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Library Stormed by Proud Boys During Drag Queen Story Hour Starts Year of “Every Month is Pride” Events

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The San Lorenzo Library in California held a Drag Queen Story Hour event in June for Pride Month with Panda Dulce. The event was disrupted when the Proud Boys — a white supremacists group that is designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand — marched into the library and began shouting slurs and threats. One wore a shirt with an AK-47 on it and the text, “Kill your local pedophile.” They refused to leave when librarians asked them to, and Panda Dulce was removed to another room by a security guard for her safety. The Proud Boys did not leave until police showed up, and the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

Despite how much everyone involved was shaken by this, the library is not allowing it to stop them from their commitment to representing the diversity of their community. They have started a new event series called “Every Month is Pride Month,” which will run for the entire year.

Dave Brown, part of the Board of Supervisors, explained this project will “prove that Alameda County will always be a community based on love and acceptance, and that our residents are always ready to stand against all forms of hate and intolerance.”

County Librarian Cindy Chadwick added, “Our vision statement is Kind, Connected Humans, and we welcome every member of our community every day. Please join us to celebrate the rich diversity of San Lorenzo and the Bay Area.”

You can read more about this story at KRON4.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.