A Black Lives Matter activist has been fired from his librarian job for filming himself burning conservative library books – including one by Donald Trump. Cameron Williams, also known as C-Grimey, was axed from his job on February 10, after his former bosses accused him of censorship.
He was dismissed after he shared a clip of himself dousing the Trump book ‘Crippled America’ with lighter fluid before burning it in his backyard in December. Williams, from Chattanooga in Tennessee, also destroyed How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) by right-wing writer Ann Coulter.
Coulter’s work heavily influenced Trump’s immigration policies, although they fell out after she accused him of failing to deliver on his promise to build a border wall. Williams, 35, has since hit out at Chattanooga Public Library over his dismissal last week, and claims it was unfair.
He told The Washington Post: ‘This is not the precedent on how this stuff is handled. To be frank, it’s because I’m a community member that’s been speaking for the betterment of black people for several years.’
Williams began working at the library two years ago. He says he ran into trouble after being asked to comb the political science section and weed out titles which were more than 10 years old, or contained misinformation, to clear space for an influx of new books.
The Ann Coulter book was published in 2004, meaning it qualified for removal. Trump’s book came out in 2015, with Williams saying he’d decided to remove it in the wake of the US Capitol riots on January 6.
Library bosses refused to comment on their removal criteria, but insisted that neither book should have been taken out of the collection.
Williams says he and other employees were allowed to keep books that had been taken off the shelves – and use them in ‘art projects.’ He added: ‘This is a BS rule that doesn’t exist. They’re just using it to persecute me.’
But critics of Williams’ behavior likened burning the books to the past behavior of repressive governments doing the same to suppress information they disagreed with.
Williams, who was arrested for allegedly blocking an emergency vehicle during summer protest in Chattanooga, was placed on administrative leave after the video of him burning the books was brought to library bosses’ attention.
He said his firing was racist, and says he and his lawyer had attempted to return or refund the cost of the books destroyed, only to be refused.
Williams continued: ‘I was treated as a token black man.
‘But as soon as I speak forcefully for black people, they essentially tried to assassinate my character.’
A library spokesman said: ‘It’s our job to ensure that all walks of life have access to information without judgment or prejudice.
‘Whether these materials were actually destroyed in a fire or even if they were just removed, that does go against our policy.
‘Because at the end of the day, we believe that censorship has no place in a library.’
*story by METRO.co.uk
