Carla Hayden let Lizzo play a Founding Father’s flute. Is that why Trump fired her?
by Tim Prudente and Wesley Case
Published May 9 in The Baltimore Banner
Maryland’s librarians had come to Ocean City this week for their annual convention, and after sessions on everything from fundraising to K-pop fans, unsettling news swept through the crowds.
Carla Hayden, one of their own who had promoted literacy and free access to books, who had ascended from Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library to become the first female and first Black Librarian of Congress, who had dared to let a pop star play a Founding Father’s crystal flute, had been fired. By email. No reason given.
Hayden’s predecessor had served under five presidents across nearly three decades — there have been little more than a dozen Librarians of Congress since 1802. Her impersonal dismissal late Thursday on behalf of President Donald Trump alarmed the librarians, who had considered the highest honor of their profession to be beyond the reach of politics.
“The last day of the conference definitely began with this heavy feeling,” said Morgan Miller, Maryland’s state librarian.
A copy of the email obtained by The Associated Press offered no explanation for the decision to fire Hayden. She could not be reached Friday.
Hayden, appointed to her post in September 2016 by President Barack Obama, had become a recent target of the Conservative American Accountability Foundation.
The nonprofit published a report last month titled “Liberals of the Library” that listed her history of political donations, including to Obama, but mostly to Democratic candidates for local and statewide offices.
The political group labeled her as “woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids,” on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. The group’s report cites her remarks in an October 2023 interview with Smithsonian Magazine in which she spoke against the practice of banning books.
Among her quotes: “And sometimes it’s essential to be able to have access to different topics, different points of views.”
Hayden had previously provoked the ire of conservatives when she invited star singer and rapper Lizzo — also a classically trained flutist — to play a 200-year-old flute made for President James Madison.
“How do you play ‘Oochie Wally Wally’ on this?” the four-time Grammy winner said in September 2022, referencing a raunchy Nas song while holding one of the 1,700 wind instruments in the Library of Congress’ vault. Lizzo later showed off her flute skills with an impromptu performance in the Great Hall of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building.
In an email to The Baltimore Banner on Friday, American Accountability President Tom Jones thanked Trump for firing Hayden and echoed his criticisms of her, calling the decision to lend the flute “disastrous.”
To the librarians, the move fell in line with Hayden’s career-long mission to bring library collections, whether books, a crystal flute or the contents of Abraham Lincoln’s pockets — out from behind closed doors and to the people.
“She was really focused on turning outward and opening the doors and making the institution available to everybody,” said Sonia Alcántara-Antoine, the CEO of Baltimore County Public Library, who worked under Hayden for seven years at the Enoch Pratt. “It’s unfortunate that this has all become politicized.”
Hayden, 72 and a Baltimore resident, served 23 years as Enoch Pratt Free Library’s chief executive and is credited with elevating Baltimore’s library to its national reputation today.
When protesters filled the streets after the death of Freddie Gray, she famously refused to close the doors of the library at the center of the unrest.
“I knew that the libraries are community resources,” she said of that decision in an interview with the American Libraries magazine. “I knew that they are anchors in so many communities. In a lot of communities in Baltimore, especially challenged ones, we are the only resource. If we close, we’re sending a signal that we’re afraid or that we aren’t going to be available when times are tough. We should be open especially when times are tough.”
The branch manager at the time, Melanie Townsend Diggs, recounted the scene on social media Friday after hearing that Hayden had been fired. Townsend Diggs wrote of how Hayden visited the branch to check on the staff and thank them for staying open.
“Dr. Hayden, You Rock!!! And though many may not understand your ‘why,’ I know you will continue to Shine! No one can break who you ARE!!! Thank you for Being YOU!” she wrote on Facebook.
The Pratt Library stands in “unwavering support” of Hayden and “will always be proud to call her one of our own,” CEO Chad Helton and Board Chair Chris Espenshade said in a statement.
Carla Du Pree, executive director of the Baltimore nonprofit organization CityLit Project, said she was “stunned” and “very emotional” over Hayden’s firing.
“We were so proud that she would lead this country and kind of open the doors for what a Librarian of Congress could do for this nation and she did just that,” said Du Pree, who described Hayden as her “literary sister.”
Hayden deserved much more than an unceremonious firing, she said.
“How dare she be terminated by a simple email?” Du Pree said. “How horrific and disrespectful.”
Du Pree described the firing as a “cultural slap to the face.”
“I don’t care what the [Trump] administration feels about her. She will remain a Maryland treasure. She’ll remain the nation’s treasure as our librarian,” she said.
Former Mayor Kurt Schmoke, who appointed Hayden as the Enoch Pratt library’s 10th director in 1993, said her abrupt firing from the Library of Congress was unfortunate but not surprising, given how President Trump has continued to remove officials who do not align with his politics.
“She did not deserve to be treated in this fashion,” Schmoke said. ”She’s an outstanding leader, and it’s a shame that Trump didn’t recognize that.”
State Del. Sandy Rosenberg, a Baltimore Democrat, said the Library of Congress is “losing a real professional and real leader,“ and described Trump’s handling of the dismissal as “unfortunate to say the least.“
“You don’t just have somebody email the head of the Library of Congress — who‘s done, by every indication, an outstanding job there — her termination notice,” Rosenberg said. “It’s not how the presidency should be run.“
Added Alcántara-Antoine of the Baltimore County Public Library:
“She is a rockstar, and she will always be a rockstar. The library community stands in solidarity with her.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misquoted the librarian Melanie Townsend Diggs.
This story was republished with permission from The Baltimore Banner. Visit www.thebaltimorebanner.com for more.
Pratt Library statement re: Dr. Carla Hayden
May 9
In Support of Dr. Carla Hayden:
The Enoch Pratt Free Library stands in deep admiration and unwavering support of Dr. Carla Hayden. A visionary leader and tireless advocate for equity in access to information, Dr. Hayden’s legacy is felt across every corner of our city, and far beyond it.
As CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library for over two decades, Dr. Hayden led our institution through transformative growth, ensuring libraries remained vital civic spaces open and welcoming to all. Her leadership during crises — from budget shortfalls to civil unrest — reflected a steadfast belief in the power of libraries to bring communities together, provide refuge, and spark opportunity.
When Dr. Hayden became the 14th Librarian of Congress — the first woman and first African American to ever hold that position — she once again broke barriers and redefined what leadership in libraries could look like. Her tenure at the Library of Congress has been marked by expanded public access, modernization, and a commitment to making one of the nation’s most treasured institutions more inclusive and accessible.
Dr. Hayden’s contributions to Baltimore, to the library profession, and to the nation are indelible. We honor her trailblazing service and thank her for the path she has carved for future generations of librarians and public servants. The Pratt Library will always be proud to call her one of our own.
We stand with Dr. Hayden with gratitude, respect, and admiration.
— Chad Helton, CEO and Chris Espenshade, Board Chair.
:: See Also ::
Thousands sign petitions urging reinstatement of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress
by Ed Gunts
Published May 14 in Baltimore Fishbowl
