Back to Results
Jacket worn by Alex Haley while writing Roots, late 1960s-early 1970s
This jacket was a gift from Alex Haley to Lora-Ellen McKinney. Haley was a writer, most famous for writing Roots: The Saga of an American Family which was adapted into a television miniseries. McKinney is a writer from Seattle and daughter of civil rights leader and pastor Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney. They were both attending a wedding and got into a deep discussion about writing. Haley gifted McKinney this jacket, saying that it was one he wore while working on Roots. Haley died in Seattle in 1992 while on a speaking tour.
ID Number: 2017.59.10
Date: Circa 1965-1975
Physical Description: 1 Jacket; leather; 29 in.H x 22 in.W
Credit: MOHAI, 2017.59.10