There's No Home for Hate in Simsbury, or Parking Spots Either

SIMSBURY, CT – If you drove down Route 10 in Simsbury at 5:30p.m. on the evening of Monday, January 29th, you may have noticed that despite the freezing temperatures and overcast sky, a jubilant crowd lined both sides of Route 10 in front of the Simsbury Public Library. What had originally been scheduled as a protest to express displeasure for a meeting of the Mom’s for Liberty - Hartford Chapter (MFL-HC), instead turned into a gathering of love and positive energy, after the scheduled meeting was deemed “postponed” in an announcement by the event organizer, Manju Gerber. Every available parking spot of the Simsbury Public Library was filled by a protestor or patron’s car, despite Monday nights not usually steering huge crowds to libraries under normal circumstances. In attendance at the rally and in support of the protestors, a few local elected officials were spotted in attendance. Simsbury Selectman Diana Yeisley and State Representative Melissa Osbourne ventured out into the cold, to stand with the values of the residents that chose to elect them.

Over one hundred protestors formed peaceful crowds, waving, and cheering to passersby. Signs and banners displayed by the protestors carried phrases to convey the message of protecting the core community values and resources being targeted by right-wing groups, such as Mom’s for Liberty. The demonstration took place from 5:30-6:30p.m. on 29th after local community activists learned of the MFL-HC’s intent to hold a meeting in the Weatogue Room of the Simsbury Public Library, which had been scheduled for that same time period. “Disarm Hate,” “Ban Bigots, Not Books,” “Open Books Open Minds”, “There’s No Room for Fascism in Public Libraries” are just a few of the creative and effective messages that dotted the crowd.­­­ The event had originally been scheduled by Manju Gerber, a resident of Avon, CT and president of MFL-HC, who had organized a prior event in the Farmington Valley last year, that was heavily protested. (Read more about that protest at this link.) Manju Gerber had announced the meeting would be “postponed” in an announcement on Facebook earlier in the day on Monday, January 29th. At the time of this article’s writing, no further date has been set on the Simsbury Public Library calendar showing the meeting to be rescheduled by MFL-HC. Manju Gerber, president of the MFL-HC, has not responded to inquiries for quote or comment prior to this article being published.

Ahead of the scheduled event, numerous residents had reached out to the Simsbury Public Library, in an effort to discern how MFL-HC had been permitted to reserve the meeting space, despite being listed as an “extremist group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center in a 2023 report released by the civil rights watchdog group, last year. According to that report, “Moms for Liberty and its nationwide chapters combat what they consider the ‘woke indoctrination’ of children by advocating for book bans in school libraries and endorsing candidates for public office that align with the group's views. They also use their multiple social media platforms to target teachers and school officials, advocate for the abolition of the Department of Education, advance a conspiracy propaganda, and spread hateful imagery and rhetoric against the LGBTQ community.” (You can read that report by clicking here.)

The Simsbury Public Library staff provided an off-the-record, yet consistent statement to numerous Simsbury residents and the author of this article, when the library was contacted. “According to local town and State policy, we do not have the right to turn away non-profit groups that choose to submit the appropriate paperwork to reserve our public spaces, as long as they are using the space within the established conduct rules of the facility” is a summary of the statements that library staff provided to those who inquired. The author of this article was not able to determine the accuracy of this statement, as it differs from August 22nd, 2016 revision of “Program and Meeting Room Rules” adopted by the Simsbury Library Board of Trustees on the aforementioned date. The rules published on the Simsbury Public Library website clearly state: “The Board of Trustees authorizes the Library Director or his/her agent to determine the appropriateness of activities. An appeal may be made to the Board of Trustees in writing. In no case shall any organization be permitted access to a room or equipment without prior approval.” (Read the Simsbury Public Library's Policy for Meeting Rooms at this link) The public is being encouraged to inquire and determine if MFL-HC was an organization that was actually approved per policy of the Simsbury Public Library or if that process was circumvented.

It is the opinion of the author of this article to encourage Simsbury residents and the residents of all towns in Connecticut to investigate the policies of their local public buildings, meeting spaces and libraries and pay attention to what events and gatherings are being listed on town calendars. As fascism rises during this era of populist politics, extremist groups sprout with ease. Misdirected anger and hatred are now publicly cultivated and fomented, to divide the populous, by politicians seeking power and influence through damaging the democratic fabric of our great nation. As a society progresses into the future, it may only do so in a graceful arc by honoring the voice of all its citizens. Extremist leaders and organizations seek to fertilize the minds of their followers with disdain towards fellow citizens and can only achieve power if collectively allowed to splinter the population into factions. The dire situation in the battle for our democracy can be artfully yet archaically illustrated with a 1960 quote from former President, Lyndon B. Johnson: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you." The author would like to point out that in the case of present times, it is not your “pocket” being picked, but instead, the democracy and freedom that prior generations fought so fervently to protect and establish. The time for action is now. Stand up for what is just, register to vote and let your voice be heard!