DOTHAN — Dothan residents said their concerns about sexually explicit books for children and teens were once again ignored by Dothan Houston County Library System director Christopher Warren following Wednesday's board meeting.
During the meeting, several board members praised Director Warren, giving him his highest evaluation. Board member James Etheredge stated, "It's going to be brighter and better because it's the strong leadership he brings…[we're] so glad to have you, Chris. The board supports what you're doing."
Diana Crews, head of the Geneva County Republican Women, told 1819 News that Etheredge's comments were "disappointing" and said, "The board is enabling him [Warren]." During the meeting, the board affirmed their support of Warren by renewing his contract for three years.
Sharon Beaty told 1819 News, "The director, Chris Warren, and the library board as a whole have not responded to our repeated requests to move objectionable materials (books that contain explicitly sexual texts) from the 12-18-year-old section to the adult section. At one meeting, obscene excerpts were read from some of these books detailing dark sexual content… The library board, instead of planning how to implement Gov. Ivey's new proposals for our libraries, took much of the meeting time to praise the director, Chris Warren. Mr. Warren traveled to Montgomery to speak against HB 385, which would protect young minds from harmful, obscene materials."
SEE ALSO: Debate continues for Dothan residents over 'obscene,' 'pornographic' books at public library
Dr. Virginia Mayer of Living Waters Counseling, a former teacher at Troy University, addressed the meeting. Mayer cited academic studies from Harvard and other institutions that found "about 50% of participants had been exposed to sexual media content by 8th grade." Mayer said, "Reading stories that feature adult themes like violence, graphic imagery, or explicit language may expose children to concepts that their brains aren't quite ready to understand yet. Such exposure can overwhelm their developing minds and negatively impact mental health."
Mayer shared a tragic story of parents she counseled whose child committed suicide after being exposed to the Netflix series and book "13 Reasons Why" by Bryan Yorkey, a title that remains in the Dothan library's catalog. Mayer said, "Those parents today are broken."
Mayer asked the board, "Would you take any of these books you are so bent on protecting into your church library? Then why are they here? Are you comfortable harboring and protecting materials that damage the minds, hearts and spirits of children?" Mayer said, "I believe everybody on this board professes to be a Christian…and that is wonderful. However, consider…are you acting out of pride…[or] a DEI movement to protect something that is worthless according to God's Word?" Mayer closed with these words, "Remember, you can never separate who you are from what you are, and where you are, and what you're doing."
Multiple sexually explicit books remain in the 12-18-year-old "Young Adult" section, while two sexually explicit titles, "The Wishing Flower" by A.J. Irving and "Jacob's New Dress" by Hoffmann, Hoffman and Case, are in the juvenile section. Concerned citizens with Intercessors for Children said that little has changed at the library, even though counselors, pastors, grandmothers and many others have repeatedly urged the library to remove the books.
Crews said the library has only removed two of the around 49 books requested from the Young Adult section — "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe and "This Book Is Gay" by Juno Dawson — though they remain in the library elsewhere. Betty Peters, who formerly served on the Alabama State Board of Education for 16 years, criticized the categorization of 12-18 as "young adults," telling 1819 News, "There is no dictionary except the library dictionary that calls a 12-year-old an adult."
In July, neighboring Ozark-Dale Library temporarily closed after Ozark Mayor Mark Blankenship called for all LGBTQ books to be removed from the young adult and children's sections. By contrast, Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba, a friend of Warren's, has not spoken out against sexually explicit books in the Dothan library. Concerned citizens suggested that Saliba supports Warren's decision to keep these books in the library because he wants a "progressive Dothan." They said the mayor told them that the purpose of board meetings is to discuss the budget, not to voice concerns. One anonymous individual pleaded with the mayor to take action, saying, "You are the gatekeeper of our city of Dothan to keep out the darkness."
In June, Warren told WDHN News that the library has made it easier for the public to voice their concerns. However, Pam Kosan told 1819 News, "He's changed the policies to make it harder for us as concerned citizens to be able to speak. But he has not changed any of the policies to protect the children from the sexually explicit books."
For example, according to review policy, if the library rejects a request to remove a book, that decision is final for at least five years.
At the June 12 meeting, Kosan read sections from several explicit books. She told 1819 News, "It hurt my heart. It stayed in my mind… I wanted to cry… The thing is, we can't read these books outside…we could get arrested if I read that filth."
Critics suggested that Warren's ties to the American Library Association, led by self-described "Marxist-lesbian" Emily Drabinsk, explain his support of these books. In 2015, Warren was one of 32 public librarians chosen to attend the American Library Association's (ALA) Public Library Association (PLA) Leadership Academy.
Warren is a proud financial supporter of PLA's Fund for the Future. His testimonial, one of three featured on the PLA's giving page, praises the PLA for "training and equipping librarians to be agents of change and empowerment in their communities." Warren writes, "When we talk about equity, diversity, and inclusion, we're not just talking about who we recruit or hire or retain or support, we're also talking about ways to make our libraries places that are safe and inclusive and welcoming for everyone." Kosan said that Warren is "being groomed by the American Library Association to know how to handle and manipulate" people who speak out.
According to the ALA website, the PLA has received funding from the Global Libraries (GL) Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, including a $10 million donation in 2016.
In January 2024, the Alabama Public Library Service voted to exit the American Library Association over its support of Marxism and LGBTQ ideology.
Intercessors for Children believe that the battle over sexually explicit books in Dothan is part of the larger war for the heart and soul of America. At the Oct. 11, 2023, meeting, Barbara Moore told the board, "The subversive goal of cultural Marxism is to destroy America and the values that have made us strong and good. The plan is to indoctrinate children away from their moral foundation and into an ideology and lifestyle of immorality and decadence. Children and adolescents are considered the group most vulnerable to sexually explicit material because of a lack of maturity, changing hormones, and developing brains. They are also impressionable to ideas of gender confusion. They can be easily manipulated away from their parents' and grandparents' character standards."
Peters related the motivation of Intercessors for Children to the words of pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."
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