Tennessee schools bans Pulitzer Prize-winning book 'Roots'

One of the most renowned novels in Black American culture — Alex Haley’s Roots: The Saga of an American Family — has been banned from school libraries in the Tennessee county of Knox. Published in 1976, a New York Times bestseller and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, the title is one of 11 that have been added to the county’s list of now-124 banned books over the past year.

According to local news outlet WBIR, “The district is able to remove the book from shelves under the Age-Appropriate Materials Act (AAMA). The law broadly restricts materials from being available to students if they contain nudity, sexual abuse, sexual content or ‘excessive violence.’ While it still allowed materials to be taught during class, the law required materials to be removed from school library shelves.”

Knox County Schools spokeswoman Carly Harrington asserts that "librarians are expected to incorporate the legal standard into their collection review and management processes. This includes elevating titles to the district review committee if an AAMA concern is identified."

While WBIR reports that such complaints can be raised by staff, students, or parents — though the schools don’t document who raised the original claim — recently enacted Tennessee law allows any resident to petition for banning a title, including residents who are neither students nor parents. According to the American Library Association, 92 percent of book challenges across the country are leveled by pressure groups or politicians, with less than 3 percent coming from parents.

Roots, notes WBIR, is “credited with raising awareness about Black American history and sparking interest by all Americans in their genealogy.” Ironically, while the book is under attack in local schools, a giant statue of its author holding a book stands in a Knoxville park bearing his name — a testament to his work’s importance. The novel was adapted into a hit TV mini-series in 1977, and is ranked 66th on the Writers Guild of America’s list of the best TV series of all time.

"Prior to its release, the impact of slavery was easy to diminish or deny by those that benefited the most from that system," said Annastasia Williams, bookshop director at Knoxville’s The Bottom bookstore and cultural organization. She told Knox News that she questions the book-banning process, arguing that there is "no transparency on how these decisions are made and how the public can comment or push back on such censorship."

Knox County Schools’ list of banned books includes many beloved titles, such as Sherman Alexi’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, and Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic.