Tombstone Of ‘Roots’ Author’s Grandmother Vandalized: ‘White Lives Matter’

"Roots" author Alex Haley poses in this 1988 photo. (AP Photo)
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JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — Police say the tombstone of a relative of “Roots” author Alex Haley has been vandalized with the words “White Lives Matter.”

The Jackson Sun reports that Savannah Police Chief Gary Will says the tombstone of Queen Haley was spray painted earlier this week. Queen Haley was Alex Haley’s grandmother.

Alex Haley was the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” which is the story of an enslaved African-American family. The book was later made into a TV miniseries. Alex Haley died in 1992.

The police chief says a professional cleaning company has been hired by the cemetery to remove the paint. Will says a protective coating will be added to the stone so that if it is painted again it will come right off.

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