The Gazette editorial board crusades against needless division. That’s why we wrote, in March of 2022, that “public libraries are not special interest bookstores. We need them to stand as objective archives without political agendas – left or right – forced by activists in management.”

Then-Pikes Peak Library District Director John Spears had spent six years transitioning the district’s 17 libraries to advocate political ideologies, namely Critical Race Theory, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and identity agendas by other names.

Spears commissioned a system-wide “Organizational Audit on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.”

The study found too many district employees were white. It warned employees and board members to “add more visibility of Latinx (their fake word, not ours), Indigenous, and trans communities …” That’s right. The report flat out said to enhance “visibility” of minorities, which sounds exploitative.

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The report urges staff to “be aware of potentially sensitive holidays,” such as “Thanksgiving.”

The identify-and-stereotype variety of anti-intellectualism homogenizes unique, autonomous individuals. By doing so, it deemphasizes the need to respect intellect, personality and character without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or creed. It is a disguised twist on the old lunacy of making genetic lineage a higher concern than any individual’s unique qualities. By now, we should have moved on.

Libraries should always stand as institutions chartered to enhance and nourish human knowledge for anyone willing to read. The capacity of a human brain has no relation to the body’s visible traits.

Sadly, the library district’s political agenda survived Speers’ departure. As reported April 6 by Gazette reporter Debbie Kelley, the district – under new Board President Aaron Salt – has a new strategic plan that outlines the institution’s vision, mission, and core values through 2025.

Top priorities include “promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.” Though it sounds nice, these are poorly defined buzzwords for conveniently stereotyping individuals to fit group molds.

The library should promote nothing other than unobstructed access to books and media promoting limitless ideas and viewpoints. It should no more emphasize and spotlight a woke political agenda than the beliefs of Christianity or Islam.

The fixation on modern identity politics showed up in a proposed resolution, sent to council by the library district to honor National Library Week. Seven of eight councilors rejected and rewrote the district’s proposed resolution.

One paragraph mentioned a list of groups libraries tolerate, including those defined by “sexual orientation” or “gender identity.” It said our libraries serve “places of worship,” “active-duty military,” “small business owners,” etc. No one doubted this.

There’s no mention of “biker gangs,” or “large business owners.” What about “atheists,” “political extremists, “people experiencing homelessness” or “pacifists”? If they are specifying groups, they had best name them all. Otherwise, the statement appears politically exclusive.

The City Council wisely changed the graph to libraries serve “as trusted institutions for all members of the community.” It’s hard to get more inclusive than that.

The council changed a passage that said libraries develop and maintain “diverse” and “equitable” programs. Their version says libraries develop and maintain programs and collections that offer “high-quality, research-based materials” that foster the “development and improvement of the knowledge and skills needed for employment and personal fulfillment.”

The Council changed libraries are “inclusive” to “libraries promote a sense of local connection, advancing understanding, civic engagement, and shared community goals.” This makes them inherently inclusive.

Identity politics lump individuals into groups, creating zones of separation. The progressive identity movement fabricates labels such as “Latinx,” wokesplaining to Latin Americans how they should identify with a word unknown in the Spanish language.

We should stop politicizing libraries and other public institutions with words and phrases that foment division by stereotyping individuals who merely want to read. Give thanks that our City Council gets it.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board