'Fight Back': Kirk Cameron Says Libraries Refuse to Host Him, Publisher Decries 'Moral and Ideological' Abuse of Kids

Kirk Cameron is no stranger to speaking out about his faith, but the actor, director, and author is addressing another issue this week: a purported silencing.

Cameron, who is out with a new kids’ book, “As You Grow,” has reportedly been either disallowed or ignored after reaching out to more than 50 public libraries about reading his book at their locations, according to Fox News.

But Brave Books, the company behind Cameron’s latest project, and Fox News reported that some of the same libraries precluding Cameron from sharing his book host drag queen story hours, among other such programs.

The Rochambeau Public Library in Providence, Rhode Island, was among the libraries that reportedly declined to host Cameron, telling Brave Books the organization would “pass” on the opportunity.

“We are a very queer-friendly library,” a staffer reportedly said. “Our messaging does not align.”

Janet Fuentes, communications and marketing manager at Community Libraries of Providence, shared a statement with CBN’s Faithwire about The Rochambeau Public Library’s involvement in the story:

We receive many unsolicited requests from individuals and groups to co-host events, which we are always happy to consider. In the vast majority of cases, they do not result in partnership. Typically, as with Brave Books, we suggest that the inquirer considers holding their own event in a bookable meeting room space.

Our libraries are free civic spaces, and our meeting rooms are available free of charge to the public. We provide space for many types of groups, including religious organizations. Prior to the COVID pandemic, we hosted around 700 privately booked events a year, and numbers are gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels. All applicants for meeting space must comply with our meeting room policy. Brave Books is free to request a meeting room space to hold an event at one of our libraries, should it wish to do so.

A request for comment has also been submitted to the Scarsdale Public Library in Scarsdale, New York, as a staffer there purportedly said the library was “not interested” in Cameron’s offering.

The failure to be booked at any of the locations Brave Books reached out to led Cameron to tell Fox News he believes the situation is looking bleak when it comes to influencing hearts and minds.

“This is proof that more than ever, we are getting destroyed in the battle for the hearts and minds of our children,” he said, noting the disparities in programming and what’s allowed.

Cameron continued, “Publicly funded libraries are green-lighting ‘gender marker and name change clinics’ while denying a story time that would involve the reading of a book that teaches biblical wisdom. How much more clear can it get?”

The actor warned it’s essential for people to start pushing back, so we don’t “lose our kids and this country.”

Trent Talbot, the founder of Brave Books, also told CBN’s Faithwire he’s concerned over the state of public libraries on the free speech front.

“Many of our publicly funded libraries have become indoctrination centers of left while we, Christians and conservatives, have been sitting back and watching the children of our country be morally and ideologically abused,” he said. “We all need to ask ourselves ‘What am I doing to fight back?’”

As Faithwire previously reported, others are also taking action to push back on Drag Queen Story Hours and other such efforts.

Dale Partridge and Michael Foster have joined forces to create Pastor Story Hour, an effort sparked after Foster started a conversation on Twitter about the need to stop complaining about Drag Queen Story Hour and to start taking action.

Foster invoked the biblical command to be “salt and light” while discussing his motivation for creating the movement. He also appealed to men to be more vocal on these issues.

“All Christian men should be out there leading the way,” he said. “If we don’t fill the vacuum, who’s going to fill the vacuum?”

Foster continued, “People are looking for leadership. People are looking for wholesome stuff.”

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