WEST VILLAGE, NY — New York’s top law officer is hosting a Drag Queen Story Hour Read-A-Thon at The LGBTQ Center this Sunday.
Families and kids can join James and other elected officials over four hours of Drag Story Hour — a marathon of four, one-hour story times — at 208 West 13th St., near Seventh Avenue, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Each hour will include story time, arts and crafts and other fun activities. Families are welcome to attend just one event or for all four hours of family fun.
The event is sponsored by a slew of groups and elected officials, including the Pride Center of Staten Island, Destination Tomorrow, the Brooklyn, Queens and the New York Public Library, plus Council Members Crystal Hudson, Chi Ossé, Erik Bottcher and many others.
Drag Story Hour, a way for kids to hear stories and learn about being themselves, have recently come under attack by protesters who have vandalized the home of a New York elected official, shouted hate speech outside children’s events and, in one case, made a Nazi salute.
In December, West Village Council Member Bottcher’s home and office were vandalized — and a neighbor attacked — after he attended a Drag Story Hour event. Police arrested two individuals from the Bronx and Queens in connection to the break-in.
On the Upper East Side in January, police faced criticism for allowing anti-drag story hour protesters to set up shop just steps from a public library entrance, forcing newborns and children to venture past screaming adults hurling accusations about grooming at them.
In February, a woman was arrested and charged with arson and hate crimes after setting fire to a pride flag outside of a SoHo restaurant, with flames damaging the building’s exterior.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
source