Librarians turn to civil rights agency to oppose book bans and their firings
Librarian Brooky Parks is shown outside the library on the campus of the University of Denver on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in Denver. Parks, who was fired for standing up for programs on anti-racism and LGBTQ+ stories she organized for teens at the Erie Community Library north of Denver, won a $250,000 settlement in September with the assistance of the Colorado Civil Rights Division. She now works as a librarian at the University of Denver.
Librarian Brooky Parks is shown outside the library on the campus of the University of Denver on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in Denver. Parks, who was fired for standing up for programs on anti-racism and LGBTQ+ stories she organized for teens at the Erie Community Library north of Denver, won a $250,000 settlement in September with the assistance of the Colorado Civil Rights Division. She now works as a librarian at the University of Denver.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) 无毛视频� She refused to ban books, many of them about racism and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people. And for that, Suzette Baker was fired as a library director in a rural county in central Texas.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 kind of persona non grata around here,无毛视频� said Baker, who had headed the Kingsland, Texas, library system until she refused to take down a prominent display of several books people had sought to ban over the years.
Now, Baker is fighting back. She and two other librarians who were similarly fired have filed workplace discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And as culture war battles to keep certain books from children and teens put public and school libraries increasingly under pressure, their goal is redemption and, where possible, eventual reinstatement.
So far, it无毛视频檚 a wait-and-see whether the claims will succeed 无毛视频� and set new precedent 无毛视频� in the struggle between teachers and librarians around the country who oppose book bans and conservative activists who say some books are inappropriate for young minds.
The fight has involved a record number of book-banning efforts; some libraries cutting ties with the American Library Association, which opposes book bans; and even attempts to prosecute librarians for allowing children to access books some consider too graphic.
At least one terminated librarian has gained a measure of success.
Brooky Parks, who was fired for standing up for programs on anti-racism and LGBTQ+ stories she organized for teens at the Erie Community Library north of Denver, won a $250,000 settlement in September. Reached through the Colorado Civil Rights Division, the settlement requires her former employer to give librarians more say in decisions involving library programs.
Parks无毛视频� settlement with the High Plains Library District capped a stressful eight-month period without work, when community donations helped her avoid losing her home. And it will likely resolve Parks无毛视频� claim with the EEOC, said her attorney, Iris Halpern, who represents the three librarians.
无毛视频淚 just wasn无毛视频檛 going to back down from it. It was just the right thing to do,无毛视频� said Parks, now a librarian at the University of Denver.
After her firing in 2022, Baker filed an EEOC claim against her employer, the Llano County Library System in Kingsland, Texas. And in September 2023, Terri Lesley, executive director of the Campbell County Public Library System in Gillette, Wyoming, filed a claim over her firing last summer.
Halpern, with the Denver firm Rathod Mohamedbhai, compared the wrongful termination claims to civil rights era legal battles.
无毛视频淚t is honestly sad that we无毛视频檝e gotten to this point. But history is a constant struggle and we have to learn from our past,无毛视频� she said.
The 1964 Civil Right Act established the EEOC to enforce laws against workplace discrimination. One legal expert thinks the librarians might be able to prevail on the grounds that, under those laws, employees may not be discriminated against for associating with certain classes of people.
无毛视频淲ith any case, the devil can be in the details in terms of how the facts come out and what they can present. But these are definitely actionable claims,无毛视频� said Rutgers University law professor David Lopez, a former EEOC general counsel.
An EEOC investigation can take over a year. After that, the EEOC may attempt to reach a settlement with the employer out of court, sue on the employee无毛视频檚 behalf or issue a letter saying the employee has grounds to sue on their own.
The librarians haven无毛视频檛 yet received an EEOC response and none is expected before the end of next year.
无毛视频淚 would love to be optimistic,无毛视频� Baker said. 无毛视频淚 know there are a lot of people in this community who are just absolutely behind the library being open and free and equal for all. And there无毛视频檚 a lot of people who aren无毛视频檛. So it无毛视频檚 a hard, hard situation.无毛视频�
EEOC spokesperson Victor Chen declined to comment on specific filings, adding 无毛视频渨e can无毛视频檛 even confirm or deny we have these complaints.无毛视频�
The county attorney offices and other representatives of the government officials who fired Parks, Baker and Lesley did not return phone and email messages seeking comment, or declined to comment.
At her Texas library, Baker displayed several books that have been targeted in recent book bans and a sign that read: 无毛视频淲e put the 无毛视频榣it无毛视频� in literature无毛视频� 无毛视频� a reference to a Tennessee pastor无毛视频檚 recent burning of books.
Baker was fired after refusing to take down the display and signs 无毛视频� the last straw after she resisted book banning in her own library.
In March, a federal judge ordered 17 books returned to Kingsland library shelves while a citizen lawsuit against book banning proceeded. The works ranged from children无毛视频檚 books to award-winning nonfiction, including 无毛视频淭hey Called Themselves the K.K.K: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group,无毛视频� by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; and 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health,无毛视频� by Robie Harris.
无毛视频淐ontent-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional and subject to strict scrutiny,无毛视频� Texas U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his March 30 ruling. He cited a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that barred communities from banning signs because of what they say.
The Llano County Commission considered but decided against closing the county无毛视频檚 three libraries in response to the ruling. Closing the libraries would have been eerily similar to the history across the U.S. of closing swimming pools rather than desegregating them, Halpern said.
Like Baker, Lesley had trouble finding work after being fired from the library system she directed in Gillette, Wyoming. Her dismissal followed two years of turmoil over challenges to the books available and library programs.
Some of the same county officials who opposed a transgender magician无毛视频檚 plans to perform at the library went on to join local residents in seeking to ban books, according to Lesley无毛视频檚 EEOC filing.
Baker and Lesley both were fired after local officials appointed new library board members willing to be more aggressive about pulling books.
无毛视频淥ur county commissioners appointed board members who were sympathetic to the people who wanted to remove the books. And it was a long dance to try to get it there. And in the end they had to fire me, I think, in order to be able to meet their goal,无毛视频� Lesley said.
The Campbell County Commission skirted a deputy county attorney无毛视频檚 recommendation not to appoint past applicants for the board without re-interviewing them along with new candidates, according to Lesley无毛视频檚 EEOC claim.
无毛视频淚 saw this as a well-executed attack on the library by a group of citizens and elected officials. It was an attack on the LGBTQ+ community as well,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淎nd it was an attack on the books.无毛视频�
This story has been corrected to show an attorney无毛视频檚 name is Iris Halpern, not Iris Halper.