A Tennessee school district has banned Roots, the groundbreaking novel by Alex Haley that remains one of the most influential works about the transatlantic slave trade. Knox County Schools (KCS) removed the book from library shelves under a state law that has led to hundreds of titles being pulled from schools, alarming free expression advocates.
Details of the Ban
First published in 1976, Roots: The Saga of an American Family traces the story of Kunta Kinte, who was kidnapped from Gambia and sold into slavery in North America. The novel, which won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into a landmark miniseries, chronicles six generations of Kinte's descendants up to Haley himself. It became a cultural phenomenon, reshaping public understanding of slavery and African American heritage.
KCS acted under Tennessee's Age-Appropriate Materials Act, passed in 2022. The law requires schools to maintain public lists of library materials and review them for appropriateness based on feedback from parents, guardians, students, or staff. It broadly prohibits titles containing nudity, sexual abuse, sexual content, or "excessive violence."
District's Statement
Carly Harrington, a KCS spokesperson, confirmed the decision, stating: "As a district, we recognize the immense cultural and historical significance of Alex Haley's Roots to our nation, to Tennessee, and particularly to Knoxville. The decision made to remove Roots from school libraries is in no way a commentary on the literary or cultural value of the novel, but the result of adherence to state law." She noted that a passage in the novel's 84th chapter was deemed not "age appropriate" under the law, adding that "broader themes or historical significance of a work as a whole is not a consideration under the law."
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that the KCS book-banning committee had previously reviewed an excerpt from Roots and did not recommend banning it. KCS did not clarify what new concerns prompted the removal. The decision means the material can still be taught in classes but cannot be available on library shelves.
Reactions and Context
Bill Haley, Alex Haley's grandson and co-founder of the Inherited Roots Project, called the decision "incredibly short-sighted and without merit." He quoted his grandfather: "I think one of the most fascinating things you can do after you learn about your own people is to study something about the history and culture of other people." He questioned why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not also banned if offense is the criterion.
Tasslyn Magnusson, senior adviser at PEN America, said banning books like Roots "robs students of a critical connection point as they learn about the world and America's past." She emphasized that Roots provides a powerful entry point into understanding the slave trade's impact without being exploitative.
Other titles banned by KCS since early 2025 include The Handmaid's Tale, Water for Elephants, and The Kite Runner. According to a report from October 2025, Tennessee ranks third in the country with over 1,600 books banned in the previous year, trailing only Texas and Florida.
Alex Haley spent part of his youth in Tennessee and later lived in Knoxville. A statue of him stands in East Knoxville, and he is buried on the grounds of his childhood home in Henning, now a museum. Magnusson warned that taking book excerpts out of context to justify bans harms students by limiting their ability to understand stories and evaluate the world independently.
