LISTEN: Lavonnia Moore said she was fired after the community helped her assemble a book display at the Pierce County Public Library. GPB's Peter Biello reports.

Lavonnia Moore (center) stands with the book display that she says led to her firing.

Lavonnia Moore (center) stands with the book display that she says led to her firing.

Credit: Courtesy

A librarian in southeastern Georgia’s Pierce County says she was fired for including a book with a transgender character in a summer reading display. 

Library manager Lavonnia Moore was fired from the Pierce County Public Library last week after 15 years of service. 

She said she worked with community volunteers earlier this month to create a book display. That display, themed “Color Our World,” included a book called When Aiden Became a Brother, about a family loving and accepting a transgender child. 

“The children wanted colorful books with rainbows,” Moore said.

After the religious group Alliance for Faith and Family campaigned against her, asking followers on social media to email concerns to library officials and the Pierce County Board of Commissioners, Moore said she was fired.

In a Facebook post, the group called the book’s presence in the display “mental manipulation” that teaches children “God made them incorrectly.”

Representatives from the Three Rivers Regional Library System did not respond to GPB’s request for comment. Moore said she was fired without warning, using the “at-will” clause in her contract.

In a statement to GPB, Moore said, “This was not about poor performance. It was about political pressure.”

The Pierce County Board of Commissioners also did not respond to a request for comment. 

Moore said she is seeking legal assistance, and has launched a GoFundMe to help pay for legal expenses. 

Tags: Georgia  librarian  libraries  LGBTQ  Georgia Politics