Yesterday I became aware (privately, from a reputable source) that the Dayton Metro Library is removing “permanent displays of flags and other cultural symbols from the interior and exterior facing rooms and offices of all DML branches.” The specific examples given were of the Pride Progress flag and the Juneteenth flag. Particularly when the header image above (“Pride is 365“) was featured in their blog post “Celebrating Pride” (archive.org, archive.is) from just last year.
However, I’m well aware that “white” is often seen as a “default”, and not considered a “cultural” group. I wondered if the same rules would be applied there.
So I called the Dayton Metro Library and spoke to Deputy Executive Director, Rachel Gut.
I asked, “I was wondering if [due to the new policy] you were going to be removing all cultural displays for white folks as well, or just Black and queer folx?”
Ms. Gut and I then had a pleasant conversation for several minutes. She was professional, listened to what I had to say, and answered my questions and comments straightforwardly. For that, I wish to publicly thank her.
Ms. Gut wanted to emphasize that the Juneteenth flag would be displayed during the month of June, and that the Pride flag would be displayed during June and October. She also expressed that they were wanting to have additional cultural displays, such as “a flag during Hispanic Heritage Month and Asian Pacific Islander Month.”
When asked if this new policy would apply to “displays about, say, the Founding Fathers, for example, that [are] inherently celebrating white culture, and specifically a white landowning culture and male culture,” she said she was not aware of any such displays that “is solely representative of white [culture],” but that they would also be subject to the same policy.
Which is nice, I guess?
Still, issuing this policy, with those particular examples, at this time and place in history, certainly gives an impression. Saying they want to “cultivat[e] a safe and welcoming environment for all patrons, staff, and volunteers” immediately after saying that those previously permanent displays were to be taken down, sends a message that patrons who identify with those displays are less welcomed than the “default” white patron, whether that was the intended message or not. Ms. Gut assured me that was not the message they intended to send.
I also shared that after hearing about this policy change, the folx I spoke had told me they were not going to call and let library leadership know how they felt; they simply said they wouldn’t be patronizing the library any longer.
However, I hope that I am wrong on both counts.
Again, Ms. Gut was very polite and took time out of her day to speak to me. We agreed that this country, for all its faults, is a heterogeneous stew of cultures and traditions, and that feeling unsafe or unwelcome due to the mere fact of other culture’s existence in this country was deeply against what the US is supposed to stand for.
If you would like to contact the Dayton Metro Library leadership and ask similar questions to the ones I asked, or to let them know about white-centric displays (again, such as anything about the Founding Fathers) that have been missed as part of this policy, or that instead of removing more of our culture and history, you would like to see these kinds of multicultural displays — including new ones reflecting our Native, AAPI, Hispanic, Latinx, African, and Turkish communities (among others) in the Dayton area — continue to be on permanent display as a celebration of our true heritage, please politely contact them at (937)463-2665 or through the form at https://www.daytonmetrolibrary.org/ask-me/admin.
And if you’re one of those people who feels threatened by the existence of other cultures or orientations, with all due respect, fuck off, bigot. {1}
{1} Why yes, I am aware of Karl Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance. And now you are too. We’ve already let too many Nazis into the bar.
