KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A board member for Knox County Schools is asking colleagues to keep Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Roots,” on library shelves, according to a memo written May 20.
District 4 board member Katherine Bike sent a memo to colleagues saying, “I do not believe this is what the Tennessee General Assembly intended,” noting the book’s strong ties to the state and the statue of the author, Alex Hayley, being two miles from where the board meets.
The book was removed after concerns were raised over passages that district officials determined violated Tennessee law regarding age-appropriate material in schools. The Age-Appropriate Materials Act regulates books and other media in public school libraries. The law bans content featuring nudity, sexual conduct or excessive violence…