The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) has reportedly severed ties with the American Library Association (ALA), following a call to action by Republican Texas State Representative Brian Harrison.
Harrison accused the ALA of promoting "dangerous Marxist ideology" to Texans and their children.
In a statement, Harrison announced, "Less than one month after I requested the Texas State Library & Archives Commission to cut ties with the American Library Association, I am excited to report that they just informed me they will not renew their contract with them!"
Harrison hailed this development as a victory for all Texans and commended the decisive action taken by Chairwoman Martha Wong. "Texas should be leading the fight against dangerous Marxist ideology not subsidizing it with my constituents hard earned tax dollars. Ill continue fighting to protect Texans from having their money weaponized against them, their values, and their children," he asserted.
Wong, who was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2020, has also served two terms in the Texas House, as reported by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
However, Harrison expressed disapproval of Emily Drabinski, whom he labeled as a "self-proclaimed Marxist lesbian and member of the Democratic Socialists of America" in a letter addressed to Wong in July.
"Taxpayer funded indoctrination has no place in Texas," Harrison wrote, "yet Ms. Drabinski has promised to radicalize the ALA to advance a public agenda that puts organization for justice at the center of library work."
Harrison further accused the ALA of opposing parents by striving to retain pornographic materials in public libraries under the pretext of opposing censorship.'
The issue of what books should be allowed in classrooms has become a contentious topic in Texas, as in many other states. In July, a consortium of booksellers and publishers filed a lawsuit against a law signed by Governor Abbott, aimed at removing what he termed as "trash out of our schools."
Under this law, any book deemed offensive and not part of the required curriculum would be classified as "sexually explicit" and subsequently removed from school bookshelves. Critics of the Texas bill predicted that the new standards would primarily target materials dealing with LGBTQ+ topics.
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