Corpus Christi Library Board escapes complete far-right takeover – this time

By Eli McKay

Highlights:

• After runoffs and postponed votes, four were reappointed to the Corpus Christi Library Board. The new board was official at the Feb. 11 city council meeting.
• A six-month-old item on proposed changes to the library's Collections Development Policy is still on the agenda even though mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion have been erased.

After a tense series for Corpus Christi Library Board appointment discussions, a runoff and two ties, four women were reappointed to the Library Board. 

In the early afternoon of Jan. 28, the Corpus Christi City Council chambers were packed with concerned citizens, community organizers and local business owners. Of the 46 people who made public comments that day, 18 commented on Corpus Christi Library Board appointments. 

Some speakers supported the appointment of candidates backed by the conservative-run Citizens Defending Freedom, Samuel Friar and Marcus Haas. Others who gave comments supported Carol Matthews, Jennifer Anderson, Dora Wilburn and Alice Hawkins for reappointment.  

After several hours of public comment, Matthews, Anderson and Hawkins were reappointed, while Friar and Wilburn tied, leading to a runoff vote. The runoff resulted in another tie, which postponed the vote until the next meeting.

Due to the tie, Wilburn attended the Feb. 4 Library Board meeting, still in her position on the board. Staff presented their proposed changes to the Collections Development Policy to another packed room of concerned citizens. Conservative board members introduced the item in September 2024, and it has been on the agenda at every meeting since. 

Library Board member Melinda De Los Santos aggressively questioned staff why they did not support her and other Citizens Defending Freedom members' proposed changes to the policy section that detailed sexually explicit language.

The proposed collections development policy no longer mentions diversity, equity and inclusion, which was an important change for the five right-wing board members; however, the nine-part bullet point definition of the term “sex act” or “sexual activity” – that language was not recommended by staff to be added to the Policy portion of the Collections Development Policy.

Energy in the room remained tense throughout the meeting, with multiple outbursts by De Los Santos, who continued to argue and disparage city staff. An applicant for the Library Board and CDF member, Daniel G. Resley, sat in the front row and recorded Alice Hawkins, the board’s sole Black member and the first Black president of the League of Women Voters Corpus Christi Area, for the entire meeting without moving his camera to any other board members. Despite the contention, no action was taken on the item. 

Twelve people commented about Library Board appointments at the Feb. 11 Corpus Christi City Council meeting. Wilburn was reappointed with a 5 - 2 vote. Her opponent, Friar commented by citing Texas Penal Code 4324, the City Charter Chapter 33 Article 2 Sections 33-46, 33-47 and 33-48 dealing with minors. 

Friar said the 89th Texas Legislature “would prevent books from being in schools that have obscenity in them.” Bills like HB900, passed in September 2023, have continued to cause hurdles for educators and librarians.  

Language can be dangerous when used in a context that blames librarians for children reading books, as noted by NBC News in an article from July 2024.  What Friar failed to mention was Section 33-49, which outlines parental responsibility. Part C of this section states parental duties: “It is the continuous duty of a parent of any minor to exercise reasonable control to prevent the minor from engaging in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision.”

Chisme Collective contacted the City Secretary’s office inquiring about the City Charter and found that it has not updated its definitions (33-48) in this policy since it was approved in 1968, leaving the language and definitions antiquated and out of touch with the 21st century.  

The perception that there is sexually explicit material in public libraries is a tactic used by Christo-fascist groups who seek to impose their religion on others. In a 2022 article, The Nation wrote, “more than revealing the scale of the bans, the (PEN America “Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor”) report also offers insight into a few of the organizations behind them: Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents’ Rights in Education. According to the report, a staggering 86 percent of book bans last year occurred in school districts with a local chapter of one of these three groups.” 

The next library board meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. March 4 at La Retama Library downtown. The conservative majority of the board likely will continue to push to change the Collections Development Policy language, marking six months that the board has fixated on this issue instead of focusing on the expansion of funding opportunities and programs for Corpus Christi’s public libraries.