Tennessee Goes All-In on White Supremacy
Erases majority Black congressional district, bans "Roots" in Knox County
Just one week after the Tennessee General Assembly’s White Supremacist Supermajority erased the power of Black voters in Memphis, Knox County Schools banned Alex Haley’s “Roots” from school libraries.
WATE TV in Knoxville reports:
Knox County Schools has banned “Roots,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novel by Alex Haley that recounts the multi-generational struggle of his family, starting from the mid-Atlantic slave trade.
Under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act, parents can file a report if they believe classroom materials are inappropriate. KCS banned “Roots” because of Chapter 84, which describes the rape of an enslaved woman by a plantation owner.
“I do remember being a child and watching that miniseries with the world,” said Rev. Reneé Kesler, the president of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. “There was a lot, and it was overwhelming, but I’ve never forgotten it.”
It seems the Volunteer State’s leadership is eager to get back to its Confederate past.
In this troubling time, I’m grateful we have leaders like Rep. Justin Pearson and Sen. Charlane Oliver leading a powerful resistance to this injustice.
