This group is dictating to Walton County Schools
Inside Moms for Liberty: the conservative parents group hopes to tip the scales in 2022
by Jay O’Brien
Monday, February 7th 2022
Incorporated in January 2021, tens of thousands of Moms for Liberty members have spent the last few months barnstorming the country, opening hundreds of chapters, going viral at school board meetings, and leaving controversy in their wake.
Founded in Florida by moms and former school board members Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, Moms for Liberty now has a national profile and is looking to leverage its influence to change the political landscape in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.
Moms for Liberty began during the pandemic. In its early months, its members were best known for opposing mask mandates and other COVID protocols in the classroom.
The organization is headquartered in Brevard County, one of several school districts which defied Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and instituted a mask mandate for all students in the Fall of 2021. That mandate has since been rescinded.
Descovich, a former Brevard County School Board Member, lost her seat in the Summer of 2020 to candidate Jennifer Jenkins, who strongly supported mask requirements and other COVID measures in schools.
“I think a few things cost me the seat. I think masks played a role and I knew that,” Descovich said. “But in my core and in my heart, after listening to 14 hours of parents coming in, I knew I couldn’t do that. And I knew I could lose the election over it.”
After her loss, Descovich joined with Justice, who decided not to seek re-election to the neighboring Indian River County School Board.
The two formed Moms for Liberty, whose members began appearing at school board meetings in both counties. At times, the tension was palpable.
It didn’t take long for many of those members - easily identified in their signature blue Moms for Liberty T-shirts - to clash with local school boards, often debating COVID mitigation policies.
Videos of the confrontations went viral, propelling Moms for Liberty into the national spotlight.
“I’m here representing Moms for Liberty,” said one woman, addressing school board members in Seminole County, Florida, in June 2021. “We are awake, we are organized, we are angry and we know our rights. Enjoy the time you have left.”
The rest of her comments are inaudible, drowned out by cheers from other parents at the meeting. The remarks were posted on the official Moms for Liberty YouTube page, along with a host of other videos of angry parents addressing their local school boards.
Many of the group’s early videos are from Brevard County.
“I just thought this can’t happen. We can’t be silencing people that want to come here and speak about their children,” Descovich said.
But, not everyone agrees.
Many of the organization’s chapters are now lobbying local school boards to ban certain books from school libraries, creating national uproar.
More..
cbs12.com
Inside Moms for Liberty: the conservative parents group hopes to tip the scales in 2022
by Jay O’Brien
Monday, February 7th 2022
Incorporated in January 2021, tens of thousands of Moms for Liberty members have spent the last few months barnstorming the country, opening hundreds of chapters, going viral at school board meetings, and leaving controversy in their wake.
Founded in Florida by moms and former school board members Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice, Moms for Liberty now has a national profile and is looking to leverage its influence to change the political landscape in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.
Moms for Liberty began during the pandemic. In its early months, its members were best known for opposing mask mandates and other COVID protocols in the classroom.
The organization is headquartered in Brevard County, one of several school districts which defied Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and instituted a mask mandate for all students in the Fall of 2021. That mandate has since been rescinded.
Descovich, a former Brevard County School Board Member, lost her seat in the Summer of 2020 to candidate Jennifer Jenkins, who strongly supported mask requirements and other COVID measures in schools.
“I think a few things cost me the seat. I think masks played a role and I knew that,” Descovich said. “But in my core and in my heart, after listening to 14 hours of parents coming in, I knew I couldn’t do that. And I knew I could lose the election over it.”
After her loss, Descovich joined with Justice, who decided not to seek re-election to the neighboring Indian River County School Board.
The two formed Moms for Liberty, whose members began appearing at school board meetings in both counties. At times, the tension was palpable.
“The Jerry Springer Show”
Soon Moms for Liberty chapters began popping up across the country. The group has 168 chapters across the U.S. and roughly 70,000 members, according to Justice and Descovich.It didn’t take long for many of those members - easily identified in their signature blue Moms for Liberty T-shirts - to clash with local school boards, often debating COVID mitigation policies.
Videos of the confrontations went viral, propelling Moms for Liberty into the national spotlight.
“I’m here representing Moms for Liberty,” said one woman, addressing school board members in Seminole County, Florida, in June 2021. “We are awake, we are organized, we are angry and we know our rights. Enjoy the time you have left.”
The rest of her comments are inaudible, drowned out by cheers from other parents at the meeting. The remarks were posted on the official Moms for Liberty YouTube page, along with a host of other videos of angry parents addressing their local school boards.
Many of the group’s early videos are from Brevard County.
“I just thought this can’t happen. We can’t be silencing people that want to come here and speak about their children,” Descovich said.
“This is nothing new in school boards. I don’t understand the national phenomenon lately to say school boards are out of control,” Descovich added, pointing to other raucous meetings from her time on the school board before the pandemic.
But, not everyone agrees.
The Battle over Books
With COVID mandates disappearing and schools reopening, Moms for Liberty members nationwide are shifting their attention to another issue: books.Many of the organization’s chapters are now lobbying local school boards to ban certain books from school libraries, creating national uproar.
More..
Inside Moms for Liberty: the conservative parents group hopes to tip the scales in 2022
In a little more than a year, the non-profit organization Moms for Liberty has become a political juggernaut. The group is drawing in conservative parents nationwide. But, it's also a lightning rod for criticism because of the organization's opposition to things like mask mandates and the...
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