Americans in 44 states visited 260 libraries across the nation on Saturday for the first “See You at the Library” event. “Conservatives and Christians have complained that they don’t have a seat at the cultural table in America as of late,” actor Kirk Cameron says. “Well, we have a seat now.”
From Cameron, Missouri to communities across the Northeast and West, parents and children gathered for peaceful readings and to show, they said, that libraries are ultimately accountable to local communities, not big interests.
Parents, grandparents, neighbors, pastors, community leaders and others booked space, publisher Brave Books said. A number of elected officials, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., governors, mayors and commissioners supported the event. Cameron traveled to several libraries on Saturday, dropping into book readings as a surprise to storytime hosts. Accompanying him, was Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who is now a leading voice in the fight to keep transgender athletes out of women’s sports, as well as other special guests.
“This is exactly what the progressive groups do,” Cameron said. “They organize their communities, they assemble all of their activists and they gather in places to push their values and their agenda. Well, now it’s our turn.”
Cameron and Brave Books had ealier called on “all families who love God and love America to gather at our local public libraries to pray, sing and read Brave Books and other books of virtue,” the publisher’s website said
However, a variety of leftist groups and individuals on social media said they would show up to protest. They included threats of interruptions by drag queen performers and those representing LGBTQI points of view and other alternative beliefs.
Protesters attempted to enter and disrupt several gatherings, including in Huntsville, Ala. where police had to intervene.
The American Library Association has come under fire for controversial messaging sharing ways to block Cameron and others from holding book readings. One option, an official said, is for libraries to allow room reservations only for local library-card holders on August 5. As a result of that messaging, three Republican senators sent a letter to the association looking into its “blatant discrimination” concerning the “blocking” of rooms for people interested in holding story events at libraries on August 5.
“There’s something that concerns me more than what might happen on August 5 if I show up at these libraries,” Cameron said. “And that is what will happen to the future of our country if we don’t show up on August 5. The world is a scary place. But it’s far scarier to project what will happen if good people don’t show up.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
