New York Attorney General Letitia James over the weekend hosted and promoted a Drag Queen “Read-a-Thon” for families at the LGBT Community Center, designed to “condemn hate and combat rampant disinformation,” according to her office.
The event took place at the LGBT Community Center in Greenwich Village over the weekend. According to James’s office, “nearly 200” guests attended the event, which was described as a “day of family fun” as drag queens read stories to attendees, which included children.
“It’s time for Drag Story Hour! We’re at @LGBTCenterNYC with some amazing Drag Story Hour NYC storytellers, New York families, elected officials, and community leaders to kick off our Drag Story Hour read-a-thon!” James celebrated, providing a couple snapshots of the event. Several young children can be seen in the audience:
Other elected officials joined the event, including “Assemblymembers Tony Simone and Grace Lee, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Council Members Erik Bottcher, Shekar Krishnan, and Crystal Hudson,” per the press release, which also asserted that the event was in response to a “rise in homophobic protests and fearmongering surrounding Drag Story Hour, and disgraceful harassment and vitriol directed at the LGBTQ+ community, advocates, and leaders such as New York City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Shekar Krishnan.”
“With this event, Attorney General James and her colleagues and co-sponsors are ensuring New Yorkers know that everyone — regardless of sexuality, gender, race, or socioeconomic status — is celebrated, protected, and welcomed in New York,” it reads.
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Notably, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Queens Public Library are listed as co-sponsors of the event.
This would not be the first time the public, taxpayer-funded libraries of New York have been involved in controversial events. The Brooklyn Public library, for example, reportedly hosted a drag queen makeup tutorial for teenagers last summer. That same library has shared sexually explicit books with teenagers as well.
Notably, one Drag Queen Story Hour event in Houston, Texas, brought a sex offender in close proximity to children. In 2019, the Houston Public Library admitted that one of the storytellers at its “Drag Queen Story Hour” was a registered sex offender posing as a drag queen. Nevertheless, New York officials are celebrating their weekend event.
“The recent rise in anti-LGBTQ+ protests, rhetoric, and policies has left New Yorkers — myself included — devastated and disappointed,” James said, reiterating her pride in hosting the event open to young, malleable children.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) also celebrated the drag event, asserting that drag queens are advancing what he described as a “love of diversity.” Adams also admitted that their goal is not to just educate children, but to mold them into accepting these leftist narratives.
“The goal is not only for our children to be academically smart, but also emotionally intelligent,” he said. “I thank Attorney General James for hosting this event that clearly says New York City is the place where you can be yourself and love who you want.”
While crime is running rampant in the city, James seemed to ignore the critiques.
“I don’t know a lot of children harmed by drag read-a-thon. But I know a lot of children harmed by guns, so why don’t you focus on that?” she said.
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