Beloved Georgia librarian fired for displaying trans-inclusive children’s book sues county, library system

A Georgia librarian has sued the county and regional library system, accusing local officials of firing her for displaying a trans-inclusive book.

LaVonnia Moore filed a federal lawsuit Monday in the Southern District of Georgia against extremely conservative Pierce County and the Three Rivers Regional Library System, alleging her termination violated her civil rights. The county voted for Donald Trump 88.67 percent to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 11.16 percent in the 2024 election. The lawsuit alleges that she faced discrimination based on race, sex, and religion and was deprived of her rights to free speech, due process, and equal protection.

The library system last year fired Moore after 15 years of employment for including When Aidan Became a Brother, an award-winning picture book by Kyle Lukoff about a transgender boy, in a summer reading display, according to the lawsuit. Moore had invited local families to select books with colorful covers from the library’s collection. A family she described as gender-fluid selected the book, and Moore allowed it to be displayed, the lawsuit contends.

Related: Beloved Georgia librarian fired after child chooses book with transgender character for library display

“I wasn’t going to tell the kid no,” Moore told The Advocate last year. “I was just happy the kid was reading, happy they were engaging in their library.”

The lawsuit alleges that Pierce County commissioners directed the library system to fire Moore, a Black woman, over the decision, and that the library system complied under threat of losing county funding.

The complaint describes an earlier dispute between county officials and library leaders: Pierce County withdrew from the Okefenokee Regional Library System in 2024 after the system decided to display Pride flags and a mural featuring a rainbow-colored heart at its headquarters in a neighboring county. The withdrawal led the library Moore managed to join the Three Rivers system.

The display was part of a statewide summer program, which last year had “Color Our World” as its theme. But after an anti-LGBTQ+ activist involved with the Alliance for Faith and Family emailed commissioners calling the book “mental rape” intended to confuse children, commissioners intervened, according to the lawsuit. The complaint dates the book selection to around June 3, 2025, and Moore’s firing to June 18, the same day it says officials exchanged emails about the display.

Related: Bombshell records expose political plot to oust rural Georgia librarian over LGBTQ+ book

In her lawsuit, Moore said welcoming the family’s input was consistent with her faith. She alleges the county and library system discriminated against her on the basis of sex because of her association with the family and her decision to allow its book selection to be displayed. The lawsuit also says Three Rivers replaced her with a white woman and retained a white gay man in a leadership position at the library. Moore alleges she was fired for opposing discrimination against the family and for allowing the book’s transgender content and viewpoint to be represented in the display.

The library system has previously declined to comment to The Advocate, citing the likelihood of litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that Moore suffered humiliation and financial hardship following her firing and that the defendants have opposed her efforts to find other employment since she filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the complaint, no comparable library employment is available within commuting distance of Pierce County. She is seeking back pay, front pay, compensation for lost benefits and damages for pain, suffering and mental anguish stemming from her high-profile termination.