A library board in Tennessee voted on Monday to fire library director Luanne James for refusing to shield over 100 books – many with LGBTQ+ content – from young readers. The following day, her supporters began a crowdfunding campaign that has since raised nearly $100,000 to support her and her family.
James, the director of the Rutherford County Library System (RCLS), plainly stated, “I will not comply” in a letter to the board, calling its directive “a clear act of viewpoint discrimination” and a violation of the First Amendment.
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The emergency meeting that ended in James’s firing was reportedly quite heated, with James’s supporters chanting, “We stand with Luanne!” and holding signs and wearing t-shirts expressing their support for the freedom to read.
According to Fox 17, at least a dozen people spoke during the meeting. Deputies then escorted James out after the board voted to let her go.
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“I stand by my decision. I will not change my mind,” James declared as the board deliberated.
Earlier this month, the board voted 8-3 to relocate the children’s books to the adult section – the result of a statewide “age-appropriateness review” ordered last year by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett (R).
At the contentious meeting where the board voted to move the books, board chair Cory York declared, “I would argue that gender confusion [is] the idea of telling someone that boys aren’t really boys, they can be girls, and girls aren’t really girls, they can be boys, and that you should advocate for [or] encourage the dismembering of healthy sex organs. I don’t think that that’s appropriate for children.”
York said in a statement to WSMV at the time that James’s refusal to comply “constitutes insubordination.”
“The Board has the authority and responsibility to establish policy for the library system,” York continued. “When a Director refuses to carry out a duly adopted Board decision, it undermines the governance of the institution and cannot be ignored.”
Community leaders, however, stood staunchly with James. “Luanne James is the epitome of a true American Patriot,” said Keri Lambert, Vice President of the Rutherford County Library Alliance (RCLA), an organization fighting for “intellectual freedom and unrestricted access to information within the public library system of Rutherford County, Tennessee.”
“She is demonstrating to the world the importance of professional librarians in our communities. The bravery to stand up and say, ‘No, I will not violate my ethics and go against the Constitution of the United States,’ is the kind of leadership we need to see more of. She is an inspiration to all, and I could not be more thankful that she is a member of our community.”
RCLA communications director Tatiana Silvas called James “incredible.”
“This courageous leadership is exactly what Rutherford County is looking for and all of us at RCLA couldn’t be more proud of her,” Silvas said. “She’s a hero, there’s no other way to describe her.”
A GoFundMe launched by a community member the day after her firing reached over $97,000 of its $100,000 goal by Friday evening, with donations going “directly toward supporting her family’s basic living expenses during this time,” the crowdfunding campaign’s webpage said.
“Luanne has dedicated nearly her entire adult life to public libraries, working tirelessly to expand free access to information, technology, and essential services for library patrons and local communities. She has 25 years of combined experience as a library director and grant writer, during which she secured approximately $6 million dollars in grant funding,” the webpage noted.
“These funds made it possible to create and expand public programs, improve computer access and connectivity, renovate and repair existing facilities, construct a new library building, and the purchase of a bookmobile and wheelchair accessible Sprinter van for community outreach,” it continued.
The board also voted at the meeting to cut ties with the American Library Association and thus is no longer adhering to its code of ethics, which includes directives like, “We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources” and “We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.”
After the news of James’s firing broke, Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, told Advocate that “her story will echo from the courthouse in Murfreesboro, Tenn., across the country as emblematic of the fight against censorship and suppression.”
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