*A Tennessee school district has pulled one of American literature’s most significant works from its shelves. Knox County Schools confirmed that Alex Haley’s “Roots” has been banned, joining six other titles flagged for removal from libraries and classrooms in the months ahead, Knox News reports.
The 1976 novel holds a singular place in American literary and cultural history. Few novels before it had brought the horrors of the Middle Passage into such vivid focus for mainstream American readers, tracing the journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic over nearly three centuries. Annastasia Williams, bookshop director at The Bottom bookstore and cultural organization, described the book’s lasting significance in stark terms.
“Prior to its release, the impact of slavery was easy to diminish or deny by those that benefited the most from that system,” Williams said.
“‘Roots’ created an opening to reengage with how the history of slavery is taught in American schools and to the American public. Haley’s work showcased the violence, brutality, and aftermath of slavery, but it also showcased the resilience and resistance of Black people and families that spans generations,” Williams added.
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“Both the book and subsequent TV miniseries were cultural phenomenons that started conversations, shifted perspectives, and contributed to a collective empathy that the U.S. had not seen or heard before,” she continued.
“Roots” now joins 119 titles Knox County Schools has banned over the past two years, part of a nationwide trend of removals tied to content flagged for sexual references as well as LGBTQ+ and race-related subjects.
“Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ was instrumental in helping people from across the country realize and understand a fraction of the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade and the beyond cruel treatment of enslaved people for about 250 years in our country,” Williams said.
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