PHILADELPHIA — Parent activists at the Moms for Liberty annual summit roared at the leftwing Southern Poverty Law Center for putting them on the “hate map” and calling them an “extremist group.”
Their message to SPLC: These moms are protecting all the kids and all the parents’ voices.
One of the moms, Allison Shipp, said the Southern Poverty Law Center had revealed itself to be ridiculous.
“When you break it down, to have something so simple as moms, dads or parents concerned about what’s going on in their schools labeled as extreme — that seems pretty silly to me,” said Ms. Shipp, 41, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “The reality is, we want all parents, even ones that we might not agree with, to have that voice, even at the school board meeting, because it affects their kids as well.”
Lydia Dominguez, a Christian author and advocate for domestic violence victims, took the SPLC’s extremist accusation personally.
“I don’t see myself as an extremist or radical. I see myself as a passionate mom who’s standing up for my child and their education. I don’t believe they should be integrating sexual content into every avenue of subjects in the classroom,” said Ms. Dominguez, 33, who traveled from Las Vegas for the summit.
“Anyone who has a disagreeing opinion is suddenly called an [extremist]. That’s absolutely absurd. We might think their opinions are wrong, but we have not labeled them,” she said. “We’re not here to hurt anyone. We’re here for moms. We’re here for our children. We’re here to just protect our children’s education.”
The SPLC put Moms for Liberty’s 45 state chapters on the hate map that currently identifies a total of 1,225 “hate and antigovernment groups” across the U.S.
Moms for Liberty earned the designation, according to SPLC, because they allegedly harass LGBTQ people, promote anti-gay misinformation and fight against diversity and inclusion in school materials.
The groups on the hate map are almost all conservative or religious organizations. The map also lists organizations described as skinheads, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The map does not include the violent leftwing group Antifa, though that group is loosely organized and lacks offices or chapters that would be easily mapped.
At the summit, Mariya Calkins said Moms for Liberty is the opposite of a hate group.
“We are the most loving group of parents, grandparents and concerned citizens who just want to have quality education for children and that all students will have access to quality education. That’s our main focus,” said Mrs. Calkins, 37, of Santa Rosa, Florida.
“Certainly, we disagree with whatever that [SPLC] organization says. It’s unfortunate that organizations have basically attacked a grassroots group of parents that just want to advocate for their children to have quality education.”
Moms for Liberty was greeted at the summit by street protests by leftwing advocacy groups, including the Philadelphia Young Communist League.
The protests included LGBTQ activists in costumes and face paint dancing outside the hotel in downtown Philadelphia. They heckled attendees walking into the hotel and called them “fascists.”
Demonstrators outside of the summit echoed the SPLC’s characterizations of the Moms for Liberty agenda.
“The definition of liberty has never meant imposing your will, your beliefs on other people. Book bans, censorship, attacking people because they’re living as they freely choose in a supposedly free country, it’s very anti-American. I don’t think any of that is a stretch,” said protester Brion Shreffler, 44, a Philadelphia-based freelance journalist and food critic.
Moms for Liberty activist Becky McCarron, a mother and grandmother from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, said the hate wasn’t coming from inside the summit.
“I sure hear a lot of nasty stuff from the other side. I don’t think anybody here wants to make trouble. We’re just keeping our distance and letting the police do their job,” she said. “It is their right to protest … but I’m not going to sink to that level and start calling names and whatnot.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.