After revelations that the American Library Association’s newest president is an outspoken Marxist, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission is reportedly ending their contract with the group.
This comes after State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) called on the commission’s chairwoman Martha Wong to cut ties with the ALA last month.
In 2023, ALA announced that Emily Drabinski, a self-proclaimed “Marxist lesbian” and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, would be its new president. Recent reporting uncovered alarming statements she has made and radical work she has done in the past.
After winning the position, she participated in an interview with the openly socialist publication Red Fault, who congratulated her on her win, writing, “It’s a huge inspiration to socialists, librarians, and socialist librarians.”
In her interview, Drabinski claimed she was not running for ALA president as a socialist, but that she wanted to create a “socialist vision for public libraries.”
I think we talked to and, crucially, listened to as many people as we could about the importance of libraries as part of what you and I might call a socialist vision, but I think could be called a progressive vision, a liberal vision. But I think it resonates with a lot of people in the way that socialist ideals do right now.
In 2013, Drabinski published a paper called “Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction,” where she states that she favors forcing librarians to become politically engaged from a queer perspective.
Additionally, the ALA has opposed efforts to remove pornographic materials and inappropriate content in from children’s libraries.
Harrison, meanwhile, called the commission’s departure from the ALA “a win for all Texans.”
“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,” said Harrison.
As of publishing, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission did not respond to a request for a comment.
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