Reporter Olivia Little at Media Matters is keeping tabs on Moms for Liberty’s multi-tentacled attempts to squelch free speech and academic freedom by culling books about sexuality and racism from schools.
Media Matters reports on Moms for Liberty’s shifting strategy to attack access to books on sexuality, transgender issues and race.
The group made a name for itself by opposing masks in schools and attacking teachers’ unions. And locally, Moms for Liberty achieved notoriety when one of its members was caught on an audio recording suggesting she wanted to shoot a school librarian.
The group is expanding its efforts to promote heteronormativity and abstinence with what appears to be a partnership with Book Look and Book Looks, sites where book reviews detail reasons parents might find books objectionable. Moms for Liberty are behind the majority of current book banning efforts, Little reported.
With over 200 chapters, Moms for Liberty has become the largest driver of the nationwide book banning crusade, which has led to harassment and threats against public school teachers, librarians, and education officials. Moms for Liberty chapters have challenged Martin Luther King Jr. and the March to Washington because of “photographs of political violence” and Ruby Bridges Goes to School because of “racist remarks,” among other objections. Moms for Liberty is also a vocally anti-LGBTQ organization and has advocated for trans bathroom bans in public schools.
The content on Book Look and Book Looks includes reviews and excerpts of potentially objectionable content, making it easier for people who haven’t read the books to challenge them.
In Arkansas, Moms for Liberty chapters are at work in Pulaski, Lonoke, Washington, Benton and Craighead counties.
