Latest news with #BeachwoodPublicLibrary
Boston Globe
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
A man checked out 100 library books. Then he burned them.
Last month, a man in Ohio checked out 100 books about Black, Jewish, and LGBTQ culture and history from the Beachwood Public Library. According to authorities, he allegedly posted a video on Advertisement Police have not identified the man. During this very politically fraught moment, with the Trump administration demonizing history and culture that they perceive as a threat to white supremacy, it's one of the first known recent instances of book burning. But with history as a solemn guide, it seems unlikely that it will be the last. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up In a statement, Kent Smith, a Democratic Ohio state senator, condemned the book burning as 'Libraries are designed to be community-based safe harbors of free thought. Libraries offer ideas,' he said. 'This is their fundamental role in our democracy and why they are so vital. This act of violence is not just a crime against the public catalog of literature that was destroyed but also is a violation of the marketplace of ideas that is a bedrock principle of American life.' Advertisement That bedrock principle, and not just books, is under assault. This incident has led some to evoke The clear difference between what happened in Germany in 1933 and Ohio in 2025 is that the latter was neither sanctioned nor carried out by the government. But in purging certain books for what his administration calls " The titles of the books that the man checked out from the library have not been released to the public. Katie Cohen, left, and Krysta Petrie stand next to the Little Queer Library book-share box they built outside their Waltham home. Lane Turner/Globe Staff In front of their Waltham home in 2020, Krysta Petrie and Katie Cohen built what they called the ' This was happening as there were public debates in the city over a parent's request that two books, " Advertisement 'Our mission with this is to try to get more books out there that have positive LGBT representation, because although we've made strides in a lot of ways of being more accepting, there's still a lot of people and a lot of things out there in general out in the United States that are bad things that are impacting the community and representation,' Cohen 'And reading about somebody who's different than you is important,' she said. 'Also seeing yourself in the books is really important.' A purge never simply takes away a book. It is about eradicating the concepts and cultures the books explore, whitewashing history, and ignoring accountability or acknowledgment of harms done and how to correct them in this still less-than-perfect union. And it's about burying the achievements of people of color, women, Jews, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community in favor of deifying the version of history in which the Great White Man can only stand tall because he's standing on everyone else. But just as book purges can lead to book burning, such acts can also engender even more nefarious responses from those threatened by ideas and cultures that no longer center or look like them. Renée Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Un-American': Man allegedly burned dozens of books from Beachwood library, police say
BEACHWOOD, Ohio (WJW) – A man who checked out dozens of books from the Beachwood Public Library allegedly burned them in a social media video, the Beachwood Police Department said. According to the police department, the man came into the Beachwood Public Library on Shaker Boulevard on April 2 and applied for a library card. Investigators said he then checked out 50 books 'on topics including Jewish history, African American history and LGBTQ education,' the police report said. Pregnant woman, 2 children die in Kingsville Township house fire A library official told police she was later contacted by the Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative, a group that reports suspected hate crimes online. The group told her a photo posted to social media on April 3 showed the alleged suspect with a car trunk full of books and a caption related to 'cleansing the libraries.' Beachwood police said the books in the photo had Cuyahoga County Public Library stickers on them and appeared to match the topics of those the man checked out the day before. Investigators said the man returned to the library on April 10 and checked out another 50 books and similar topics. 'During this encounter, (the man) told a librarian that his son was in the LGBTQ community, and he was trying to learn more about it,' the police report said. The librarian said his behavior was 'very odd and concerning,' but no threats were made, Beachwood police said. The Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative later told library officials that a video posted online showed the suspect allegedly burning the books. Parents sought after Canton toddler dies Investigators said at least one of the books clearly had a Cuyahoga County Public Library sticker on it and matched one of the books the man checked out. The incident was reported to police on May 2. According to Beachwood police, the checked-out books were not overdue yet. Once overdue, library officials would make the man pay for the books. The police report said the 100 books are worth about $1,700. The police investigation is ongoing at this time. According to Beachwood Police Chief Dan Grispino, once the investigation is complete, a city prosecutor will determine if a crime was committed and if charges should be fined. 'The Beachwood Police Department is actively investigating this incident. Our department stands against antisemitism and all acts of bias-motivated crimes,' Beachwood Police Chief Dan Grispino said in a statement. 'We are committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting any hate-motivated incidents within the City of Beachwood. Our priority is to maintain a community that can thrive without the fear of threats of intimidation or violence.' State Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement condemning the alleged book burning: 'I condemn this act, not only because it is a crime against our institutions and community, but also because it is fundamentally un-American. This nation was founded on the right to free speech and open expression, and our libraries are the embodiment of that promise. Libraries are designed to be community-based safe harbors of free thought. Libraries offer ideas. This is their fundamental role in our democracy and why they are so vital. This act of violence is not just a crime against the public catalog of literature that was destroyed, but also is a violation of the marketplace of ideas that is a bedrock principle of American life. 'This action will not be, should not be, and cannot be tolerated inside the 21st Senate District, this state, or this nation. There is no place for such hate, censorship, or intimidation in Beachwood, nor this country.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
