WCU’s Hunter Library celebrated LGBTQIA+ History Month and National Coming Out Day on Tuesday, Oct. 11 with the second annual Drag Queen Story Hour event featuring Drag Queens Beulah Land and Rubella Werk.
Among the books read aloud at the event were children’s books that are authored by writers of the LQBTQIA+ community and are popularly banned in the United States. These books were written to educate and spread awareness of the importance of the two holidays.
Land shared “I Am Jazz” by Jazz Jennings, “This is my Family: a First Look at Same-sex Parents” by Pat Thomas and “It Feels Good to be Yourself” by Theresa Thorn during the reading hour. These are available as a resource to check out in the children’s section at the university library.
“There’s a lot of information out there and there’s a lot of things that may not be appropriate for certain audiences but it’s important that when children come into contact with this material – because they will one day – that they are able to ask the right questions and not offer judgment,” said Land.
Werk presented the book “The Great Smoky Mountain Salamander Ball” by Lisa Horstman. The library is currently working on adding the book to the collection as well.
“As much as we’re talking about loving one another and accepting one another and building a better world for people and queer people specifically, we also really need to keep an eye out for taking care of nature and taking care of the planet and all the wonderful creatures we share our planet with,” said Werk.
“The CMC in particular is really catered towards materials for younger audiences and children,” said Joshua Everhart, Hunter Library’s admin support. “And so, we feel sharing resources for the LGBT community can help start conversations early, can help people start exploring their identities, and can really just open up new doors.”
The audience engaged with Land and Werk in a discussion after each book to talk about the content of the book and what it teaches children about diversity, sexuality, inclusion and treating creatures in nature kindly.
“…Being honest, being open, and having these conversations, not being afraid of the scary conversations but rather embracing them and understanding that everyone has questions about queer identity and sexuality. Even if they’re not queer, people want to know what’s going on,” said Land. “People want to understand one another. […] When we are so opposed to the presence of queer individuals that’s where a lot of harm really happens.”
Hunter Library proves to be a safe space for individuals of the LGBTQIA+ community through their efforts.
“[We want] to encourage people to be their authentic selves and feel safe in doing so and to let them know that the library is a space for them to feel welcomed and encouraged, especially the CMC,” said Jazmyne Baylor, the research and instruction librarian education liaison.
The library will continue to provide various resources for all ages to engage in learning about the LQBTQIA+ community.
