(WASHINGTON)— PEN America said today it is deeply disturbed by the firing of Dr. Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, for reasons the White House identified as related to “diversity” programming and her choices of books for children. The free expression group said the ousting follows an “escalating” pattern by President Trump of weeding out non-political Congressionally confirmed heads of cultural institutions and replacing them with his own loyalists.
Appointed in 2016, Dr. Hayden is the first African American and the first woman to serve as the Librarian of Congress, a post she held under Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden.
“Controlling cultural institutions is part of the authoritarian playbook,” said Hadar Harris, managing director of PEN America’s Washington, DC office. “The firing of Dr. Hayden is a Kremlineque move to suppress ideas and to send a chill through the leadership of cultural and educational institutions. The message seems obvious: Comply or be fired.”
Harris said this is an escalation of President Trump’s campaign to remove nonpolitical, Congressionally confirmed heads of key cultural institutions and to replace them with Trump loyalists.
“To justify Dr. Hayden’s firing, the White House stated that she “did not fit the needs of the American people” because she was implementing diversity programming and allegedly “putting inappropriate books in the library for children,” said Harris.
In February, President Trump used similar tactics, firing the National Archivist, Dr. Colleen Shogan, in a late night email. Similarly he fired the Kennedy Center leadership and announced he was taking over the cultural institution. These moves come on the heels of the termination of grants to the National Endowment of the Arts and other key cultural institutions.
Dr. Hayden managed the world’s largest library and one of the nation’s most important institutions for archival preservation for nine years. This fact was recognized on Tuesday in a hearing of the House Committee on Administration by members on both sides of the aisle.
“It is deeply disturbing that, just two days later, Dr. Hayden’s firing came on the heels of a far-right advocacy group called for her ousting, accusing her of promoting so-called “woke” and “anti-Trump” content,” said Harris.”
Dr. Hayden was the first professional librarian since 1974 to serve as Librarian of Congress.
The Library of Congress, founded in 1800, is the largest library in the world and holds millions of physical and digital materials, including books, manuscripts, films, newspapers, and photographs. In recent years, increased efforts have been taken up to modernize and diversify the library’s collections and programming. Because of this, the Library of Congress is increasingly in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as he engages in the ideological reshaping of federal agencies, cultural institutions, and other facets of American life.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057