By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers.
Tennessee ranks fourth in the U.S. for the number of books banned from school libraries, coming in behind only Florida, Texas and Iowa, with 2,016 titles prohibited from being on the shelves.
After the recent banning of “Roots,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by the late Alex Haley, who lived in Tennessee for portions of his life, in Knox County and the subsequent egg on the face of the entire state nationally, the Knox County Schools Board is asking the state for clarification of the law permitting books to be pulled.
The Age Appropriate Materials Act was passed in 2022 and strengthened in 2024 — the same year “Roots” was named an official state book — but gaps remain. For instance, the law permits challenges and bans to occur based on a single book passage. Depending on how it’s bound and what edition it is, “Roots” ranges from 689 pages to 912, yet was yanked from school library shelves based on a single passage detailing the rape of an enslaved woman.
Contributor Angela Dennis reports on the latest from Knox County.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
Knox County Schools is asking the Tennessee Legislature to fix the state’s Age Appropriate Materials Law after a challenge to Alex Haley’s “Roots” got the book banned. (Photo: Angela Dennis/Tennessee Lookout)
by Angela Dennis
Knox County Schools Superintendent Jon Rysewyk reversed a ban on “Roots” May 26, returning the 1976 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to shelves at seven KCS high schools effective immediately. But the law that forced the committee’s hand is still on the books. And Thursday night, the Knox County Board of Education voted 5-4 to tell the Tennessee General Assembly to fix it.
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FEATURED ON THE LOOKOUT
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is pushing back on Tennessee’s Attorney General over a new law aimed at Mulroy’s office. (Photo: Karen Pulfer-Focht/Tennessee Lookout)
by Sam Stockard
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy filed a response after Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sought to dismiss his lawsuit in Shelby County Chancery Court. Mulroy is challenging new state laws that target his office.
FEATURED ON THE LOOKOUT
Erlanger Baroness Hospital in Chattanooga uses the Sentri7 drug diversion software, which failed for months to raise alarms about a nurse who was stealing fentanyl in 2025, according to a Tennessee Board of Nursing consent order. (Brett Kelman/KFF Health News)
by Brett Kelman and Darius Tahir, KFF Health News
Erlanger Baroness Hospital in Chattanooga uses the newest line of defense against drug diversion: Sentri7, medication-monitoring software powered by artificial intelligence and designed to detect missing drugs faster than any human can. But for months at Erlanger, Sentri7 failed to raise alarms, overlooking missing drugs and other “inconsistencies” that “should have been flagged.”
ICYMI
COMMENTARY
Tennessee Realtors say funds from political action committee attacks communities, violates ethics | Rodney Tate, Jr. and Nathan Weinberg
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