Following significant controversy over the removal of Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ from library shelves in Knox County Schools, the district announced the book will be back – effective immediately.
WVLT reports:
Knox County Schools has reversed a decision to ban the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” from all school library shelves.
KCS banned the book earlier this month under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act (AAMA), a state law that broadly restricts materials if they contain nudity, sexual abuse, sexual content or “excessive violence.”
District officials said the flagged section of “Roots” fell under “sadomasochistic abuse” as defined by state code. They emphasized that under changes to the law made in 2024, they were directed to evaluate only the specific passages flagged instead of the overall historical, cultural or literary value of the book.
