After 15 years of working at the Pierce County Library in Blackshear, GA, where she advanced from part-time clerk to branch manager, Lavonnia Moore was unexpectedly and abruptly fired due to a display featuring a trans-inclusive children’s book.
The patron-led display aligned with Georgia’s summer reading theme, “Color Our World.” Kids and parents were encouraged to find and display colorful books that fit the theme, but Moore had concerns after the anti-LGBTQ+ organization Alliance for Faith and Family forced the Pierce County Library to switch regional systems because of LGBTQ+-friendly initiatives.
Moore told her managers her concerns about including LGBTQ+ books in the display, but they waved her off, telling her to “go ahead, we don’t get controversy.”
So, when a child at the library asked her to include the book “When Aidan Became a Brother” by Kyle Lukoff, an award-winning, age-appropriate story about love and acceptance with a transgender character, she didn’t hesitate.
“The parent was right there, so I let them put up what they love to see in the library, and it was [“When Aidan Became a Brother],” she told Georgia Voice. “I wasn’t going to tell the kid no, I was just happy the kid was reading.”
Unbeknownst to Moore until her termination, this decision inspired an online hate campaign from the Alliance for Faith and Family demanding people contact the Pierce County Commissioners and the Three Rivers Regional Library System and encourage them to “tak[e] a stand against promoting transgenderism at our local library.” On June 18, Moore was informed she was fired on the spot for “poor decision making” with allegedly no investigation, warning, or prior communication.
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Moore found her purpose at the library helping people find community and see themselves relflected in the shelves. When a German family said there weren’t any books they could read, she ordered books written in German. To communicate with her hard-of-hearing patrons, she had a deaf author teach American Sign Language to her and other patrons who wanted to learn. Now, after 46 years living in Blackshear, Moore says she’ll have to relocate to continue doing the work she loves.
“When you walk into the library, you should be able to find at least one thing that pertains to you,” she said. “You should find community within the library. [Community engagement] is what I love doing, and it’s disheartening that I’m not able to do that in my hometown.”
Even if she does move, Moore is scared that the reputation thrust upon her by the Alliance for Faith and Family will follow her and she will no longer be able to work in the library field. Still, she stands by her decision, writing on her GoFundMe that “the library is a public space. All community members should feel welcome inside it and have equal access to its resources.”
Moore’s GoFundMe page has raised 87 percent of her $3,500 goal. The funds will cover living costs, as she was living paycheck-to-paycheck prior to her termination, and fees as she pursues legal action.
