Knox County adds 'Roots' to banned list

Knox County Schools has added Alex Haley’s 1976 novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” to its list of books barred from school library shelves, according to district spokeswoman Carly Harrington and local reports published on May 14 and May 15. WBIR reported the removal on Thursday, citing Harrington, and said the district acted under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox News reported Friday that the addition brought the districtwide list to 119 titles. The Tennessee law cited in the reports allows districts to remove books from school libraries if they contain nudity, sexual content, sexual abuse or what the statute calls excessive violence. WBIR reported that the law still permits materials to be taught in class even if they are removed from library shelves. Knox County Schools has not publicly detailed, in the reporting reviewed, what specific passage or standard led to “Roots” being added. (wbir.com) ### When did the district say “Roots” was added? WBIR’s May 14 report said Harrington told the station that “Roots” was recently added to the district’s banned-books list. The station’s report was updated at 4:06 p.m. Eastern on May 14, and a related WBIR video was posted on May 15. Knox News reported on May 15 that Knox County Schools was removing the book from its libraries and said the action was part of a broader district ban. (wbir.com) That report said the list now includes 119 titles. ### What is the law Knox County Schools is using? Tennessee’s HB 843, enacted as Public Chapter 782 and effective July 1, 2024, revised the state’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act of 2022. (wbir.com) A fiscal summary from the Tennessee General Assembly said the measure declares certain materials inappropriate for any K-12 grade and bars those materials from being maintained in school library collections. (knoxnews.com) A 2025 opinion from the Tennessee attorney general said the law gives local school bodies broad discretion to adopt and implement procedures for maintaining age-appropriate collections. State library guidance says school employees, students and parents or guardians may appeal a local determination about whether materials are inappropriate for a school library. (wapp.capitol.tn.gov) ### Why does “Roots” stand out on that list? Alex Haley received a 1977 Special Citation from the Pulitzer Prizes for “Roots,” which Pulitzer describes as the story of a Black family from its origins in Africa through seven generations in America. Britannica describes the book as a combination of history and fiction and says Haley spent 12 years tracing the saga. WBIR said the novel helped raise awareness about Black American history and interest in genealogy. (tn.gov) The station also reported that the ABC adaptation aired in 1977 and drew 130 million viewers. ### How does Knox County handle book removals and challenges? Knox County Schools says in its policy materials that information specific to student-accessible library materials is governed by Board Policy I-241 on school libraries and related administrative procedures. (pulitzer.org) The district also says students, parents or guardians, and school employees may provide feedback on library materials and that administration is responsible for evaluating that feedback and issuing a determination. (wbir.com) The district’s online policy portal says board policies and procedures are publicly available on the Knox County Schools website. That means the rules governing how books are reviewed, removed and challenged can be examined through the district’s posted materials, even though the district’s rationale for this specific title was not detailed in the local reporting reviewed here. (help.knoxschools.org) ### How broad is the book-ban issue in Tennessee? PEN America said its 2024-2025 Index recorded 6,870 instances of school book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts. The group said Tennessee enacted a statewide mechanism in 2024 but that it had not yet been reported as used in the way Utah and South Carolina had used theirs. In a November 2024 statement about Wilson County Schools, PEN America said Tennessee’s revised law had prompted removals of hundreds of books and cited reports that more than 1,100 books had been removed from public schools statewide since HB 843 took effect. (help.knoxschools.org) PEN America is an advocacy organization, and its characterization of the law as a driver of bans was its own assessment. (pen.org) Knox County Schools’ next public steps are likely to be visible through its posted board policies, library procedures and any future updates to district materials lists, which the district makes available through its website. (knoxschools.org) (pen.org)