Widely known insurance company State Farm is doing away with its program to distribute LGBTQ-themed books to teachers, libraries and community centers following a media exposé based on a whistleblower email.
Indeed, in an email to all State Farm agents and staff, Victor Terry, chief diversity officer and vice president of public affairs, announced the cancellation of its collaboration with GenderCool, an organization that promotes LGBTQ teaching through speaking events, mentorship programs, consulting and advising.
“State Farm’s support of a philanthropic program, GenderCool, has been the subject of news and customer inquiries. This program that included books about gender identity was intended to promote inclusivity,” the email, obtained by Libs of TikTok, read. “We will no longer support that program.”
“Conversations about gender and identity should happen at home with parents. We don’t support required curriculum in schools on this topic. We support organizations providing resources for parents to have these conversations,” Terry added.
As reported by National Review, the original program was supposed to recruit hundreds of agents and staff to “help diversify classroom, community center and library bookshelves with a collection of books to help bring clarity and understanding to the national conversation about Being Transgender, Inclusive and Non-Binary,” according to the January 2022 email, which surfaced on Monday.
“The project’s goal is to increase representation of LGBTQ+ books and support our communities in having challenging, important and empowering conversations with children Age 5+,” the email read.
The email was sent by State Farm’s corporate responsibility analyst Jose Soto to all Florida agents. However, it suggested a larger and national initiative.
“Nationwide, approximately 500 State Farm agents and employees will have the opportunity to donate this 3 book bundle to their local teacher, community center or library of their choice,” the email read.
The three-book bundle mentioned in the email includes the aforementioned Being Transgender, Inclusive and Non-Binary.
