Why is the Museum of the American Revolution Hosting a Hate Group?
I’ve never visited the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia and now with the news that they are hosting an event organized by Moms for Liberty it is doubtful that I ever will.
Moms for Liberty was organized in 2021 in Florida by two mothers, Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich, that aims to “stand up for parental rights at all levels of the government,” according to their website. The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the organization in its list of hate groups. According to the SPLC the group spreads hateful imagery and rhetoric against the LGBTQ community and has called for the “abolition” of the Department of Education.
What I don’t understand is how the goals of Moms for Liberty furthers the mission of the museum. When asked for a comment a spokesperson for the museum offered the following response: “Because fostering understanding within a democratic society is so central to our mission, rejecting visitors on the basis of ideology would be antithetical to our purpose.”
This means nothing. We all want to encourage open discourse and the sharing of ideas as a means to strengthening our democracy, but that is exactly what Moms for Liberty is working to prevent. They are working in numerous states to remove history books that they believe to be a threat.
The museum is under no obligation to host this organization. Perhaps the National Constitution Center would be a more appropriate venue.
In 2021, a Tennessee chapter of Moms for Liberty filed a complaint under the state’s anti-CRT bill to remove history books for young children. The group took issue with a book authored by Ruby Bridges about her experiences integrating a school and also one on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which they called, “Anti-American, Anti-White, and Anti-Mexican.”
They also objected to the author’s recollections of a White mob yelling at her on her way to school and pictures of firemen hosing Black children during the 1963 Birmingham march.
In their view, these books focused too much on the negatives of history and would prefer that their children’s schools have books that focus on heroes like Clarence Thomas, Morgan Freeman, and Condoleezza Rice.
Instead, Moms for Liberty recommends using The Making of America to teach history. Published in 1985 by conspiracy theorist and John Birch Society supporter W. Cleon Skousen, the book portrays slave owners as the "worst victims of slavery" and claims that although the Founders wanted to free slaves, most slaves were unprepared for lives of freedom. This just scratches the surface of the book’s many flaws.
This is not a group that cares about history, education or the mission of the Museum of the American Revolutin.
The Museum of the American Revolution was founded to deepen our understanding of American history and from what I’ve heard has done a pretty good job of interpreting the tough subjects of slavery and race through their exhibits and programming.
How does hosting a group committed to ending open discourse about these and other important historical topics advance the museum’s goals? The Museum of the American Revolution is not standing up for democracy by hosting Moms for Liberty, but taking part in its continued decline.
We need everyone in history education and public history to speak with one voice against organizations like Moms for Liberty, who are committed to putting all of us out of work and turning the study of history into nothing more than propaganda.
I will certainly not reward institutions who further this agenda with my patronage and I hope you will refuse to do so as well.
This desire to pervert history by the undereducated is nauseating. Their relentless assault on the development of critical thinking skills is to be pitied. There should be a book, "How to Raise Your Child to be a Lemming."
Dear God in Heaven... what a horror show. And the John Birch Society! Ugh. A letter writing campaign to the museum seems in order.