Kenny Brechner, owner of DDG Booksellers, Farmington, Maine, has resigned from the board of the American Booksellers Association, citing a change in approach by the ABA toward free speech. At issue is the tension between a traditional definition of free speech that aims to protect a broad range of titles and speech and more recent definitions that exclude titles and speech offensive to some people, especially on the basis of antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion.
In a PW Shelf Talker post explaining his resignation, Brechner wrote, in part, "In September the Board voted to restrict its active support and defense of free expression by changing its Ends Policies regarding free expression to read as follows. 'Core members have the resources in support of their right to freedom of expression.' This nebulous statement undermined ABA's long established role as a defender of free expression in the literary world. Pointedly it constricted ABFE's scope in representing the voices of ABA members. My objection to this change was a dissenting voice and I speak strictly for myself....
"In its resolute determination to consider free expression an impediment to the values recently enumerated in its Ends Policies--antiracism, equity, access, and representation--the ABA has turned away from its long-established protection of minority voices and democratic interpretations of freedom and liberty. In the name of protecting a vulnerable segment of its constituents from harm, ABA has adopted a position that dilutes the very principles that have steadfastly defended them. Many of us recognize that the literary world is polarized and troubled, which is why we must defend its core values now, and will dearly miss them when the political pendulum next swings to the right....
"Protecting the speech we find offensive so that our own speech is protected can be emotionally messy. It is built upon the intellectual appreciation that there is no free expression without free expression for all. Free expression is not about putting forward that all speech is equal, nor that exclusion isn't harmful, but rather that the suppression of speech is the greater harm.... The defense of free expression is the only means to protect the speech of the disenfranchised, the powerless, and the critics of power. Civil rights, LGBTQ+, Black Lives Matter--no movement for social justice or protest could operate absent the defense of free speech."
Bradley Graham, president of the ABA and co-owner of Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C., commented: "Kenny was a valued voice on the ABA Board. His thoughtfulness and experienced perspective were greatly appreciated. So was his wit. His presence will be missed.
"After a year-long discussion about the importance that ABA places on freedom of expression and on its commitment to antiracism, representation, access, and equity, the Board revised the Ends Policies. The revisions make it possible for ABFE to continue supporting the right of bookstores to freedom of expression by providing them with resources and by working with coalition partners. They also make it possible for ABA to live up to its DEI commitment and support for all members."