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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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The wife of a Republican state representative has been switching out books from free library boxes with bibles and other religious reading materials that she believes better align with her Christian values, but the backlash has her husband rushing to her defense.
Jennifer Meeks, who is married to Arkansas State Representative Stephen Meeks, posted about her efforts to swap out the books last week on her Facebook account, according to a community page on the social networking site.
"I have been swapping out books in little free libraries for awhile," a screenshot of Jennifer's original post reads. She continued, "Recently I have been picking up free Bibles at flea markets and thrift stores. Sometimes I find good devotion books or kids' Bible stories at a good price to add. Or just great books, and a gospel tract is a nice idea too."
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Stephen told Newsweek that his wife regularly visits these community libraries and has donated non-religious books as well, but none of her conduct has violated the way these bookcases work.
"That's what the purpose of these things are for," he said.
Little Free Library is a nonprofit that promotes neighborhood book exchanges and American literacy through public bookcases that have a "take a book, share a book" honor system, where people are encouraged to borrow and donate books as they choose.
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There are no rules on what reading materials can be placed in the libraries, but the nonprofit does champion diverse books, according to its website, which states that LFL makes an effort to have books "representing BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other diverse voices to promote understanding, empathy, and inclusion."
Jennifer noted in her Facebook post, "From what I have seen, a lot of these books and other things don't align with our Christian values. Today I saw a bunch of Pride stuff in one."
Replying to a comment on her post, she said, "I have taken out a bad one and left a good one in its place."
But her removal of a "bad" book could prove problematic.
"When an individual removes books from a Little Free Library that don't match up with their personal beliefs, they silence critical voices that deserve to be heard," LFL Executive Director Greig Metzger told Newsweek. "Sadly, this kind of behavior overwhelmingly targets BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors."
"We encourage Little Free Library stewards to curate their book-sharing boxes in a way that best serves their community," Metzger said. "We applaud the Little Free Library stewards who offer books that enlighten readers, nurture empathy, and open up a world of diverse perspectives."
Meeks' husband said that her words were being taken out of context and clarified that she did not take out any LGBTQ-related materials in exchange for the bibles she has added to the libraries, nor would she advocate for others to do something similar.
"Somebody on the left took that and interpreted it as my wife going all over central Arkansas, pulling Pride books out of these little libraries and replacing them with bibles and nothing is further from the truth," Stephen Meeks told Newsweek. "My wife would not do that. She would not advocate for that. She would be opposed to that."
A screenshot of the original post was shared on the Faulkner County Coalition for Social Justice's (FCCSJ) Facebook page. The group responded to a part of Jennifer's post about there being a "group of leftist[s]...who are very active in keeping little libraries well stocked," telling her that they were the ones that have been working to ensure the bookcases are filled with resources for neighbors who might need them.
"Keep removing them, Jennifer. We won't stop," the group wrote on Facebook. "We've received $1,000+ to supply our community with food, toiletries, reproductive care items, and naloxone. These materials are saving lives. The lives of queer kids who aren't out to their parents, to the teen that needs Plan B to avoid having a forced pregnancy, to the good neighbor preventing an overdose."
Comments on the post were critical of both Jennifer and Arkansas Republicans, with users writing remarks like, "First they came for the school libraries, then they came for the public library, now they are coming for the little free libraries. When does it end?" and "So conservatives are essentially stealing books they don't like and destroying them. Isn't one of the ten commandments, 'Thou shalt not steal?'"
"This is the problem with these people. They want to decide what's correct for everyone else and everyone else's children," one user commented. "You don't like the books in the free library... hey Here is my advice for you, Jennifer Meeks, don't touch those books you don't like. Forcing your values on everyone else is unAmerican."
Stephen said while his wife has received backlash since her post was circulated, she's also received messages of support from her friends who agree that there should be more materials in the free libraries and who view her post as advocating for the use of the bookcases.
The Republican also said that while he is a public figure, his wife has maintained a private life, including limiting who can see her social media posts. He said the reason her donations to LFL has been publicized is because someone who is friends with her on Facebook "basically betrayed her," possibly in hopes of getting "political dirt" against him.
In the post made by the FCCSJ, the group said, "The Meeks' voting records and actions speak for themselves. They can remove as many books as they want but we will never stop coming right back there and showing them that love and decency will always win."
The coalition's post also included a list of bills that Stephen voted in favor of during the last legislative session, including one that criminalizes librarians for "knowingly" distributing material found to be obscene and a controversial "bathroom bill" that prohibits adults to knowingly stay in a bathroom with minors of the opposite biological sex.
"People will take stuff out of context to push a political narrative to raise money, because that's exactly what this group did," Stephen said. "They said my wife's doing this, 'Donate money to our cause.'"
Newsweek reached out to the FCCSJ via email for comment.
Update 08/08/23 1:33 p.m. ET This story was updated with comments from Metzger.
Jennifer Meeks, the wife of Representative Stephen Meeks (R), has been busy posting about the little free libraries across Faulkner County and the "group...
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