The Midland County Commissioners Court voted to end its membership with the American Library Association, citing concerns over the group’s president being a self-avowed Marxist.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, American Library Association (ALA) President Emily Drabinski said upon her election to the post, “I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of [the ALA].”
Despite later deleting the post, Drabinski’s expressed ideological orientation led to a number of calls by state, county, and municipal lawmakers all over the country to withdraw from the ALA.
Midland County’s vote on Monday makes it the first county in Texas to leave the organization.
“I brought this up because the president of the American Library Association is a self-proclaimed Marxist and she is not being a very good leader for our librarians. … So if the leadership is going to be so liberal I think that we just need to not do memberships to the American Library Association or the Texas Library Association,” Commissioner Dianne Anderson explained.
Still, Debbie Garza, the director of public libraries in Midland County, said she was a member of both organizations and had benefited from the various training programs and workshops they offer, noting she relies on them to get state-required continuing education hours.
“It’s a shame that you have the poor leadership because it is nice that you can get continuing ed at TLA, but you can get continuing ed at other places,” Commissioner Anderson responded. “A Marxist, a self-proclaimed Marxist, who wants that in our country? We don’t need that. So if enough libraries say ‘I’m out of here because they’re just going the wrong direction,’ then it sends them a message to change leadership.”
County Judge Terry Johnson made a motion to discontinue the county’s membership with the ALA, saying, “If enough people pulled away it’d be like a Bud Light deal on them, and they’d learn that’s not what the American people want.”
The commissioners then voted to end the county’s membership with the ALA. The motion passed, with two commissioners abstaining.
“We can always join back up next year,” which would be after Drabinski’s term ends, said Johnson. “We’ll re-evaluate this at some future date and see how their things are progressing.”
Texas Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian), who recently called for Texas to leave the ALA, told The Dallas Express, “I applaud the Midland County Commissioners for doing what the Texas State Library and Archives Commission has failed to do and leading the fight against dangerous Marxist ideology by cutting ties with the American Library Association.”
“All local governments should follow their example,” he continued. “Taxpayer-funded indoctrination has no place in Texas, and I will continue demanding that the Texas State Library and Archives Commission stops allowing my constituents’ money to be weaponized against them, their values, and their children.”
In response to Midland County’s departure, the ALA asserted to The Dallas Express that “it is a non-partisan, non-profit membership organization that develops, promotes, and improves library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”
“Despite the decision in Midland County this week, ALA remains committed to providing essential support, resources, and opportunities for every library and library worker in every state and territory across the nation to help them better serve their communities,” the organization concluded.