Nancy Fairbanks’ letter defending Moms for Liberty (April 23) isn’t just disingenuous — it’s dangerous. It paints the group as a neutral force for “parental rights,” when in reality, it’s a highly political operation working to control what students learn, silence marginalized voices and sanitize history.
Let’s drop the pretense: Everything Moms for Liberty does is political. It didn’t spring up organically from concerned moms — it was co-founded by former school board members with ties to conservative power networks. It didn’t just “raise questions” about curriculum — it pushed to remove books by Black and LGBTQ+ authors. And it isn’t just about “protecting children” — it’s about protecting an ideology that fears inclusion and critical thinking.
Fairbanks frames the Southern Poverty Law Center’s designation of the group as “extremist” as politically motivated. But extremism isn’t just about violence. It’s also about control. About forcing your discomfort into law. About policing truth to preserve privilege. What’s more political than banning books (from school libraries) that challenge dominant narratives? What’s more extreme than mobilizing to take over school boards and silence teachers who speak honestly about racism, gender, or U.S. history?
Moms for Liberty calls this “transparency.” I call it erasure. They want to remove any story that doesn’t center them, any history that unsettles them, and any identity that complicates their worldview. Here’s the kicker: They don’t want less politics in schools. They just want THEIR politics to be the only ones allowed. If that’s not political extremism, what is?
You don’t get to build a campaign to control education and then cry foul when people notice. You don’t get to champion book bans and curriculum censorship and call yourself a movement for “liberty.” Moms for Liberty doesn’t protect children. It protects power. The rest of us should be paying attention.
Maggie Bowman
Valencia
