by Dr. Mark Creech, Director of Government Relations
Return America
The Randolph County Commissioners voted 3–2 Monday night to dismiss the county’s Library Board of Trustees after a tense and emotionally charged public hearing that drew nearly 200 residents to the Historic 1909 Courthouse. The controversy stemmed from the board’s refusal to relocate Call Me Max, a picture book introducing gender transition concepts to young children.
I attended the meeting, along with Dr. Ron Baity, president of Return America, and other R.A. supporters who had traveled to Asheboro. I spoke on behalf of Return America, commending the commissioners for their willingness to address what many believe is a troubling pattern of ideological material presented to young children.
“In a cultural moment when many leaders shrink back from controversy,” I told commissioners, “you have chosen to support one of the noblest of causes – to protect the innocence of children. That is not extremism. That is not censorship. That is not Christian Nationalism. That is moral leadership.”
A Divided Audience with Intensifying Rhetoric
Forty individuals were randomly selected to speak during the two-hour public comment period: 21 urged dismissal of the board, while 19 defended it. Many who spoke in favor of protecting children included local pastors, ministry leaders, and concerned parents.
But rather than address the substance of their arguments, several opponents resorted to extreme, even reckless accusations. Some labeled the pastors who spoke as “Christian nationalists,” and at least a few went so far as to compare the commissioners’ concerns about children’s materials to “Nazi-like policies.”
These assertions were not only baseless – they were absurd. Their presence in the debate, however, revealed the increasing difficulty progressives have in engaging the actual issue: whether a publicly funded library should place ideologically charged content about gender identity in a section designed for very young children.
Instead of grappling with that question, opponents fell back on predictable talking points and hyperbolic insults. They claimed censorship and constitutional violations. They insisted the library board was following professional guidelines. They warned of lawsuits, invoked “diversity and empathy,” and portrayed commissioners as grossly intolerant. Some even expressed visible irritation – sliding down in pews, shaking their heads, grimacing and moaning – whenever Scripture was quoted.
As Dr. Ron Baity later wrote in an email to Return America supporters, the reaction to the Bible’s clear teaching on male and female was especially revealing. “The unbelievers were visibly unsettled,” he noted, particularly when Genesis 1:27 was read aloud.
A Vote with Consequences
After comments concluded, commissioners offered their final thoughts. Commissioner Kenny Kidd said the matter was “black and white” and centered on “the soul of our children.” Chairman Darrell Frye spoke emotionally about a family member who had suffered severe emotional confusion fed by social media influences, arguing that certain forms of information provided to youth can be very damaging to them. Commissioner Lester Rivenbark said the issue reflected not just one book but a broader moral drift.
Commissioners Hope Haywood and David Allen dissented, arguing that procedural reforms could have been made without abolishing the board. But the majority determined that decisive action was necessary to restore public confidence and protect children’s innocence.
The board voted 3–2 to dismiss all nine trustees and dissolve the governing bylaws.
A Statewide Pattern Comes into Focus
Monday night’s clash in Asheboro is part of a widening statewide debate over children’s exposure to sexual and gender ideology in publicly funded institutions. Just days after the Randolph County vote, lawmakers in Raleigh confronted similar concerns during a fiery oversight hearing involving the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
There, House Majority Leader Brenden Jones accused school officials of resisting parents’ rights laws that were approved by the NCGA in 2023. He said that they were hiding LGBTQ-themed classroom materials, and recommending books such as Santa’s Husband (depicting Santa in a same-sex marriage), It Isn’t Rude to Be Nude (featuring cartoon nudity), and These Are My Eyes, This Is My Nose, This Is My Vulva, These Are My Toes (which asserts that “some boys have a penis but not all boys do”).
Jones blasted the district for what he called “a coordinated middle finger to this legislature and every parent in your district.” Screenshots provided by his office showed the materials listed on the district’s own website under elementary resources.
A Larger Reckoning Over Who Forms Children’s Minds
Both Randolph County and Chapel Hill–Carrboro demonstrate a widening philosophical divide in North Carolina: Should public institutions introduce young children to adult themes of sexuality and gender identity? If parents object, must public systems adjust, or should parents acquiesce to the ideological environment created for their children?
Opponents of reform frequently retreat to accusations such as Christian nationalism, censorship, and Nazi analogies, because such rhetoric is easier than addressing the core moral question. But as I told commissioners Monday night, “There is such a thing as truth… children are not political experiments… and leaders still exist who consider it an honor, not a burden, to defend righteousness.”
Dr. Baity expressed the conviction even more powerfully, declaring, “The Bible is our final authority… and will remain true when the world is on fire.”
