Farmville, North Carolina, is a town of about 4,500 people that's part of the greater Greenville metropolitan area.
Known as the home of Pitt County's only full-time general history museum and for popular annual celebrations including the Farmville Dogwood Festival, Christmas Parade, and A Taste of Farmville, the town is now making the news because of their library.
The Farmville Public Library recently decided to eliminate the logo it has used for 14 years after three residents of the town complained to a town commissioner that it looked too much like a rainbow and might be interpreted as support for the LGBTQ+ community.
You can see the offending logo here:
WCTI News 12/YouTube
Apparently the complainants were unaware that lime, pink, and teal aren't colors that are part of the rainbow.
Farmville Mayor Alex Joyner criticized how and why the decision was made, telling WCTI News 12:
"Rainbows are a significant symbol of libraries across the entire [United States]. I believe we all grew up with Reading Rainbow, so to see an action like this take place in the dead of night behind a curtain is really concerning."
"Choices and decisions like this should be made in the public eye and with public comment."
Mayor Joyner added:
"The library is a symbol of inclusion and is supposed to be welcome to all."
"For a handful of people to be able to decide who is welcomed and who is not here is unacceptable in my eyes, and I would hate for the town of Farmville and especially the board of commissioners to be seen on the wrong side of that decision for civil rights."
You can see local news coverage here:
People found the knee-jerk, exclusionary response to the opinions of just three people absurd.
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Many didn't see what was wrong with the logo and wondered what would be targeted next.
In light of the controversy, a public meeting to discuss the logo was scheduled for 5:30pm on Monday, November 2, at the Farmville Town Hall.
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