A Tennessee school district has removed Roots, Alex Haley's groundbreaking novel about the transatlantic slave trade, from its library shelves under a state law that has triggered hundreds of book removals across the state.
Knox County Schools (KCS) cited the Age-Appropriate Materials Act, first passed in 2022, which requires schools to maintain public lists of library materials and review them for appropriateness based on feedback. The law prohibits titles containing nudity, sexual abuse, sexual content, or “excessive violence.”
First published in 1976, Roots: The Saga of an American Family chronicles six generations of Kunta Kinte's descendants, from his abduction in Gambia to Haley himself. The novel won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a landmark miniseries that transformed public understanding of slavery and African American heritage.
KCS spokesperson Carly Harrington stated that the decision was not a commentary on the book's literary or cultural value but a result of adhering to state law. She noted that a passage in Chapter 84 was deemed not “age appropriate.” The district's review committee had previously reviewed an excerpt without recommending a ban.
Alex Haley's grandson, Bill Haley, called the decision “incredibly short-sighted and without merit.” He questioned why Roots should be banned while other classics like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain accessible.
Tasslyn Magnusson of PEN America argued that banning Roots “robs students of a critical connection point” to understand slavery's inhumanity. She emphasized that the law takes excerpts out of context, harming students' ability to evaluate the world independently.
Tennessee ranks third in the U.S. for book bans, with over 1,600 titles removed in the past year, trailing only Texas and Florida. Other works banned by KCS include The Handmaid's Tale, Water for Elephants, and The Kite Runner.
Alex Haley spent part of his youth in Tennessee and is buried in Henning, where his childhood home is now a museum. A statue of him stands in East Knoxville.
