The relocation of three book events that were scheduled to take place at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library continues to raise questions on whether the change was made due to the content of the books and influenced by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C.
A staff person at the Carter Presidential Library, before abruptly ending a call with SaportaReport, said that the National Archives did not order the cancellations. And a statement from the Washington office said that Carter Library leadership is “empowered” to decide for themselves on “scheduling events and programs.”
But the move to cancel the March and April author events was troubling to author Elaine Weiss, who said she was informed by her publicist at Simon and Schuster that all programming had to be approved by the National Archives.
“This really has shocked me,” Weiss said. “It had already been approved. I see it as something deeper… It signals to me that the criteria for approval has changed.”
Weiss said that she is concerned that there is a reluctance in the U.S. to look back at history.
Weiss is the author of “Spell Freedom,” a book about citizenship schools that operated during the Civil Rights Movement to help Black people to claim their voting rights. Brian Goldstone penned a book about five working homeless families living in Atlanta titled, “There Is No Place for Us.” And Mike Tidwell wrote a book on climate change, “The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street.”
Collectively, the three authors’ books relate to diversity, equity, inclusion, and climate change. All are issues that President Trump and his administration do not embrace.
A Capella Books arranged for the authors’ events to be moved to new locations. The store is a bookseller for Carter Library events.
The events for Weiss and Gladstone will be held at the Georgia Center for the Book in Decatur on March 12 and March 26, respectively. Tidwell’s book event will take place on April 7 at Tree Atlanta Kendeda Treehouse. Event information is available on the A Capella Books website.
Owner Frank Reiss said that he was informed that the changes were made due to budget cuts at the Carter Library.
“I don’t think it’s too big of a leap to say that the subject matter of the [events] we have to move were sensitive to the [new Trump] Administration,” he said.
The bookstore owner noted that this past Wednesday’s event for Jeffrey Toobin’s new book “The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy,” about Gerald Ford’s pardon of former President Richard Nixon, remained on the schedule at the Carter Library.
Weiss said that because of the late Jimmy Carter’s humanitarianism and “his emphasis on protecting democracy in the world,” she was looking forward to discussing “Spell Freedom” at the Carter Library.
In the 1960s, Black people who were citizens but could not read or write attended secret classes to help them pass voter registration literacy tests.
Teacher and civil rights leader Septima Clark led citizenship schools in Atlanta from 1961-70. Weiss said that she had invited Clark’s granddaughter, who is an Atlanta resident, to participate in the book event. Clark died in 1987.
“The idea that history is uncomfortable is bogus,” Weiss said. History allows us to learn from mistakes. There are severe mistakes this nation has made.”
Weiss continued: “I want to make sure that we are not succumbing to this … idea that this kind of history shouldn’t be written, shouldn’t be read, shouldn’t taught in schools, shouldn’t be in a presidential library. That is both dangerous and shortsighted and will not do our nation any good.”
