Score another one for the good guys. Texas has officially severed ties with the American Library Association (ALA), an organization that has met with controversy over its support of sexually inappropriate material in classrooms and its efforts to censor conservative voices in libraries. This is a welcome development in the cultural clash over education in which folks on the left and right are battling it out over how certain issues like race and LGBTQ matters should be presented to students.
The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) reportedly decided to leave the American Library Association (ALA) after Republican Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison called out the ALA for pushing “dangerous Marxist ideology” on Texans and their children.
“Less than one month after I requested the Texas State Library & Archives Commission to cut ties with the American Library Association,” Harrison wrote in a statement, “I am excited to report that they just informed me they will not renew their contract with them!”
“This is a win for all Texans, and I applaud the courageous and decisive decision by Chairwoman Martha Wong,” Harrison continued. “Texas should be leading the fight against dangerous Marxist ideology – not subsidizing it with my constituents’ hard earned tax dollars. I’ll continue fighting to protect Texans from having their money weaponized against them, their values, and their children.”
The ALA is an organization that supposedly promotes libraries and library professionals. In the past, the group advocated for access to information, literacy, intellectual freedom, and other causes. Unfortunately, ALA has now devolved into another vehicle through which progressives are trying to saturate young minds with their ideology.
This development is not the first shot across the bow that Texas has fired against ALA. In April, the State Board of Education rejected the organization’s library policies. The move came after conservative parents concerned about efforts to indoctrinate their children won seats on the board, which dismissed ALA’s policies in a 10-5 vote.
But the changes would have included an insidious condemnation of parents’ rightful involvement in their children’s education. The certification board specifically asked the SBOE to rubber-stamp several references to the ALA’s ethics and privacy policies in Chapter 19 of the Texas Administrative Code.
“As students and minors mature, it is increasingly important that they are provided with opportunities to exercise their curiosity and develop their intellect free from the chilling effects of surveillance by educators, peers, parents, or commercial interests,” the ALA’s Library Privacy Guidelines for Students in K-12 Schools state.
The ALA sparked controversy when it was reported that the organization actively worked to stop actor Kirk Cameron from holding his “See You at the Library” events in various libraries as an answer to progressive Drag Queen Story Hour. In these events, the actor reads about traditional values to children. It has been a tremendous success despite the machinations of the ALA.
What makes the ALA’s actions even more galling is the fact that the group receives federal funding. This means the government is using the money it takes from you to pay an organization that wants to silence your voices. Hopefully, other states will follow suit.
