Museum of Appalachia to honor Alex Haley at 'Heroes of Southern Appalachia' event

On March 1, the Museum of Appalachia will celebrate the late Alex Haley at its “Heroes of Southern Appalachia” award ceremony. Lamar Alexander, former Tennessee governor, University of Tennessee president, U.S. education secretary and U.S. senator, will present the award to Haley's family.

“We celebrate Alex Haley because he was God’s storyteller,” Alexander stated in a museum news release. “At the peak of his career, when he was perhaps the world’s best-known writer, he sunk his roots into East Tennessee and reminded us to ‘Find the Good and Praise It.’ He had a kind word for everyone. He left us too soon because we loved him so much that we just used him up.”

Haley is best known for his 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Roots: The Saga of an American Family." The book sold more than 15 million copies in seven months and its television adaptation waswatched by a record breaking 130 million people. Haley’s work is credited with cultivating a widespread interest in genealogy and an appreciation for African American history.

Gary R. Wade, retired Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice and Museum of Appalachia board chairman, stated that Haley is a most worthy recipient of this year’s award.

“Mr. Haley contributed so much to the understanding of both African American and Southern Appalachian culture and went to great lengths to highlight their intersection,” Wade said. “He found that these cultures are a lot more alike than they are different. It is in the spirit of his motto, ‘Find the Good and Praise It,’ that we honor him with this award.”

At the time of his death in 1992, Haley was writing a book about Southern Appalachia. The novel featured a character based on Steve Parkey, an African American blacksmith from Hancock County whose shop is displayed on the museum grounds. Through this book, Haley sought to reshape the image of the mountain people that he had come to know. Six months before his death, Haley told , Haley told "Journal: Appalachia" that he was “irritated” by the depiction of Appalachia in popular culture. “The truth as I have come to know it is so very different. Here are a people with rich heritage, marvelous lifestyle, atmosphere.”

Haley spent much of his later life in East Tennessee. In 1986, then-Gov. Alexander introduced Haley to John Rice Irwin, founder of the Museum of Appalachia. After a visit to the museum, Haley decided to live in the Norris/Clinton area and bought a farm from Irwin - a farm now owned by the Children’s Defense Fund.

Past recipients of the “Heroes of Southern Appalachia” award include former UT President Joe Johnson, WBIR-TV general manager Jim Hart, U.S. Army Gen. Carl Stiner, and U.S. Sen. Howard Baker. The museum’s criteria for choosing recipients for the award includes honoring people from the Southern Appalachian region who exemplify the characteristics of perseverance, fortitude, self-reliance, and service.

Tickets for the event, set for 7 p.m. March 1, at the museum's Heritage Hall can be purchased on the museum's website at museumofappalachia.org. Tickets are almost sold out, according to a museum spokesperson. The event is presented by KaTom Restaurant Supply, according to the release. Proceeds will benefit the museum, a 501(c)3 organization, and are used in support of its mission to preserve Southern Appalachian history and culture. The museum can also be contacted at 865-494-7680 for more information.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Museum to honor the late Alex Haley as a Southern Appalachia 'hero'