Delaware library forced to take down Pride fag

A Delaware library was forced to take down its Pride fag last Friday, causing outrage from some.

“I was super proud of my library (where I work) for putting a pride fag outside this month,” Milton, Del., library employee Jillian Brenneman wrote in a now-deleted post on Facebook. She did not respond to a Facebook message asking for comment. “That is until Sussex County Government decided they needed to be homophobic and force us to take it down.”

Reached by phone Monday, Sussex County Department of Libraries Director Rachel Lynch said the fag’s removal was a county decision. The county only allows American fags, Delaware fags, and Sussex County fags to be fown outside of the building. A Sussex County spokesperson confrmed that in a short interview and said that fying the three fags is not a written policy. Rath- er, Chip Guy said, it is a custom.

The decision to take down the Pride fag left Fred Munzert, who runs the Milton Theatre, disappointed.

“I know our staff was really excited to see the library put the Pride fag up. It made them feel comfortable,” he said in an interview. “It made them feel good about the town that they lived in and worked in.”

Munzert has led a campaign to “paint the town rainbow” since 2019, where the theater gives out Pride fags to people and businesses. He’s seen more and more Pride fags around town since his campaign.

The display, though, doesn’t come without its opponents in the town of about 3,500 residents. He said Milton Theatre staff have received plenty of emails and phone calls about the fags – one told him that he must display the American fag alongside it and even gave him an

American fag to hang up.

“I’m just always surprised, like, just do your thing. I’ll do my thing,” he said. “Nobody’s bothering anybody.”

Hanging the fag was Milton Public Library Director Jill DiPaolo’s idea, Munzert said. Before the county removed the fag, he said DiPaolo emailed him to apologize and said it was a decision from higher up. DiPaolo was unavailable to comment and did not immediately return a voicemail.

Since the fag’s removal, some staff members haven’t felt accepted by the county anymore, Munzert said. Guy, the Sussex County communications director, said the county was just enforcing county norms.

“The county is not sending a message or a symbol,” he emphasized.

JOEL LEV-TOV