Kansas Library Strikes Back Against Mistaken LGBT Crackdown

Sign of the times in the Sunflower State . . . This report claims that rainbow colors inspired a crackdown.

Here's a better write-up than some of the initial local reporting:

In June, Kari Wheeler and Brandy Lancaster, librarians at the Sterling Free Public Library in Sterling, a small community in central Kansas, created two displays celebrating and raising awareness about autism and neurodiversity. The displays featured rainbow colors and messages advocating for diversity and understanding, including quotes like “We all think differently” and “In diversity is beauty and strength,” according to the paper.

The displays were part of the nationwide summer reading program themed “All Together Now.”

However, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for Kansas, the displays were misconstrued by a board member as promoting an “LGBTQ agenda,” leading to Wheeler and Lancaster’s termination. The lawsuit alleges that board member Michelle Miller waged an “illegal campaign” to censor the displays based on her misconception, implicating the library’s board, the city, and the mayor in violating the librarians’ rights to free speech.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Kansas Librarians Sue After Being Fired Over Autism Display Mistaken for LGBTQ+ Support

They intended to support autism awareness and neurodiversity, but were fired because conservatives in town thought their colorful display supported the LGBTQ+ community.