The latest battle in the woke wars is at the library...and no one is being quiet about it. The American Library Association (ALA) has elected a new president with radical left-wing credentials. "She literally describes herself as a 'Marxist lesbian,' and she's done interviews with the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America," says Brandon Waltens, managing editor of Texas Scorecard, which reported on the controversy.
Waltens is speaking about Emily Drabinski, the ALA president-elect who not only said she openly campaigned as a Marxist but told an interviewer she wants to "create a socialist vision for public libraries." Some states, like Montana and Idaho, are already pushing back on Drabinski by pulling out of the ALA or threatening to do so. But so far, Texas is going the opposite direction. "Librarians (in Texas) are circulating a petition trying to keep her in power, even as some other states and some lawmakers are saying it's time to get her out of that position," says Waltens.
The support petition for Drabinski in Texas includes thousands of librarian signatures, including some from Texas A&M and UT-Austin. But there is also a growing effort to push back on this radicalization of public libraries. "State Rep. Brian Harrison from the Dallas-Fort Worth area has put out a letter saying Texas needs to leave the American Library Association," says Waltens. "And I think we're going to see more of that coming from state lawmakers."
It's not surprising the ALA elected Drabinski as its new leader, considering the organization's current leadership has been targeting Christian authors and trying to restrict Kirk Cameron's faith-based children's book. Waltens tells KTRH this is part of a larger battle over public libraries, whether at the K-12, college or community level. "These are all taxpayer-funded and taxpayer-driven, and they're all overseen by elected officials that should be accountable to voters," he says. "So it's absolutely critical for citizens to make their voices heard on this...it's the only way that we're going to turn this around."
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