Beloved Georgia librarian fired for displaying trans-inclusive children’s book sues county, library system

A Georgia librarian has sued the county and regional library system, accusing local officials of firing her for displaying a trans-inclusive book.LaVonnia Moore filed a federal lawsuit Monday in the Southern District of Georgia against extremely conservative Pierce County and the Three Rivers Regional Library System, alleging her termination violated her civil rights. The county voted for Donald Trump 88.67 percent to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 11.16 percent in the 2024 election. The lawsuit alleges that she faced discrimination based on race, sex, and religion and was deprived of her rights to free speech, due process, and equal protection.The library system last year fired Moore after 15 years of employment for including When Aidan Became a Brother, an award-winning picture book by Kyle Lukoff about a transgender boy, in a summer reading display, according to the lawsuit. Moore had invited local families to select books with colorful covers from the library’s collection. A family she described as gender-fluid selected the book, and Moore allowed it to be displayed, the lawsuit contends.Related: Beloved Georgia librarian fired after child chooses book with transgender character for library display“I wasn’t going to tell the kid no,” Moore told The Advocate last year. “I was just happy the kid was reading, happy they were engaging in their library.”The lawsuit alleges that Pierce County commissioners directed the library system to fire Moore, a Black woman, over the decision, and that the library system complied under threat of losing county funding.The complaint describes an earlier dispute between county officials and library leaders: Pierce County withdrew from the Okefenokee Regional Library System in 2024 after the system decided to display Pride flags and a mural featuring a rainbow-colored heart at its headquarters in a neighboring county. The withdrawal led the library Moore managed to join the Three Rivers system.The display was part of a