Blackshear, GA, native LaVonnia Moore found her purpose working in the Okefenokee and Three Rivers Regional Library Systems (TRRLS), quickly advancing from 10 hours a week as a part-time employee in 2010 to running her own branch as the Pierce County Library manager until she was unexpectedly ousted from her position on June 18, following an online campaign by the anti-LGBTQ conservative group Alliance for Faith and Family over a library book display that included “When Aidan Became A Brother,” a picture book by author Kyle Lukoff featuring a transgender character.
The library patron-led display aligned with Georgia’s summer reading theme: “Color Our World.” Young library patrons, along with their parents, were encouraged to find colorful books illustrating the state-approved theme for the display.
“I knew the theme would be an issue,” Moore said. “How are you going to color your world without the rainbow? I asked TRRLS, “Are you sure we want to stick with this theme? They said, “Go ahead, we don’t get controversy.”
Moore tells GLAAD that she was summoned to the Pierce County Library on her day off by Three Rivers Library System Director Jeremy Snell, who informed her that she was being terminated over the inclusion of the transgender-inclusive book in the summer reading display.
Snell told the Blackshear Times that the display of the book was the reason for the decision.
In an interview with reporter Ross Williams at The Georgia Recorder, one of several local news outlets working in tandem with GLAAD to amplify this story, Moore acknowledges the request of a young child accompanied by their parents to include “When Aidan Became A Brother” in the book display. Moore also said she didn’t know it at the time, but the book is about a young transgender boy whose family is expecting a new baby.
The book is written for young children and discusses Aidan’s gender identity not matching his sex at birth. It doesn’t contain anything graphic or explicit. The cover features Aidan with his family, wearing a shirt with a rainbow design.
“All I saw was Aidan becoming a big brother,” Moore said. “I saw a family with a kid wearing a rainbow sweater, and the mom was pregnant. It was a mixed family. I was like, ‘OK, sure, put it on the table.'”
Moore said she had no intention of promoting any ideology but kept books relevant to all kinds of people in the community, including LGBTQ people, immigrants, and people who speak various languages, according to The Georgia Recorder.
“We’re a public library. We need to have all items available for everyone in the community,” Moore tells GLAAD. “And just because you don’t want that community to exist, they still exist. It’s my job to serve everybody. No matter who or what they are. I grew up with the library not being [safe], and I’m like, not on my watch.”
Moore says she was living “paycheck to paycheck” before her abrupt termination and has since established a GoFundMe to help cover daily expenses, raising over $27,000 of her $30,000 goal to date, which will also go towards covering legal costs to fight what she and her attorney are describing as an unlawful firing.
Attorney Wade Herring, who represents Moore, told The Advocate that the firing was unlawful and politically driven.
“It may be a First Amendment issue. It may be a Title VII issue, which protects employment,” Herring said. “I think it was content-based censorship and politically motivated, and she lost her job.”
Herring insists Moore followed library policy and simply facilitated community participation. “She had a local family and a local child who was enthusiastic about the library and the summer reading program,” Herring said. “What was she supposed to do, tell the child, ‘No, your book doesn’t belong?’ She was encouraging and supporting a child.”
GLAAD highlighted how Moore’s service helps all in the community, and how the unjust termination is harmful.
“No one should lose their job for doing their job,” GLAAD told The Advocate. “Librarians and other educators are professionals and public servants who work for every child and family in the community, offering materials that help children learn about themselves, their peers, and the world around them. The world is a far more interesting and colorful place than book banners ever want to see. Book banners and other opponents of LGBTQ people and equality shouldn’t get to censor, dim, or dictate what is available to other families and readers. Libraries should always be a place where everyone in the community can feel safe to explore, learn, and grow.”
Creating a safe space for all Pierce County residents is why the 15-year library professional views her work as an investment not only in the current patrons but also the younger Moore, who never felt welcome in her home library as a teen.
“I would go there, pick up my book, and leave,” Moore said. “It just wasn’t a place that felt like it was welcoming to young people. They didn’t have programs [for youth]. I want everybody that walks through the library to feel like it’s there for them,” and that includes LGBTQ families, Moore said.
Community Pressure to Reverse Termination
In recent days, Moore has experienced an avalanche of community support following the revelation of electronic communications between library and county officials directly involved in her firing, which journalists uncovered through an open records request by The Georgia Recorder and The Advocate.
The internal communications paint a picture of officials responding directly to political pressure rather than to any professional misconduct,” according to a review by The Advocate. “Moore, for her part, said she was told she was terminated solely for “poor decision in the line of performance duty.”
The county produced 77 files showing about four times as many people contacted the government in favor of reinstating Moore than did in favor of firing her, reports The Georgia Recorder.
“The emails, text messages, and voicemail reveal more about the decision to let Moore go and the resulting backlash. That correspondence also shows that local officials are considering reinstating Moore but have not yet done so,” The Georgia Recorder also reports.
“It is within the power of this board to make action calling for reinstatement if that is a desired result of the executive session discussion,” Snell wrote. “At this point, I have received more communication regarding reinstatement (than) I did regarding the original issue earlier this week.”
Moore’s firing has already exacted a steep personal price. She said her reputation has been damaged, and she now faces the prospect of leaving her hometown of 46 years because no other library jobs are available nearby.
As for “When Aidan Became A Brother,” Moore said the book is still on the shelf inside Pierce County Library.
“That book still exists in the collection — because it belongs there. It reflects real families. Real kids. Real love,” Moore wrote on her GoFundMe page. “Although I did not choose the book myself, I stand ten toes down on this truth: The library is a public space. All community members should feel welcome inside it and have equal access to its resources.”
