Like many, I was puzzled why libraries all over the country suddenly started to sponsor Drag Queen Story Hours for very young children.  This action didn't fit my old stereotypic worldview of library employees.  However, one clue how the drag queen idea came about was uncovered in May 2022 while doing research for my article on the many ways young children are being sexually groomed. 

This clue to the origin of the drag queen idea was found in a piece in The Federalst by Joy Pullman regarding Emily Drabinski being elected president of the American Library Association (ALA) in April 2022.  Her election should have been of little interest except that Dabrinski is a "self-described 'Marxist lesbian.'"  And regarding her first librarian job, Emily said, "At Sarah Lawrence, absolutely everybody was queer. ... There were so many ways to be gay. ... And it was my job to teach those students how to find themselves in our library catalog."  She described queering the library as "critical thinking" and "thinking critically about the catalog." 

Obviously, my old stereotype of a librarian is totally obsolete.  However, based on Emily's elevation to president of the ALA, the more important question is how widely shared her view is that her job is to help children find themselves (sexually) and to queer the library.  The ALA operates libraries in all but one state (more on that later). 

Just what are her goals as ALA president?  Since she did not officially take office until July 2023, there is little performance history available to review.  However, an article in the Family Research Council (FRC)'s Washington Stand newsletter provided some troubling early indications of her extreme leftist leanings.  "[T]he association publicly distanced itself from Drabinski's statements, telling Newsmax in a statement the 'ALA does not align with, endorse, or promote the political beliefs, values, or ideologies of any one individual — including its elected leaders.'"  Nevertheless, there are some troubling bits of evidence about the depth of her influence:

First, "ALA president Drabinski tweeted out a guide to planning Drag Queen Story Hour, after calling parental opposition 'baffling.'  She has stated libraries play a part in 'the public project of raising children.'  In a 2021 talk titled 'Teaching the Radical Catalog,' Drabinski admitted her 'queerness includes the subversion of ... normal family types.'"

Next, she represented the ALA and spoke at the September 1–3 "Socialism 2023" conference in Chicago.  The conference was organized by more than 70 socialist organizations.  While there, "Drabinski told speakers at one panel that she agreed with 'your point that public education needs to be a site of socialist organizing.  I think libraries really do, too. ... Classroom libraries, but also school libraries of all kinds.'"  She added that "there's a real opportunity here to both connect [what's] happening in public education [with] what's happening in libraries."

The old saying "show me your friends and I will predict your future" is worth considering, because the FRC article found more possible clues in a list of panel discussion topics presented at the "Socialism 2023" conference (hyperlinks deleted, and emphasis is mine):

· "Kids as Comrades," which discussed "best practices for developing socialist programming for kids."

· "Resisting the Trad Wife Turn," which sought to combat the emerging "'pro-family, pro-labor' agenda that casts abortion, feminism, and sexual liberty as neoliberal, capitalist innovations which exploit women."

· "Sex Work, Policing and Border Abolition," which called on socialists to advocate for "migrant sex workers" (illegal aliens trafficked by international gangs) and promote "the abolition of police, prisons, borders and racial capitalism."

· "Abortion and Trans Rights Under Attack," which asked socialists, "How can we connect our two movements more concretely to effectively fight our common enemy," the "Christian nationalist"?

· "Religion, Marxism, and The Struggle Over Third Spaces," which called on left-wing activists to radicalize houses of worship.  "Religious institutions ... remain an under-engaged terrain of struggle" for socialists, the panel argued, and activists should "organize in every corner of the working class," the description stated.

· "SunDDay School: The Spirit of Socialism with Dream Defenders," which discoursed on "the spiritual life of social movements," complete with a "Spirit of Socialism" service — "an inspirational service that will celebrate how socialist politics can transform the human spirit!"  Speakers told attendees, "In all things, we try and bring in ... the spirit of our ancestors," and that "socialism doesn't just save lives; it saves souls."

· "Lenin: Catastrophe and Revolution," which presented communist dictator Vladimir Lenin as a "revolutionary icon" while emphasizing the supposedly "powerful democracy and collective struggles behind much of Lenin's political thought."  (Lenin once wrote, "The dictatorship of the proletariat alone can emancipate humanity from the oppression of capital, from the lies, falsehood, and hypocrisy of bourgeois democracy.")

· "Abortion, Race, and the 1%," which accused "the capitalist class" of opposing abortion for "economic and racialized reasons."

· "Homosexuality and the Left in American History," which discusses how leftists worked homosexuality "into their critiques of capitalism."

· "The Longer Road to a Green New Deal," which mourned the setback of democratic socialists' signature legislation and pined for "transformative national legislation" to promote "public ownership" of goods and resources.

Friday night ended with a "Radical Drag Show."  Sunday morning began with yoga and concluded with a screening of the pro-ecoterrorist movie "How to Blow Up a Pipeline." 

The important question about this list is whether any of the above extremist goals actually appear on the ALA website.  None was found — at least not stated overtly!  There were only benign statements, with the exception of the emphasis on fighting censorship and efforts to ban sexually explicit books.  This may appear benign, but the books in question are the same age-inappropriate (pornographic) books and teaching materials parents object to at heated school board meetings despite the risk of being arrested by the FBI.  To me, that counts as a smoking gun, as it ties in with the socialist goal of "Family Abolition" and perhaps links to a few of the other gender-related goals. 

What if anything can be done to un-woke the ALA?  The referenced Washington Stand article provided some helpful information and ideas: 

Perhaps the most alarming thing about Drabinski's efforts to indoctrinate America's youth with left-wing ideology … is that "it is working. She will call for help from her fellow socialists to educate our children with subversive reading materials to bring about a cultural revolution. And she will get it."

Montana is the only state so far that has removed its library system and its tax dollars from the ALA," Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand.  State officials cited Drabinski's socialism in their decision to cut ties with the ALA.  "Our oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist," said the Montana State Library Commission in its July 11 decision to disaffiliate with the ALA."  Perhaps more states will consider similar action.

The best thing parents whose children attend public school can do is to "get your kids out and put yourself in. ... You can wish the public school system away, but it's here and it's not going anywhere; in fact, budgets are going up and mental health care is about to be delivered in public schools nationwide."

"Get involved. ... The hour is late. But our children and our country are worth it."

Image via Pexels.