How One Book Incited Republicans And Tore Apart A Small Town

The Patmos Library in Jamestown, Michigan, was Chavala Ymker’s refuge for years.

“We didn’t have the internet, and the library was the only place I had access to books and a space outside of my home,” said Ymker, 23, who was home-schooled while growing up in the small town.

But within a couple of years, that place of escape will probably not exist.

Last year, residents of Jamestown, a township made up of nearly 10,000 people, voted to defund the public library following a push from conservatives to remove the book “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe from shelves.

Conservatives across the country have targeted the memoir — in fact, it’s been by the state’s attorney general due to several actions it took immediately after being sworn in earlier this month — including eliminating the county’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office.

The town is just one place where the right’s war on libraries is playing out. Conservatives have targeted the institutions, claiming librarians are trying to indoctrinate or groom children with books with LGBTQ characters and themes. That isn’t true, but the conspiracy theories have spread — with significant consequences, including people threatening public libraries and protesting at family-friend story hours hosted by drag queens.

“This is very reminiscent of what happened with community pools during the Civil Rights Movement,” Cain said. “When white Christian Americans were forced with the possibility of sharing these spaces with Black people, they chose to fill them in [with cement] and deny access to everyone.”

Weeks after it was successfully defunded, debate over the Patmos Library continues.

Last month, Shane Trejo, a Michigan GOP official who does not live near Jamestown, posted on Facebook: “Time to shut down the library by force. And then perhaps charge the people writing these checks as accessories for child abuse.” He later told Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit news outlet, that he meant through the force of law.

A few days after the initial comment, the Patmos Library closed early, citing safety concerns. The library did not provide a specific reason to HuffPost for the closure, but local police said they weren’t made aware of any safety concerns that would require the library to close early.

At the next library board meeting, residents were angered about the closure. One woman reportedly accused the library of lying about threats, and another said the library only wanted media attention.

One library staffer, who has not been named publicly, took umbrage with the accusations and addressed the room.

“We have a breaking point. We have been threatened, we have been cursed,” she said, according to a TikTok that went viral. “I’m tired, and I’m tired of all of you. I moved to this town two and a half years ago, and I [have] regretted it every day for the last year.”

For Ymker, who spent so much time at the library when they were younger and made friends there, watching their favorite place turn into the target of hate has been devastating.

“It’s so angering and bone-chilling,” they said. “That was the safe place. The librarians were the people who made me feel important.”