Mississippi Erases Race, Gender Archives from Libraries Under Anti-DEI Push

The Mississippi Library Commission has ordered the permanent deletion of its race relations and gender studies databases from the Magnolia system, which serves public schools, libraries, and agencies across the state.

Executive Director Hulen Bivins confirmed the move, saying, “We may lose a lot of materials,” and that “all of the states, we are in dire shape.” The decision aligns with recent state laws and follows federal cuts spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), created during Trump’s second term.

Doge recently gutted the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS), placing nearly all staff on administrative leave. The agency, which supports libraries nationwide, was targeted by an executive order mandating it be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” Bivins warned, “We can’t know at this point because IMLS has been totally closed…we don’t know who to contact, who to call, anything.”

With federal aid uncertain, Mississippi and other states may lose millions in grant funding. “The rest of the states, us included, await our fate,” Bivins said, adding that without library support, “we’re going to have a situation where who knows what’s going to happen.”

Though the Mississippi legislature failed to pass a state budget, it did approve multiple anti-DEI bills, prompting the deletions. “The deletion of these two databases shall be permanent,” Bivins wrote in a memo. He warned deeper cuts are likely: “We’ve had to stop our statewide e-book network… It’s a tragic story.”