COMBATING LIES ABOUT CROMAINE LIBRARY -the truth!
LIE
“We’re not banning books!”
FACT
They are trying to. Per February’s library board minutes, Bill Bolin was clear about orchestrating the attempt to purge books from the library via book challenges. According to the American Library Association (ALA), book challenges are “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group, thereby restricting the access of others.” Bolin is quoted in those same minutes saying he “...wants to implement policies that restrict access to certain books…” Even Cromaine board members have said that, “Effectively, what this policy will do is 'ban books,’” as reflected in the June board meeting minutes.
Due to strong resistance from SAGE and the community, the initial discriminatory policy drafted by Project 2025 lawyers was scrapped, and another version was passed. What determines whether or not this new policy is legal, is how the library chooses to implement it. The ACLU has warned that it is crucial to keep a close eye on the 220-book challenge outcome, expected in September.
LIE
“This is a typical policy”
FACT
The unqualified new library board members are breaking procedure to take appeals from the Floodgate book challenger for the books that the Director, who holds a master’s degree in library sciences, decided did not need to be moved or labeled. This is not normal. Typically, library boards respect the expertise of their staff and existing procedures. There is currently no policy in existence on how the board should handle a challenged book because that is not their role. Additionally, the library has no definition of what’s explicit violence or se x ual graphic content as they put these labels on books.
It seems that Bill Bolin is planning to override the Director’s educated decisions because as he stated in a recent press article, “this new policy is about protecting children and parental rights” which completely contradicts the ALA's basic policy concerning access to information which Cromaine operates from “that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources. Censorship by librarians of constitutionally protected speech, whether for protection or for any other reason, violates the First Amendment.”
LIE
“We are only removing pornographic material.”
FACT
There is no porn in the library! Challenged book topics range from parenting information to teen fiction. Titles of those included in the request of removal: Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equality, STEM, The Human Body Encyclopedia, Arts, Say More Consent Conversations for Teens, A World Worth Saving, etc. Full list of the challenged book titles here.
Lie
“These books sexualize children”
FACT
There isn’t one shred of evidence or testimony of this happening. Topics like consent, sexual orientation, and changes during puberty are not inherently sexual and information on these is important for healthy development. Consent is important for many non-sexual social interactions, while sexual orientations involve desires for love and co-parenting, neither of which is sexual. By sexualizing these topics, it is Bolin driving the sexualization of children.
LIE
“The library is where children are being groomed.”
FACT
We’ve had multiple church leaders in Livingston County this past year caught actually grooming and sexually abusing kids. Will Johnson, a worship pastor at Brighton’s 242, admitted guilty to 15 charges including possession of child sexually abusive material, Child sexually abusive activity, etc.
Parents said that the community bible church in Brighton mishandled their concerns that Youth Pastor Matt Swider had a pattern of grooming behavior and he ended up pleading guilty to multiple felony sex charges, including distributing obscene materials to a child. Source. These are just the ones who have been caught.
Statistically, the chances are FAR higher that grooming will take place in religious institutions. Bolin would be far more effective at addressing grooming and the sexualization of children by spending this energy within his church. The pedophilia epidemic in this country is exacerbated by our normalization of protecting pedophiles over children. Just like the president’s constant distractions from the Epstein files, Bolin’s focus on fake issues keep us from seeing and addressing the true dangers in our community.
JOIN US
There is a lot of confusion regarding what is actually happening at Cromaine library. Come learn the truth at the upcoming Emergency Community Forum-Book Banners Run Hartland Library on Thursday, Sept. 4th 6-8pm at the Historic Hartland Music Hall. Event link: Emergency Community Forum-Book Banners Run Hartland Library
Panelist members include the president of 'Friends of Patmos Library' (which had to recently close temporarily when their extremist board chased out staff) coming all the way over from Ottawa Co. on the west side of the state. We'll also have Lapeer's 'Fight 4 the First' group coming down to join the panel, too! These women have been organizing around this issue in their communities for a while now and have a lot to teach us.
There will also be a former Cromaine board member present to bring the local element to the discussion. Additionally, there will be a Psychology Today expert on the panel and the ACLU is working to get a rep in to join as well. And the wonderful Dr. David Hayes will be facilitating the forum for us.
You don't want to miss this comprehensive community discussion!