The Lincolnwood community stood up to and defeated an effort to remove LGBTQ books from the village’s public library on Monday, Nov. .
ABC7 Chicago reported that the library board meeting was moved to the village hall and was still standing-room only.
Residents on both sides of the issue spoke to the board.
“The library has decided that they, not you the parent, knows what is best for your child,” said Bryan Johnson, a Lincolnwood resident, according to the TV station.
Jen Mierisch, another village resident, said, “Gay people and drag queens have a right to exist and be themselves and have books written about them.”
ABC7 Chicago reported that at least one formal challenge was filed against a book called “The Hips On The Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish.” The nursery rhyme book features characters in drag, and was read aloud during a library-sponsored story time over the summer.
The board declined to remove it from the children’s department. The library director told the station such action would constitute censorship, adding, “Our goal is to respect everyone in our community and what they want to read.”
The effort was just the latest to push back against LGBTQ inclusivity in the Chicago suburbs.
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