KNOXVILLE — Knox County Schools Superintendent Jon Rysewyk announced on Tuesday that Alex Haley’s 'Roots' would be immediately returned to circulation in school libraries, reversing its removal on May 12, 2026. The book had been pulled after a district review committee determined a scene in Chapter 84 depicting rape violated Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act.

Rysewyk said, “While I firmly believe the district review committee applied the parameters established in the AAMA consistently and in good faith—using the same process they have applied to every book reviewed under the guidelines of the 2024 amendment—the May 12, 2026 determination to remove Roots has weighed heavily on me, as I know it has on many members of our community.” He added that he spent the week consulting independently with multiple attorneys to reassess the book’s alignment with state law. Rysewyk wrote, “The AAMA requires staff to apply the criminal definitions for 'nudity, descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, excess violence, or sadomasochistic abuse' as defined in T.C.A. § 39-17-901 when evaluating the appropriateness of a book for library circulation.” He noted discrepancies among legal experts on how those definitions apply to 'Roots' and said, “Removing any book from circulation is–and should be–an immense decision. Our intent will always be to err on the side of access, which is the decision I have made with regard to Roots.”

Knox County School Board District 4 member Katherine Bike had urged colleagues on May 20 to keep the book available, saying, “I do not believe this is what the Tennessee General Assembly intended,” and citing Haley’s ties to Tennessee and the proximity of his statue to the board meeting location.

Alex Haley spent part of his childhood in Henning, Tennessee, and some of his final years in Clinton. A statue of him holding a book stands in Knoxville’s Haley Heritage Square. His grandson, Bill Haley, said, “I’m trying to understand how in 2024 my grandfather was named a Hero of Southern Appalachia, where I accepted the award on his behalf, and Roots was deemed an official state book, but two years later it’s banned? How do you ban a book by an author, whose local statue literally has him holding a book?”