On Mother’s Day, Moms for Liberty took to social media to wish its followers a Happy Mother’s Day … using a quote from Maya Angelou, who is one of many authors whose books the group has sought to ban. Moms for Liberty calls itself a “grassroots movement” that is concerned with standing up for “liberty” and “parental rights.”
However, in reality, it is a very well-organized and seemingly well-funded organization that is increasingly becoming the face of the Republican party and has ties to many Republican politicians. Unfortunately, political connections and funding have allowed Moms for Liberty to increasingly spread hate and right-wing extremism across the country.
One of the group’s focuses has been attacking free speech through book banning and censorship. Book censorship is a growing problem, with the American Library Association (ALA) recording record high numbers of challenges and book bans in 2022. Meanwhile, since 2021, Moms for Liberty has been growing and spreading across the country. Chapters in various states have been launching initiatives to ban numerous books from their local school districts and public libraries.
The group most commonly claims that they’re removing books with “pornography” from schools. Of course, “pornography” is just a word they use to raise outrage and to thinly veil the fact that they’re actually trying to censor books with discussions of LGBTQ+ themes, race, racism, (accurate) history, abuse, and anything else the group personally disagrees with or is uncomfortable with.
In Florida’s Martin County, the local Moms for Liberty chapter, headed by Julie Marshall, succeeded in removing six pages full of books from the school district, from authors ranging from Jodi Picoult to Nora Roberts, over vague claims of pornography and “adult books.” Now, amid its book-banning attempts, Moms for Liberty has dared to quote one of the authors they have sought to ban.
Moms for Liberty quotes Maya Angelou while trying to ban her book
Many social media users were left appalled when Moms for Liberty’s social media pages across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook shared a Mother’s Day graphic with a quote from Maya Angelou in it. The quote “A Mother’s love liberates” and was placed over an image of flowers, alongside captions with Mother’s Day wishes. Many were quick to point out that the Moms for Liberty had no right to be sharing quotes from Angelou when the organization has been working to ban her book, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
The local Moms for Liberty group is believed to be behind attempts to ban I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the Girls Who Code series in Pennsylvania’s Central York School District. The organization denied responsibility for banning Girls Who Code but did not mention I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Additionally, Angelou’s book appears on the national chapter’s list of books the group seeks to ban. The (supposed) reasons for the ban are racism, sex, and abuse, due to the autobiography capturing the sexual abuse and racism that the author experienced.
Angelou spoke her truth through the many autobiographies she wrote during her lifetime, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She would never have stood for Moms for Liberty’s attempts to prevent young readers from accessing resources that tackle difficult subjects like sexual abuse and racism. Moms for Liberty using the words of someone who they are not only trying to censor, but who they know would be vehemently against what they are doing, is disrespectful and despicable.
It’s also the epitome of hypocrisy that they get to use the words of someone they want to prevent everyone else from reading or pretend that they’re supportive of what Angelou stood for while turning around and censoring her. It may also be more evidence that these women don’t read the books they’re banning or even know why they’re banning them. If they’re so shocked by Angelou’s works, why are they using her quotes and publicly promoting her on their social media?
(featured image: Reddit)
