Not Up to “Community” Standards? Theorizing Models of Community with Library Censorship Policies in Greenville County, South Carolina (2022-2025)

Using discursive and thematic coding methods to analyze governmental policies in Greenville County, South Carolina – Greenville County Council Resolution 96-014 and the Greenville County Library System Board of Trustees’ Display of Library Materials and Promotional Information Policy and Collection Development and Maintenance Policy – and local activists’ resistance efforts to them – Freedom in Library Advocacy Group’s “The Circle of Fire” report and “Greenville County Library System Censorship Frequently Asked Questions” report, “A Joint Statement on The Removal of LGBTQ+ Displays in Greenville County Library” press release, and the “Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, and Nominal Damages” document for O.R. v. Greenville County– this project highlights how the language of community is relevant to debates over the “place” of queer and trans people. In doing so, this project challenges the perception of the U.S. South as a place fundamentally incapable of hosting queer communities’ projects of resistance and liberation.