Montgomery County library event reverses pricing scheme that discriminated against White men

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has called the gender- and race-based rates charged to vendors at a county library event “illegal,” forcing the library to change the rates after The Washington Times exposed the discriminatory pricing structure.

The MoComCon event at the Germantown Library and BlackRock Center for the Arts, the county’s take on the popular Comic-Con gatherings, charged the highest vendor rates for businesses owned by White men and reserved lower rates for women and minorities.

Mr. Elrich, a Democrat, said it was the first time he had heard about the different vendor prices when asked about it at a press conference after the report in The Times.

“If they’re doing it, I can’t see how that’s not illegal,” he said. “We’re pretty clear that we don’t have different rates for different races.”

The Montgomery County Republican Party said someone in the county government had to know about the pricing.

“This was clearly a county policy issue with an event by county-sponsored NGOs in a county building promoted by the county,” the party said on social media. “This time equal opportunity won. The MCGOP stood firm in the commitment that pricing by race, gender, nationality or sexual orientation is wrong and the county has instituted equal pricing for all vendors at the new date.”

Although the event is at a county public library, it is not sponsored by the county government. The chief sponsor is Friends of the Library, a private nonprofit that raises funds for the library system.

The event was scheduled for Jan. 20 but was postponed until March 2 because of a snowstorm. 

Friends of the Library initially charged vendors who were people of color or women $225 without electricity access and $250 with electric service. Everyone else paid $275 without electricity access and $325 with electric service.

The disparate pricing was posted online with the application for MoComCon.

An updated version of the vendor application online shows the new pricing as $125 for all vendors and $175 for electricity access.

Scott Peterson, a spokesman for the county government, said Friends of the Library “corrected the situation as soon as they were made aware by the Montgomery County Public Libraries.”

“The disparate pricing on vendors that has occurred between the Friends of the Library Montgomery County, Inc. and BlackRock Center for the Arts is not permitted,” Mr. Peterson said in a statement. “The County did not approve nor condone this decision.”

The executive director of Friends of the Library, Ari Z. Brooks, refused to respond to The Times’ repeated inquiries about the change in rates and whether refunds were given to vendors who paid the higher prices.

In a statement to MoCo360, she said the different pricing was intended to “promote inclusivity in library programming and expand opportunities for groups who have been underrepresented in this industry.”

“Our efforts to support MCPL’s goals for promoting inclusivity inspired our initial pricing and, under updated county advisement, the vendor pricing has been adjusted,” Ms. Brooks said.

Reardon Sullivan, a former chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party, said the pricing policy was “clearly discrimination.” As a Black man, he said, he found it “really, truly insulting to say that a seller who’s Black or BIPOC is disadvantaged.”

“It’s good that [Mr. Elrich] is finally saying it’s illegal, which it is, but the fact is, his people said they didn’t know anything about it,” said Mr. Sullivan, who in 2022 ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Elrich for county executive. “However, he’s really hiding behind the Friends of the Library.”

The discriminatory pricing drew attention across the state.

Seven members of the Maryland House of Delegates sent a letter on Jan. 15 to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. They said the pricing policy was “offensive, deeply flawed and clearly violates America’s founding principles and the great state of Maryland.”

The delegates, all Republicans, called on the commission to “condemn” the policy and request that the Montgomery County library system “formally apologize for the harm it has caused.”

The delegates who signed the letter were Matt Morgan of St. Mary’s County, Lauren Arikan of Harford County, Mark Fisher of Calvert County, Brian Chisholm of Anne Arundel County, and Robin Grammer Jr., Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki of Baltimore County.