Knox County Schools removed Alex Haley’s “Roots” from district libraries after a complaint triggered reviews under Tennessee’s Age Appropriate Materials Act. Family members and supporters say the decision disregards the author’s legacy and the book’s role in c
When a school library shelf goes quiet, it doesn’t just change what students can pick up. In Knox County, the removal of Alex Haley’s “Roots” has already turned into a fight over memory—where it belongs, and who gets to read it.
The Knox County Schools district banned “Roots: The Saga of an American Family” last week, according to a spokesperson who confirmed the decision to the Knoxville News Sentinel on May 14. The book was removed along with six others, prompting national and international backlash.
The district said the change was driven by a Tennessee law that tightly restricts public school library content. after a passage from “Roots” ran afoul of that statute. The spokesperson said the decision was not meant as a judgment on the book’s “literary or cultural value. ” but as “adherence to state law.”.
For the Haley family, the timing is what cuts deepest. They are marking the 50th anniversary of the book’s publishing as the district’s action unfolds. even though “Roots” has long been recognized for its cultural reach. The book was adapted into a popular TV series and was voted as an official Tennessee state book in 2024.
In an interview with The Tennessean, William “Bill” Haley—the grandson of Alex Haley and the ninth generation descendant of “Roots” main character Kunta Kinte—called the school decision “shocking.”
“I had to do a double take,” he said, describing the moment he learned the book was banned. “Like this can’t be true.”
Bill Haley. who co-founded Inherited Roots. a genealogical educational initiative following Alex Haley’s legacy. tied the author’s impact directly to Tennessee. Alex Haley was named a national adviser for the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville. then moved back to East Tennessee and lived on a farm there until his death.
Haley’s local honors are visible: a statue of him reading a book erected in 1998 in Knoxville’s Morningside Park. with that portion now dubbed the Alex Haley Heritage Square. His personal papers. including a draft of “Roots. ” are kept at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. and his Pulitzer Prize Special Award certificate is on display at the Tennessee State Museum. There is also a museum dedicated entirely to Alex Haley’s legacy in Henning, Tennessee.
“My grandfather wrote ‘Roots’ not only to fill a void for African American families and families of African descendants, but to have conversation and to share our common heritage, and find out about each other,” Bill Haley said.
Tennessee state Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, who co-sponsored the bill nominating “Roots” as an official state book, said the novel helps “Tennesseans understand American identity, politics and culture.”
Knox County’s spokesperson previously told The Tennessean that the school board recognizes “the immense cultural and historical significance of Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ to our nation. to Tennessee. and to Knoxville in particular.” But she said the district removed the book after a complaint came to the board about a specific chapter.
The complaint centered on a chapter that depicts the rape of an enslaved woman by a plantation owner. The bestselling novel is based on Alex Haley’s family history and follows Kunta Kinte. who was captured in the Gambia and sold as a slave in North America. The story then traces Kinte’s lineage in the United States across generations up to Haley.
According to the spokesperson. the book was flagged under the Tennessee Age Appropriate Materials Act. a law passed in 2022 that tightened restrictions on public school library content. The spokesperson said the chapter ran afoul of the law because the rape is described with “sadomasochistic abuse. ” a phrase added to the state law in 2024.
She also said the excerpt had been reviewed previously and was not found out of compliance. A second review was conducted after concern was raised about a different passage in the text. Following that review. the committee determined that the newly submitted passage in chapter 84 met the threshold for removal under the law.
Actress Leslie Uggams. nominated for an Emmy in 1977 for her role as Kizzy—the enslaved woman whose rape is depicted in the book—said in a news release that the review committee’s conclusion is misguided. saying “an enslaved girl’s rape by her enslaver is ‘inappropriate’ for students to read?. No — that rape happens is what’s ‘inappropriate’.”.
For Bill Haley, the ban isn’t just about one book. He said it feels like his family is being pushed out of the place they say helped shape Alex Haley and his work.
“It hurt so deeply, because my grandfather is a native son of Tennessee … his life began and ended in Tennessee,” he said. “He had a great love for the state, and I believe the people of Tennessee have had great love for him.”
““Tennessee has always been the place he felt rooted,” he said. “It was really a slap in the face.”
He framed the decision as a recurrence of history itself—an attempt to control what people are allowed to confront.
“With the entire premise of “Roots” being about trying to find familial roots amid generational trauma, Bill Haley said the decision to ban the book felt like a repeat of history.”
“Tennessee is my grandfather’s home,” he said. “And he has been acknowledged in his home in such profound ways. But this feels like coming to your home and being locked out and people saying you are no longer welcome in a place that you lived and grew up in.”
The broader ripple is already visible in Knox County’s library numbers. The May vote pushes the total number of books removed from the Knox County school system since the passage of the Tennessee Age Appropriate Materials Act to 119.
The removal fits a pattern seen statewide: as public schools try to comply with increasingly restrictive state laws. books focused largely on race and LGBTQ+ topics have been removed more often. A 2025 investigation by The Tennessean found that across Tennessee. a large percentage of books removed from public school libraries in the 2023-2024 school year had LGBTQ+ characters or themes or discussed issues of racism.
After that investigation, Tennessee was ranked third in the country for the number of book removals in 2025, per PEN America’s annual study.
Bill Haley said “Roots” being targeted is symptomatic of what he sees as a wider national move to restrict education.
“If we don’t speak up about these things. then we’re essentially allowing a permission structure for this type of activity to continue. ” he said. “The fact is that (the rape) was part of history for the period of enslavement. When we make an effort to hide information. to hide education from people. then we’re doing people a disservice. because then you’re not able to have that conversation.”.
“This country was founded on the First Amendment,” he said. “Why take away someone’s speech on something, even if it’s something that people find uncomfortable and don’t like?”
The USA TODAY Network – The South region’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
Knox County Schools Roots: The Saga of an American Family Alex Haley Tennessee Age Appropriate Materials Act book bans Kunta Kinte First Amendment PEN America Inherited Roots