CV NEWS FEED // This June, Hide the Pride 2023 made waves throughout the country, garnering press coverage from both sides of the political aisle.
Here’s a roundup of photos and success stories LOOPers have shared with us so you can see Hide the Pride’s impact.
Enjoy!
Media Mentions
In early June, FOX News reported on the campaign launch and interviewed CatholicVote president Brian Burch about the initiative.
Outlets like The Daily Caller and Alaska Commons also published pieces in early June emphasizing how the campaign empowers parents to protect their children’s innocence in public spaces.
News of the campaign even reached international audiences when it was covered by CathNews in New Zealand.
Left-wing news outlets such as The Guardian highlighted this year’s campaign with outrage, accusing concerned parents of bigotry.
Aware of last year’s campaign success, Book Riot warned their readers in May about Hide the Pride and how to combat it:
Libraries across the U.S. need to be ready for this. Even if your area is mostly queer-friendly, it just takes one person to clear the entire Pride display. So what can libraries and supportive library patrons do to fight these threats to patrons’ freedom to read?
The same outlet said in a different piece that “Groups like CatholicVote are planning their ‘Hide the Pride’ agendas, which — unfortunately — are extremely successful.”
Success Stories
Ferndale, Michigan
One library in Ferndale, MI attracted a great deal of media attention when LOOPers not only emptied the Pride displays but also replaced the kid-targeted gender ideology books with Christian ones.
>> Read the full Ferndale story here <<
In response, the Ferndale Area District Library posted about the incident on Facebook with a request that patrons purchase and donate books from their wish list of sex- and gender-themed books to replace those that were checked out.
The Oakland County Times reported that the library was seeking book donations in response to Hide the Pride.
The story was picked up by numerous news media outlets, such as the Michigan Advance and the Iosco County News Herald, who were outraged that the library was a target of the campaign.
The Detroit Metro Times lamented:
Metro Detroit gayborhood Ferndale doesn’t shy away from displays of LGBTQ+ pride during the month of June and beyond. But for the first time this year, the Ferndale Area District Library was targeted by a bigoted campaign against LGBTQ+ books.
The Oakland Press reported on local support for the library in response to the “anti-LGBTQ stunt,” as did Detroit’s local FOX station.
When all was said and done, the Ferndale library’s response was bizarre, but as CatholicVote contends, Hide the Pride rocked that library.
Greenwich, Connecticut
Hide the Pride even shook up one of America’s wealthiest and most progressive cities. Read CatholicVote’s article on what happened here.
Chicago, Illinois
Hide the Pride also met with success in the Windy City, where one LOOPer put in a display request at her woke library to honor the Blessed Mother instead of an LGBTQ display.
>> Read the full story here <<
The same LOOPer reported checking out over 100 LGBTQ books from the children and teen sections. Check out one of the displays they emptied below!
Los Angeles County, California
Hide the Pride also made an impact on the West Coast in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the country.
One LOOPer shared a photo of their success after they left their library.
Madison, Alabama
One LOOPer in Alabama sent in pictures of the most disturbing book she removed from her library. This children’s book was entitled Naked and contained graphic descriptions of sexual acts.
Worcester, Massachusetts
Another LOOPer in Massachusetts sounded the alarm about a library event where children 11 years and younger would be making pride flags.
Denver, Colorado
Hide the Pride also popped up in Denver where one LOOPer cleared out the children’s rainbow display.
Houston, Texas
The Pride display at Spring Branch Memorial Branch Library was completely emptied by one LOOPer, who reported checking out 31 books.
