, it often influenced public opinion on such matters as communism, democracy, morality and values.
Haley started writing for Reader’s Digest as a freelancer in the 1950s. He joined the publication as a reporter in 1959 and eventually retired as a senior editor in 1991. He died the following year.
He was proud of his tenure at the magazine and acknowledged an “undying debt” for helping him succeed.
When the full version of his novel was published in 1977, Haley 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 origins.
“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 peeking 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.”
