Moms for Liberty in Brevard has challenged 41 books in school libraries, including Slaughterhouse-Five and The Kite Runner. The chapter believes some of the books violate state pornography laws and others might be available to students too young to understand them. Adam Tritt, a Bayside High AP English teacher, set up an online fundraiser to get frequently challenged books in students’ hands.
Julia Whitehead, founder and CEO of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis, said the museum will send up to 1,000 books, and more if they receive donations. Interested students or their parents can contact info@vonnegutlibrary.org for a copy, according to the letter. Though the letter states Bayside High students can receive the books, Whitehead confirmed to FLORIDA TODAY any Brevard student or parent is eligible.
A conservative group behind the recent push to ban books on LGBTQ+ topics from public libraries has recently entered the next phase of their mission: pushing public school libraries across the country to accept book donations from conservative publishing companies that promote white supremacist, homophobic, and transphobic ideologies.
Moms for Liberty, a group known for intimidating school officials and engaging in aggressive behavior at school board meetings, recently began its “Moms for Libraries campaign, which promises to stock school libraries with conservative and anti-LGBT books. The campaign has received support from anti-LGBTQ+ publishers like BRAVE Books, which has been widely criticized for its anti-transgender picture book Elephants Are Not Birds. Ben Carson’s American Cornerstone Institute has also pledged to donate 500 copies of his Christian children’s book Why America Matters to the group.
The Brevard chapter of Moms for Liberty has submitted a fourth list of library books deemed inappropriate for minors, this time calling out instances of “racially divisive” rhetoric, LGBTQ themes, references to abortion and criticism of Christianity in addition to the explicit sex scenes that dominated the first lists.
The latest list includes a book that sometimes appears in late high school reading lists — Slaughterhouse-Five, a satirical blend of anti-war literature and science fiction by Kurt Vonnegut. The book is the first classic novel Moms for Liberty in Brevard has disputed, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
Apparently the review panel also included parents with no credentials in education. Like Chris Allen, a member of the so-called “Moms for Liberty” “conservative” group.
“I wish they could’ve seen the information I saw,” Chris Allen told the Herald on Friday, speaking to the possible disparities between her responses and those of other reviewers.
“It’s not a First Amendment issue, this is not going against L.G.B.T.Q. groups, we’re citing it for sexually explicit content,” said Jennifer Pippin [pictured above], a nurse in Sebastian, Fla., and the chairman of Moms for Liberty in Indian River County, where “Gender Queer” was banned from school libraries last fall after Pippin filed a complaint.
4/24/2022 update, "A sea of white faces otherwise known as racist Moms for Liberty", starts here.
Notice how they insert two women of color into the frame? (Red arrow)
4/17/2022 update, "Racist Moms for Liberty will fight to the death to keep this book off library shelves", starts her.
Moms for Liberty, a conservative "parental rights" organization strategically harassing school board members, teachers, and administrators across the country, is deeply tied to anti-civil rights advocacy. Beyond opposing education about the history of racism in America, the organization also recommends reading an American history book by a far-right conspiracy theorist that is sympathetic to slave owners, and the co-founder of the organization actively opposed desegregation efforts while formerly serving on her school board.
4/14/2022 update, "Brevard Chapter Moms for Liberty Ashley Hall gives a master class in GOP hypocrisy", starts here.
The disclaimer listed on their Facebook page does not specifically point out the LGBTQ community, but states they reserve the right to refuse service that “would require the entity to engage in conduct that conflicts with its owners’ sincerely held religious beliefs.” All of the negative reviews are only related to refusal of service from same sex couples. Whether or not the venue allows ceremonies of couples with children out of wedlock, previous divorces outside of adultery, criminal history, or any other actions viewed as sins in the Christian religion is unclear. [emphasis added]
4/4/2022 update, "Retiring Guy expects racist Moms for Liberty to demand Colin Kaepernick book be banned before it hits the library shelves", starts here.
4/2/2022 update, "Welcome to another episode of Moms for Liberty Looney Tunes," starts here
"That's striking language from a company that makes things for children," the Moms for Liberty co-founder told Fox News Digital regarding Disney's promised appeal to the legislature and courts. "They're going to come in as a corporation and interfere?"It's not just Disney.
3/17/2022 update starts here
Indian River Moms for Liberty take one on the chin.
Superintendent David Moore referred to the process and decision to keep most of the books in school libraries as “legally sound” after parents criticized the language used in the books, which they attempted to read aloud during the public-comment portion of the meeting.
The board on Feb. 28 voted to keep 151 of the challenged books based on recommendations from Moore and a committee of all district media specialists who deemed the five banned books inappropriate for students in any grade.
"Libraries are open thought. Libraries are a place for diverse thoughts and ideas," Myhre said.
But Jennifer Pippin, who leads the Indian River County chapter of Moms for Liberty, said the group wants them removed. State law prohibits pornography and sexually explicit material in K-12 schools, she said.
"Our whole agenda is to remove this sexually explicit material from the libraries," she said. The books contain references to incest, rape, oral and anal sex and bestiality, she said.
"It's just really, really disgusting," Pippin said.
Which sums up what Moms for Liberty chapters are doing all over the country.
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