Books relating to the stories and histories of Black people and other marginalized groups are increasingly being banned by schools and even the federal government.

Now, one Tennessee county has banned one of the most famous books relating to slavery, written by one of the state’s most famous authors.

Knox County Schools bans ‘Roots’ by Tennesseean Alex Haley

WBIR reported that the Knox County school system has removed Alex Haley’s acclaimed book, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, from its school libraries.

The book was removed under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act, a state law that requires books to be removed from school libraries if they are deemed to contain offensive material such as nudity, sexual content or “excessive violence.”

Roots, first published in 1976, tells the story of Haley’s family beginning with the brutal enslavement of his ancestor Kunta Kinte from West Africa.

Haley, who spent part of his childhood in Tennessee and returned to live in the state during the latter years of his life, has regularly been honored in the state, with a large statue of the author sitting in Morningside Park in Knoxville.

Roots was a New York Times bestseller and won a Pulitzer Prize. The book has also been adapted multiple times, most notably as a sensational 1977 ABC miniseries watched by an estimated 130 million viewers.

Over 100 books banned in county as not ‘age-appropriate’

Carly Harrington, a spokesperson for Knox County Schools, confirmed that Roots was removed from the county’s school libraries.

She told WBIR 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.”

Removed books can still be taught in class but must be taken off library shelves.

Under the law, objections to specific books can be made by students, parents or school staff, with decisions about content made at the school district level.

Roots was one of six books chosen to be removed earlier this month, along with books such as The Go Ask Alice Book of Answers by the Columbia University Health Education Program, This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson, and the graphic novel Wonder Woman: Dead Earth by Daniel Warren Johnson.

In total, Knox County Schools has banned 119 books, including famous and acclaimed works such as The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

Thousands of books removed across the U.S. as conservative policies proliferate

The removals by Knox County Schools are part of a growing trend of book bans across the country.

As Blavity previously reported, the organization PEN America estimated that more than 10,000 books were banned from schools and libraries during the 2023-24 academic year alone.

Many of these bans were promoted by laws passed in conservative states such as Florida.

Continuing the trend, PEN America reported that 6,780 books were banned from schools and libraries in 23 states during the one-year period from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, with a growing number of these banned books being works of nonfiction.

This trend is being exacerbated by the policies of the Trump administration, with its campaign against DEI and so-called divisive material leading to books and other information about Black history and other marginalized groups being removed from military institutions, federal parks, museums and more.

Given this trend, it is not surprising that a book like Roots, with its uncompromising look at slavery and anti-Black oppression, would be deemed inappropriate.

While these bans have become increasingly common, they are still disturbing, and the removal of Roots is a reminder of the extent to which some people in positions of power and influence are attempting to censor and whitewash American history.