The Fairfax Library & Public Resist Censorship
While the Fairfax County Library’s employees and volunteers may have been caught off guard by the sudden attention from the conservative groups. They were not unprepared for such a situation. The establishment of The American Library Association's Bill of Rights clearly served as a set of standards for librarians to adhere to, and to better serve the public. The ALA Bulletin, a periodical for the American Library Association, regularly discussed how to deal with censorship issues. Only a year prior guidelines were released on how to best counter calls for censorship. Offering information such as having documentation of all approved books by a board of trustees, clear complaint handling method in writing, community outreach,[1] reach out to the press, and defend principles of freedom.[2] For the Fairfax Library, the press inadvertently brought their critics to their doorsteps, but continued coverage of the ordeal allowed the broader part of the public to voice their opinions on the matter. The mounting pressure led to officials to quietly pull back their concerns over the films and books at the library. The public’s awareness of this situation threatened Congressman Broyhill’s reputation leading to him to drop the whole issue.
Republican Glenn Burkland, of the Virginia House of Delegates, whose complaints which aligned with Reverand Crowley’s disagreement with the showing of films that dealt with evolution, also removed himself from the situation. His explanation being that he often succumbed to “emotionalism.”[3] Implying that his emotions were impeding his judgement, but still firm in his belief that libraries needed a form of political oversight. During interviews Burkland was pressed on the idea of this Library censorship ordeal being compared to the Scopes case, simply disregarding as completely seperate situations. However, he would decline to follow up on explaining how it differed.
Margaret Plattner saw herself ostracized by the Falls Church Democratic Committee due to their refusal to support censoring the library. In the following months chairman of the committee, Fred Babson, would reject Plattner’s support for his candidacy for Board of Supervisors. Babson proclaiming his work to have her candidacy for Justice of the Peace defeated due to her “witch hunt.”[4] The following month Plattner would publicly criticize members of the democratic party before attempting to run as an independent for Justice of the Peace in Falls Church.[5] She would not win.
Congressman Broyhill avoids any serious blow back from the fiasco just in time for his election the next year. Broyhill would go on to maintain his seat as Virginia’s 10th district House Representative. In the following years he would vote against the Civil rights act in 1964, 1968, and against the voting rights act in 1965. His main complaint being “forced integration,” in many of his arguments. Finally losing his post in 1974.[5]
[1] Northern Virgnia Sun, At Springfield Estates, 1963
[2] Intellectual Freedom Committee, How Libraries and schools can resist censorship, 228-229
[3] Hamlin, A Case Study of the Fairfax County, 2
[4] Fairfax Falls Church Sun Echo, Fred Babson Calls Demo Meeting, (Fairfax Falls Chruch Sun Echo, 1963), 6
[5] Northern Virginia Sun, Democratic Candidate Hits Party, (Northern Virginia Sun, 1963), 1
[6] Hevesi, Joel T. Broyhill, 86, Congressman Who Opposed Integration, Dies. (https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/washington/joel-t-broyhill-86-congressman-who-opposed-integration-dies.html, 2006)