Tempers flare as preacher, activists clash outside library board meeting on LGTBQ+ books
A group of librarians will decide later this year if books on LGTBQ+ topics remain in the Harrison County Library System.
The topic attracted a crowd Monday to the regular meeting of the Harrison County Library Board, which heard from a preacher in favor of banning the books and saw a group of LGTBQ+ advocates pack a normally sleepy board meeting.
Things were tense after the meeting.
“Keep your religion at your church!” shouted an LGTBQ+ activist at the Rev. Blair Bradley as he left the West Biloxi Library.
“No, thank you,” he replied.
That exchanged occurred after Bradley implored the board to remove LGTBQ+ books, specifically transgender ones. Bradley and a member of his church, Coleen Ticker, had made similar comments to the Biloxi City Council last week.
Only Bradley and Tucker were scheduled to speak, as Library Board rules dictate that speakers must submit a request to speak at least a week in advance.
“My issue is simple… I am asking the library not to promote transgenderism or other adult topics to children,” Bradley said. “We want to stop them from mutilating their bodies with surgeries.”
Bradley used a chunk of his time to rail against his portrayal in the local media calling it “propaganda.”
Tucker voiced similar issues with the portrayal in the media, saying she never wanted to ban any books.
“Not one of us said to ban a book,” Tucker said. “I ask these books to be removed…removed can mean a lot of things.”
Tucker specifically took issue that books concerning LGTBQ+ issues were being displayed.
“If we can’t get them out of here at the very least, they need to be put back on the shelves,” she said.
A large group of over 30 LGTBQ+ activists also attended the board meeting in support of keeping LGTBQ+ books on the shelves of public libraries.
Despite the large showing, the board meeting did not discuss removing or banning the books.
That discussion will take place later, where a committee of librarians will come together to discuss the books and decide if the books meet the library “collection development policy,” which describes how the library chooses what is in the library.
The library has received several requests for “reconsideration of material” which will be discussed among a group of librarians at a future date.
Response from advocates
The response from the LGTBQ+ community to the proposed removal of LGTBQ+ books from the library has been prompt and loud.
“America is changing,” said E.W Suarez, a member of the LGTBQ+ community that spoke at the Biloxi council meeting and showed up at the library board meeting.
Suarez who identifies as a public servant, spoke about the importance of having LGTBQ+ portrayals in media from their own experience.
“I spent my entire childhood hating who I was and hating that I was different because there was no representation in the media about who I was and who I related to,” they said. “I don’t want any other kid to go through that. Nobody deserves to go through that…no child should ever be made to feel like they aren’t a normal kid.”
Lea Campbell, president of Mississippi Rising Coalition, is a community organizer and LGTBQ+ activist who attended the board meeting and said the fighting wasn’t done yet.
“We are here to support the library as an inclusive and diverse space that is welcoming accepting and affirming of everyone,” she said. “We support this churches and this pastor’s right to hold whatever religious views they hold, but those beliefs and ideologies need to remain in the church and not come into the public space where diverse thought and diverse ideologies need to be supported.”
Campbell said that she wasn’t surprised that this happened and plans to maintain contact with the library as the process of reviewing the books plays out.
