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What is Family?

October 21, 2009

Blue_morpho_butterfly

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.

—Alex Haley

6 Comments leave one →
  1. October 21, 2009 7:18 pm

    Oh, look, a plagiarist!

    Alex Haley claimed that he spent ten years researching his heritage for his historical novel, Roots, which in 1977 was adapted as a TV miniseries. That same year he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the Spingarn Medal for the book, but a year later his reputation was marred by an accusation of plagiarism. In 1978, author Harold Courlander went to the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York to charge that Roots was substantially plagiarized from Courlander’s novel The African. Courlander’s witnesses included Michael Wood of Columbia University, a Professor of English and an expert on plagiarism. Wood opined in a report that the evidence of plagiarism in Roots “is clear and irrefutable” and that the copying of passages “is significant and extensive”.[citation needed] During the trial, presiding U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Ward stated, “Copying there is, period.”[citation needed]

    After a five-week trial in federal district court, Courlander and Haley settled the case, with Haley making a financial settlement of $650,000[4] and a statement that “Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials from The African by Harold Courlander found their way into his book Roots.” Haley claimed that the appropriation of Courlander’s passages had been unintentional.[5]

    During the trial, Alex Haley had maintained that he had not read The African before writing Roots. Shortly after the trial, however, Joseph Bruchac, an instructor of black literature at Skidmore College, came forward to swear in an affidavit that in 1970 or 1971 — five or six years before the publication of Roots — he had discussed The African with Haley and had, in fact, given his “own personal copy of The African to Mr. Haley.”[citation needed] In a later interview with BBC Television, Judge Ward stated, “Alex Haley perpetrated a hoax on the public.”

    You should probably stick with mostly made up people like Confucious.

    • mlabot permalink*
      October 21, 2009 7:22 pm

      Personal F. You do not have to like the person or agree with all of their actions to enjoy the beauty of a thought.

  2. Ross permalink
    October 22, 2009 4:57 pm

    L. Marie is really knocking it out of the park with these quotes on her blog, isnt she? lol

    • mlabot permalink*
      October 22, 2009 10:03 pm

      I don’t mind you guys. Your stance speaks more of you than it does of the person quoted. You should lighten up a little and learn to enjoy life.

  3. Ross permalink
    October 25, 2009 6:25 pm

    Lighten up, says the woman who spends hours upon hours writing an anti-gay blog. At least Beetle writes about pro-family stuff, environment related entries, etc. L. Marie’s consist entirely of anti-gay entries with a few quotes sprinkled in. Sounds like you need to lighten up a bit too, L. Marie

    • mlabot permalink*
      October 28, 2009 8:51 pm

      Ross Ross Ross. Given what is at stake, would you just remain silent?

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