Nancy Fairbanks’ letter (April 23) attempts to sanitize the record of Moms for Liberty, but the facts show a coordinated political machine operating under the guise of parental concern. Moms for Liberty is not a neutral organization advocating for educational quality. It is a network founded in 2021 by former Florida school board members who mobilized in opposition to public health mandates and diversity education.
Since then, they’ve grown into a national group with over 285 chapters in 45 states, and their reach now extends into school board elections, state legislatures, and beyond. The Southern Poverty Law Center named them an extremist group in 2023 for promoting anti-government rhetoric and targeting LGBTQ+ students and educators with harmful, dehumanizing language.
Moms for Liberty is celebrated in right-wing circles for pushing (school library) book bans, attacking lessons on race and gender, and attempting to dismantle protections for transgender students through Title IX rollbacks. These efforts are not about safety or parental rights. They are about power, erasure and control.
As a Black designer and educator, I reject the normalization of fear-based politics in our schools. The children I teach deserve truth, cultural visibility, and a future not built on silence, but on equity and courage. We must say plainly what Moms for Liberty represents and continue to defend the integrity of public education with clarity and conviction.
Renée McKellar
Saugus
