Travelers Rest Library gets threatening calls after refusing to remove Pride Month displays

Travelers Rest Library, whose manager refused to take down a Pride Month display according to emails viewed by the Greenville News, received two threatening calls on Wednesday, June 21.

The assistant manager of the library, whom the News is not identifying for the sake of their safety, received a call from a man who wanted to file a complaint about the library's Pride Month display, according to the incident report from the Travelers Rest Police Department.

A few minutes later, another man called the library. He identified himself as an associate of the first caller and complained about the display case. The man said he heard "whispers of war from good old boys on Facebook," according to the report.

The assistant manager advised the second caller to file a complaint. But the caller relented and said he doesn't "want it to get any worse." The assistant manager explained to the caller that his message "sounded like a threat".

"I'm not threatening you, but this is just what I've heard," the caller replied.

The calls coincide with the Greenville County Library Board's push to ban branches from putting up displays celebrating events like Pride Month and Juneteenth.

The board will make a final decision on Monday, June 26 during a noon meeting at Hughes Main Library.

Andrew Farmer, a member of Freedom in Libraries Advocacy Group (FLAG), arrived at the library at 6 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a notification about the police presence at the branch.

Farmer said the staff was "shaken up" and looked like they were on edge. Phones rang constantly Wednesday night as the branch administration spoke to the county library system.

Security was sent in from the Hughes Main Library to escort staff. The library employee who picked up the threatening calls was escorted out close to 7:30 p.m.

Two Travelers Rest Police Department cruisers were stationed outside the library past 9 p.m.

Miles Dame, another member of FLAG, said the Library System could protect its staff by putting out a statement to prevent attacks on its employees, but the administration has remained silent.

The News reached out to Executive Library Director Beverly James for comment.

Chairman Allan Hill called for a Board of Trustees meeting 4 p.m. on Friday, June 23, at the Hughes Main Library with Travelers Rest Branch as the agenda item. But that soon changed as the meeting was cancelled just hours before the scheduled time.

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Threats follow the branch manager's refusal to remove Pride Month display

During an April 24 Library Board meeting, members mandated a policy that required branches to ask for permission to put up displays if they promoted certain regulated materials. In a recent meeting on June 16, a committee said they were going to rework the policy. In the meantime, they were going to ask branches to remove all displays celebrating an event.

The Travelers Rest library has been at the center of the maelstrom that has spanned LGBTQ-related book bans and the conflict surrounding Pride Month displays.

A previous display on the Travelers Rest Library’s bulletin said "All Y'all / It Takes a Village to Make a Library" with book covers of critically acclaimed books such as Alice Walker's the Color Purple and Tennessee William's Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

The library system asked the branch staff on June 13 to remove the display citing a violation of display policies.

In emails viewed by the Greenville News, Greenville County Library Access and Discovery Director Brian Morrison told the library branch manager that the content of the bulletin board was "a display of library materials for adults." Morrison further added that adult displays could only be placed near the adult section and the use of book covers was promoting a theme.

The branch manager, whom the News is not identifying for the sake of their safety, responded and said the display policies were unclear.

"Using book covers in display cases is a useful means to promote Library System resources," the manager said.

Even the Community Engagement template to promote Book Clubs used book covers in flyers, he said.

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Morrison said a final decision about display policies by the Library Board would help clarify the guidelines.

The Travelers Library staff acquiesced and replaced the bulletin board with last year’s display in the foyer that says "Read with Pride", with ribbons in rainbow colors. This display had been previously upheld last year.

“I feel it is important to signal to our entire community that our branch is a welcoming and inclusive place and that our Library System as a whole has invested time and money in making a variety of LGBTQ+ resources available to those who may be interested,” the branch manager emailed the Library System June 19.

Morrison responded and asked Travelers Rest to remove the display. “With our messaging in our foyer cases, we do not want to post content that could be interpreted as if the Library System has taken a position on a particular subject,” Morrison wrote back, adding that the display went against “impartiality”.

The branch manager pushed back. “This is really disappointing to receive,” he said, adding that the regulation had made his job “near impossible.”

“In light of the fact that the content in question is LGBTQ+ related, this continues a pattern of singling out a particular segment of our community and staff,” the manager said.

The manager refused to comply with the Library System’s directive. “I will not contribute to more pain and distress,” he said.

Fear among library staff also marks a continual conflict surrounding LGBTQ+ books and materials. Previous reporting by the Greenville News highlighted evidence of "toxic" anti-LGBTQ Library Board leadership that raised questions about the board's ability to make decisions impartially.

"You get into librarianship because you want to serve a community not because you want to do clerical work," Farmer said, adding that the display at the branch was "innocuous" at best. Any threats to the staff were unacceptable, he said.

Devyani Chhetri covers SC politics for the Greenville News. Reach her via email at dchhetri@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Travelers Rest Library threatened after refusing to remove displays