April 2, 2026, 6:05 a.m. ET
- Firing decision also follows director filing complaints on 2 board members, including chairman
- The books the majority of the board want moved to adult section include ‘Welcome to Your Period’ and ‘The Every Body Book’
- Fired library director Luanne James says she refused to move over 100 children’s LGBTQIA books to adult section because ‘such action constitutes censorship’ and ‘violates the First Amendment’
Fired Rutherford County Library System Director Luanne James took a stance for children’s access to “Pride in Sports” and other LGBTQIA books and lost her job because of it.
The March 30 firing came because James refused to follow her board’s March 16 directive to move what she described as more than 100 children’s LGBTQIA books to the adult section.
The 132 titles include “The Every Body Book,” with the following cover description: “The LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide for Kids about Sex, Gender, Bodies and Families.”
Censorship issue: Rutherford County Library System Board fires director for stance on children’s LGBTQIA books
What’s in four of the books getting moved
The Daily News Journal took an inside look at four of the 132 titles James refused to move:
- “Pride in Sports” by Helen and Kate Richardson-Walsh
- “Welcome to Your Period” by Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang
- “The Every Body Book” by Rachel E Simon and illustrated by Noah Grigni
- “Lily and Dunkin” by Donna Gephart
Censorship plans: Library board postpones book banning decisions in Rutherford County amid security, yelling and tears
‘Pride in Sports’ written by Olympic athletes
The authors of “Pride in Sports” played hockey together and were “both on the Great British team for many years… They competed in four Olympic tournaments.
“Since their retirement, Helen and Kate have started a family. They are now activists who give talks to students to normalize LGBTQIA+ relationships. They have also raised awareness for LGBTQIA+ players in sports and hope that by being open about their relationship, it will make other sports as accepting of the LGBQIA+ community as hockey is.”
“Pride in Sports” provides illustrations that include a bearded man holding a Pride flag and a T-shirt with rainbows and hearts where the letter “O” would be for the message, “LOVE IS LOVE.”
The book gives the meanings of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual and Plus, fully explaining the abbreviation LGBTQIA+ to make sure the “community feels included regardless of who they are.”
March 2025 decision: Divided Rutherford County Library System Board bans transgender books ‘to protect children’
“Pride in Sports” also mentions many other athletes, including Fallon Fox, the “first openly transgender female” mixed-martial arts fighter.
“Fallon was assigned male at birth. From a very young age, she remembers questioning her gender identity. Growing up as a teenaged male, Fallon thought she was a gay man until she learnt about what it means to be transgender. Later on, she went on to transition to female. By publicly announcing that she was transgender, she has become a role model for transgender people in sports,” the book reads.
It also defines transitioning to include taking medication or having surgery, or “telling friends and family, dressing differently and changing their name to one they feel suits them more.”
Censorship opposition: Rutherford library officials face criticism from national organizations for removing books on transgender issues
‘Welcome to Your Period’ mentions transgender health issues
“Welcome to Your Period” includes illustrations of females and body parts to explain menstruation.
“Once you start getting your period, you tend to get it for the next 30 to 40 years, interrupted by pregnancy and childbirth (if you have kids), until menopause. Menopause is when your reproductive system shuts down and you can no longer make a baby in your body. The average age for a person to reach menopause is 51 years of age,” the book explains.
It also provides an answer to a 12-year-old girl about what she can do to calm herself down when she’s “terrified of getting my period.”
“A lot of people feel scared about getting their period for the first time. If this is you, we promise you are not the only one. Of course it’s OK to be scared. The best thing you can do when you’re scared of something is to find out more about it,” the book reads.
“Welcome to Your Period” offers additional specific advice, including having a “period pack” with menstrual products and “spare undies.”
It also suggests that readers reaching the milestone of a first menstration consider celebrating “with a Period Party!”
There’s advice on challenges, such as playing sports, swimming, sleepovers, camping, handling period pain and the expectations of society on gender.
“Transgender children, adolescents, and adults have existed for as long as time. Just as we now have the medical technology to help girls and women manage their periods, doctors can also help transgender adolescents who don’t want to have any periods. Doctors can prescribe hormones to try to block or stop periods and other physical changes,” the book reads.
June 2025 decision: Rutherford library board rescinds decision to remove books on transgender issues
‘The Every Body Book’ discusses gender topics
“The Every Body Book” offers descriptions and illustrations to explain body parts, including for babies.
“Our genitals, which are the private parts between our legs, are different,” the book says. It also tells readers that gender can be complicated.
“Our gender identity is how we identify ourselves in our hearts and our minds − girl, boy, neither, or somewhere in between. Knowing how much you feel like a girl, boy, or other gender is really clear for some kids, which others take lots of time and thinking to figure it out,” it said.
“The Every Body Book” encourages readers to be accepting and tolerant.
“When someone tells us their gender identity, we should be respectful and use the names and pronouns that they use,” the book reads.
Government accountability: Rutherford County Library System director files 4 complaints against board chairman
‘Lily and Dunkin’ discusses a child’s gender confusion
“Lily and Dunkin” is a novel about two teens.
The first is Lily.
“Being a girl is not so easy when you were born in a boy’s body. Especially when you’re in the eighth grade,” reads the description on the other side of the book cover.
The character Dunkin is dealing with bipolar disorder and his family moving from the New Jersey town he’s called home for the past 13 years, according to the book description.
“This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse,” the book description says.
When Lily and Dunkin meet one summer morning, “their lives change forever.”
December 2025 decision: Rutherford County Library System Board retains chairman after misconduct complaints
Other books moving to adult section
Here are some of the other 132 books targeted by the Rutherford County library board in the March list, obtained by The Tennessean and The Daily News Journal via the Rutherford County Library Alliance:
- “The Airless Year” by Adam Knave: flagged for “female empowerment”
- “Desert Queen” by Jyoti Rajan Gopal: flagged for LGBTQ themes, “strongly” promoting “gender equality, female empowerment, following one’s dreams and challenging rigid social roles.”
- “We Belong” by Laura Purdie Salas: flagged for “diverse children in urban setting”
- “Bodies are Cool” by Tyler Feder: flagged for “boys shown bare-chested; a woman nursing a child is depicted.”
- “Answers in the Pages” by David Levithan: flagged for “classroom discussion of books bans and censorship.”
- “Harlem Hellfighters” by J. Patrick Lewis: flagged for “graphic depiction of lynching.”
- “What was Stonewall?” by Nico Medina: flagged for “LGBTQ community’s fight for equality”
- “You are not Alone” by Kaitlin McGraw: flagged for “diversity and inclusion.”
- ”An ABC of Equality” by Chana Ginelle Ewing: flagged for “social justice concepts”
- “Snapdragon” by Kat Leyh: flagged for “witches”
First Amendment issue: The children books one Tennessee librarian refuses to move
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
