Knox County adds Roots to banned list

Knox County Schools said on May 14 that Alex Haley’s 1976 novel “Roots” had been added to the district’s list of books removed from school library shelves. The move placed one of the best-known works about slavery and family lineage in the United States onto a district list that local news outlets said now totals 124 titles. District spokeswoman Carly Harrington told local media the book was removed under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. The law allows schools to pull library materials that contain nudity, sexual content, sexual abuse or what the statute describes as excessive violence. ### When did Knox County say “Roots” was added? WBIR reported on May 14 that Knox County Schools had recently added “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” to its banned-books list, citing Harrington. WATE reported the same day that “Roots” appeared on an updated district list of titles to be removed from school libraries. Both outlets said the district tied the removal to the Age-Appropriate Materials Act. (wbir.com) May 14 is the date attached to the updated list referenced in local coverage. WATE described that document as “UPDATED Book Titles 5.14.26,” and WBIR said the district had “recently” added Haley’s book to the list. ### What is the district saying about why the book came off shelves? Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act was passed in 2022 and requires school systems to maintain library inventories and review materials for age appropriateness, WATE reported. (wbir.com) WBIR said the law broadly restricts student access in school libraries to materials containing nudity, sexual abuse, sexual content or excessive violence, though classroom instruction can still include such works. Knox County Schools’ own policy materials say separate procedures govern school-library materials and reconsideration requests. A district policy page says students, parents or guardians, and school employees may submit feedback on library materials, with school and district administrators responsible for evaluating that feedback and issuing determinations. (wbir.com) ### How large is Knox County’s removal list now? Knox County’s list now stands at 124 titles, according to the card’s cited local reporting and secondary local coverage published on May 15. Knox News reported the district’s removals now include 119 titles, while other same-day coverage referenced 124 titles, indicating local reporting has not been uniform on the running total. (help.knoxschools.org) WBIR’s report identified “Roots” as one of the books newly added to the district’s list. WATE said other books previously removed under the same law included “Water for Elephants,” “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and “A Clockwork Orange.” ### Why does “Roots” stand out on that list? Alex Haley’s “Roots” was published in 1976 and became one of the most widely known American books about slavery, ancestry and Black family history. (knoxnews.com) WBIR said the novel was later adapted into a 1977 ABC miniseries that drew 130 million viewers. WATE said the book won the Pulitzer Prize; other coverage and historical accounts often describe Haley as having received a special Pulitzer citation tied to the work. (wbir.com) Tennessee ties also make the decision locally resonant. WBIR and WATE both noted Haley spent part of his life in Tennessee, and WATE said there is a statue of Haley in East Knoxville and the Children’s Defense Fund Alex Haley Farm in Clinton. ### Where can parents or students check what happens next? Knox County Schools says its library-material and reconsideration procedures are posted in district policy materials online. (wbir.com) The district’s board page says the nine-member Knox County Board of Education oversees policy for the school system, while administrative procedures assign reviews to school and district staff. The updated book-removal list referenced in local coverage was posted on May 14. Knox County Schools’ public materials indicate future policy changes or oversight actions would run through district administrative procedures and, where required, the Board of Education. (wate.com) (help.knoxschools.org)