A Tennessee woman has gone global for her speech at a board of trustees meeting.
Jessee Graham gave a fiery address to the Maury County Board of Trustees in response to the resignation of the county's public library director.
Fox resigned after months of backlash from certain community members. Some people were upset by the family-friendly drag brunches he hosted last year.
Fox, who ran the library for three years, was the target of a right-wing bully.
Graham told the board that he has never been sexually assault at a drag show. The men in the church told me I was to blame.
She denounced the hate speech that was taking root in the area. She said she was tired of it.
Graham referred to the LGBTQ community. I am sick of listening to this nonsense about Christianity being the reason for protecting the children.
She said that Jesus didn't condemn anyone. He didn't ever go into any place and destroy a group of people who just want to exist.
She said that it is child abuse to tell your child that he doesn't belong.
The part of the library where children's books were kept, as well as an area where a children's free lunch program was taking place, were objected to by critics of the PrideMonth display.
In social media posts, opponents suggested the display was a threat to children and attacked Fox for supposedly pushing a gay pride month agenda to teens.
The board supported Fox staying on as director despite his resignation.
Attendees at the meeting applauded and cheered her on as she spoke. Her comments on social media have been viewed millions of times.
Conservatives wage culture wars over education on history and identity issues relating to racial minorities and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual (LGBT) community in local communities. Republicans and right-wing activists have worked to ban books and teachings about the history of oppression in the United States and to portray the existence of drag performers as threatening to children.
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