William Alex “Bill” Haley Jr., a grandson of world-famous author Alex Haley and co-founder of the Inherited Roots Project, is scheduled to speak at the University of Tennessee at Martin Fall ENTICE Series.
Haley will speak at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 23, in the Phillip Watkins Auditorium in the Boling University Center. The theme for the fall series is “Our Freedom, Our Future,” recognizing the nation’s 250th anniversary.
ENTICE stands for “Evolving Narratives: Tennessee Initiative for Civic Engagement.” Continuing in the tradition of UT Martin’s Civil Rights Conference, which ran from 2001 to 2025, the ENTICE Series blends a slate of speakers with the arts, social topics and student-related events.
Haley is the co-founder of the Inherited Roots Project, a nonprofit organization focused on celebrating and connecting the African diaspora – particularly African Americans – with their ancestral roots in Africa. It aims to empower, elevate, engage and educate through various initiatives that foster cultural awareness and community involvement.
Haley will share family stories of Alex Haley and discuss his grandfather’s lasting legacy that was fostered in West Tennessee. He will also attend the “Roots” screening on Tuesday, Sept. 22, in Room 121 of the Holt Humanities Building on the UT Martin main campus during the four-site community screening event of the 1977 miniseries.
More information about the “Roots” screenings, which begin Tuesday, Sept. 8, can be found at news.utm.edu.
The Fall ENTICE Series also includes Rissi Palmer (first name is pronounced “REE-see”), a singer, songwriter, author and media host, who will speak at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 5, in Watkins Auditorium. Palmer is a guitarist and will discuss her journey as Black country music artist and how other Black artists navigate the country music industry.
She is the host of Apple Radio’s “Color Me Country.” Her ENTICE conversation is entitled “Color Me Country: The Soul of Country Music,” and she will perform a short acoustic set.
Palmer published a children’s book, “Color Me Country: A Celebration of Black Women Who Shaped Country Music,” in May, and will be on hand to sign copies after her talk.
For more information about UT Martin, visit www.utm.edu or call 1-800-829-UTM1 (-8861).
PHOTO: Bill Haley Jr. (left) and Rissi Palmer will spotlight the Fall ENTICE Series in the Phillip Watkins Auditorium in the Boling University Center.
