"Bye-Bye" to Hayden: Trump Kicks out African-American Librarian of Congress
Trump dismisses the initial African-American Librarian of Congress
Let's dive into the recent drama surrounding the U.S. Library of Congress, the world's largest library boasting over 20 million catalog entries for books, manuscripts, audio and visual documents, and other media. The current Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, has been given her pink slip by President Donald Trump, effective immediately, according to an email from the White House addressed to her.
As the first woman and the first African-American to hold this prestigious position since 2016, Hayden has ended her tenure earlier than anticipated. The library has yet to issue a public statement regarding this unexpected turn of events. Initially, it's unclear who will take up the mantle from Hayden, as her contract was due to expire next year.
Right-wing activists have alleged that Hayden has been indoctrinating children with radical sexual ideologies within the U.S. Just hours before her dismissal, the Trump-allied research group American Accountability Foundation branded Hayden as "woke" and "anti-Trump," claiming she supports controversial ideas about transgender individuals who reject their biologically assigned identity. The organization demanded Hayden's immediate dismissal and the appointment of a new Librarian of Congress.
Democratic leaders criticized Trump's decision, with House of Representatives' Democratic minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, deeming it a disgrace and accusing Trump of trying to ban books, whitewash American history, and promote censorship.
Before her time at the Library of Congress, Hayden led Baltimore's library system. In her role, she championed the preservation of photos and documents pertaining to people of color and curated diverse collections. For instance, she acquired the archives of Raúl Ruiz, a pioneering Chicano journalist [1].
This firing can be seen as part of a broader conservative purge targeting federal employees who are perceived as opposing conservative policies or promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives. Hayden faced criticism from conservative groups for her support of books deemed to have radical content, as well as her stance against conservative perspectives [1].
As the drama unfolds, Hayden's tenure comes to an abrupt end, and questions linger about who will take up the mantle at the Library of Congress. This event has sparked a wave of political backlash, alongside concerns about the potential censorship of America's cultural and literary history.
Source: ntv.de, AFP
[1] Enrichment Data: Carla Hayden, a trailblazing librarian in her role as the Librarian of Congress, has been fired by President Trump amid political disputes centering on cultural and diversity matters related to the Library of Congress's collections and programming. The dismissal has caught the eye of political condemnation and is viewed as part of a broader conservative pushback against diversity and inclusion endeavors in federal institutions.
- Despite her tenure being due to expire next year, Carla Hayden, the African-American Librarian of Congress, has been dismissed immediately by President Donald Trump.
- The Trump-allied research group American Accountability Foundation accused Hayden of indoctrinating children with radical sexual ideologies and labelled her as "woke" and "anti-Trump."
- The dismissal of Carla Hayden has been seen as part of a broader conservative purge targeting federal employees who are perceived as opposing conservative policies or promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- The firing of Carla Hayden has sparked political backlash and concerns about the potential censorship of America's cultural and literary history, particularly within the realm of policy-and-legislation, politics, and general-news on platforms like Whatsapp.
