North Carolina library board sacked for refusing to remove transgender children’s book
Trustees had decided not to move or remove Call Me Max, a picture book about a transgender boy who asks his teacher to use his chosen name
By Callum Wells
Randolph County, North Carolina, has removed all members of its public library board following a decision to retain a children’s book featuring a transgender character.
The board’s removal followed a 3–2 vote by the county’s Board of Commissioners last week. Trustees had decided not to move or remove Call Me Max, a picture book about a transgender boy who asks his teacher to use his chosen name.
Nearly 200 residents attended a public hearing on the book, revealing a community sharply divided between those calling for the board’s dismissal and those urging the county to respect the library’s review process.
“It’s a pretty dramatic response to wanting to have diverse and inclusive books on shelves” – Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America
Library staff and board members had reviewed a formal complaint about the book earlier this fall. In October, they determined that it met county collection guidelines and voted to keep it in the children’s section, according to CBS affiliate WFMY. Despite following their own rules, the commissioners chose to dissolve the board entirely – a step allowed under North Carolina law but rarely taken.
Free-expression advocates criticised the move as a major escalation in the political handling of book challenges. Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America, told The Washington Post: “It’s a pretty dramatic response to wanting to have diverse and inclusive books on shelves.” She added that the Randolph County decision ranks among the harshest consequences imposed over a single title that she has seen.
Those opposed to the book framed the issue as a question of child safety. Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the conservative North Carolina Values Coalition, which encouraged supporters to attend the hearing, said Call Me Max teaches children that their parents could be “wrong” about their gender.
“Policies can be helpful, but this is ultimately a question of power” – Call Me Max‘s author, Kyle Lukoff
Randolph County, home to roughly 150,000 residents, voted nearly four to one for Donald Trump in 2020. The commissioners have not yet said how or when they will reconstitute the library board.
Call Me Max has previously been banned in several school districts and was cited by Florida governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 while promoting his “don’t say gay” legislation, which restricts classroom discussions of gender identity.
For the book’s author, Kyle Lukoff, the Randolph County case highlights how procedural safeguards can be ignored when LGBTQ+ representation is at stake.
He told The Washington Post: “Policies can be helpful, but this is ultimately a question of power. If there are people in power who believe trans people don’t belong in their communities or the world at large, they will twist those policies to make it a reality.”
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