RIDGELAND, Miss. (WJTV) – The Ridgeland Police Department was called to monitor a meeting about the Ridgeland Public Library as strong emotions raised tensions in City Hall on Tuesday.
The meeting concerning the funding of the Ridgeland Public Library gave people the opportunity to express their concerns about the new books displayed in September 2021.
“I’m now homeschooling my children because it’s become too much. We’ve been complacent for too long, so I applaud you Mayor Magee wholeheartedly for standing up and saying this cannot be pushed down our children’s throat,” said one attendee.
Comments from both sides were interrupted and heckled by those of opposing views.
“Do you want to tell a bunch of children they ain’t welcome? Can you say that to a child? I don’t think we should be saying that to children up front to their faces, and we probably shouldn’t be saying it to them through legislation and decisions of county and city government,” said Alice O’Neal.
“I would like to have the people who put those books in a court room under oath, and I’d like to ask them did you have an agenda in the books that you selected to put in that tray,” said one attended.
Adam Maatallah, who is the president of the Gay Straight Alliance at Madison Central, was surprised by the community discord.
“I was shocked and dismayed to see what the Ridgeland mayor was doing and how he could just assume that authority and action and impose such a heavy fine on the library when we’re just trying to get representation in our own community,” said Maatallah.
The executive director for the Madison County Library System, Tanja Johnson, said the discontinued funding could pose future problems.
“That money affects materials. It affects programs, and at some-point, it would even affect personnel. So, we need to get things resolved with the city so that we can continue to operate and provide the services at the level we always have,” said Johnson.
A final decision on the $110,000 funding for the Ridgeland library has not been made. Meanwhile, more than$112,000 has been raised by the nonprofit, Friends of the Ridgeland Library.
Johnson said the donations will support the library for the reminder of this fiscal year. However, Johnson said the best compromise is for the City of Ridgeland to trust the librarians and allow the library to be run the way it’s always been.