The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia is facing pushback for agreeing to host a private event for the far-right extremist group Moms For Liberty (M4L) later this month.
The institution, whose stated mission is to center “the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government,” is scheduled to rent out one of its event spaces on June 29 — the first day of M4L’s second so-called “Joyful Warriors Summit” at the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott hotel.
Founded in 2021 by Florida school board members Tiffany Justice, Tina Descovich, and Bridget Ziegler, M4L claims to have more than 100,000 members spread across over 250 chapters in 42 states, according to the civil rights watchdog Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). SPLC included the conservative organization in its recently published 2022 report on hate and extremism for the group’s war on “inclusive curriculum, LGBTQ rights, and what they see as inappropriate reading material in classrooms and libraries,” all under the guise of non-partisan parental concern. Given the group’s political activity, the conservative organization has been criticized for its 501(c)4 nonprofit categorization, a tax-exempt status that does not require the group to disclose the identity of its donors.
This year’s M4L conference is scheduled to run through July 2 and will feature a number of right-wing speakers, including former president Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Museum representatives told Philadelphia Gay News (PGN) that they had “proactively notified managers about the event,” which was planned last December and remained confidential until details were anonymously leaked in late May.
In solidarity with museum staffers who reportedly opposed the event, the civil rights advocacy group Defense of Democracy (DofD) started an online petition. “Stand by your employees, visitors, and volunteers of color and DO NOT host Moms for Liberty’s opening event at your museum,” the petition urges.
Since it was created on June 5, the letter has garnered over 1,600 signatures calling on museum leaders to reverse their decision to host the M4L event.
“Hate speech is not protected speech,” Karen Svoboda told Hyperallergic over the phone. Svoboda helped start DofD in direct response to M4L last spring with another fellow parent, Laura Leigh Abby when the conservative group began campaigning against their school district’s curriculum and spreading homophobic rhetoric in their community.
“Is the museum now saying they will give a platform to the KKK? Are they saying they will give a platform to the Nazi Party? Where is the line that they’re going to draw?” Svoboda continued.
In response to the recent actions, a spokesperson for the Museum of the American Revolution told Hyperallergic in a statement that “because fostering understanding within a democratic society is so central to [its] mission, rejecting visitors based on ideology would in fact be antithetical to [its] purpose.”
“We welcome all visitors and pride ourselves on a museum experience that reflects our mission to uncover and share the stories of diverse people and complex events that sparked the ongoing American experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government,” the representative added.
The spokesperson also said that the institution is “aware that some members of staff do not agree with the museum’s private booking,” and that it plans “to do all we can to support them by listening with intention, making sure they know they are valued, and accommodating them when the event date arrives.”
DofD took their protest of the museum’s decision one step further earlier this month when the organization received a donation to rent a billboard truck displaying signage and a video denouncing M4L’s intolerant views. On the morning of June 9, organizers parked the vehicle in front and center of the Philadelphia institution. In the afternoon, they also took it on a quick drive past the Marriott.
At 6 pm that same day, another protest led by Act Up Philly and other community organizations including the Young Communist League gathered in front of the historical institution. Despite the hazardous air quality brought on by traveling wildfire smoke from Canada, the organizers were not discouraged from speaking out against the museum’s decision to host the extremist group. They carried signs that read phrases like “Book Bans Are Un American” and “Read Real History,” and covered the sidewalks in colorful chalk illustrations and additional messages expressing their opposition. Those who could not attend the rally were encouraged to contact the museum directly over the phone, email, or social media to voice their concerns.
Organizers staged another demonstration last Friday, June 16 in front of the museum during a documentary screening. Protesters gathered at the building’s entrance to greet museum visitors both before and after the program to point out the institution’s hypocritical decision to screen a documentary about Black American history while also choosing to host a right-wing extremist group later this month that aims to erase the BIPOC+ and LGBTQ+ narratives from school curricula.