Moms for Liberty, a controversial conservative education reform group, is stirring controversy as it organizes a town hall event on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, marking its inaugural major event in New York City and eliciting criticism from liberal quarters.
Key Points:
- The Thursday event is poised to be one of the most high-profile gatherings for Moms for Liberty in the city since its establishment in 2021, reportedly attracting a sold-out audience in a county where 86% of the vote favored Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
- Scheduled speakers for the event include Charles Love and Maud Maron, both members of Community Education Council District 2—an elected community board overseeing 49 schools in Manhattan and liaising with the superintendent and chancellor.
- Maron, who views Moms for Liberty as a dynamic and genuinely diverse parents group, intends to address what she perceives as illiberalism silencing parents and harming kids and schools. Charles Love did not provide a comment.
- Despite Maron’s involvement, she clarified that she is not a Moms for Liberty member and has no intention of starting a chapter.
- The event is encountering significant opposition from elected officials in New York, with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine describing the group as “anti-LGBTQ, supports book bans, harasses teachers & school librarians, and has been labeled by @SPLCenter a ‘far-right extremist organization.'”
Background:
- Moms for Liberty’s sold-out event aligns with its efforts to expand into more liberal states. The group held its National Summit in Philadelphia last year, attended by former President Donald Trump and other Republican figures. The event faced protests and criticism from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
- New York City Mayor Eric Adams has not commented on the Thursday town hall despite an informal invitation from the group.
- Moms for Liberty, whose endorsed candidates faced defeats in school board races in Democratic-leaning states, has not disclosed the topics for Thursday’s town hall.
Watch Out For:
- Moms for Liberty has yet to address the topics to be discussed at Thursday’s town hall, and the group has not responded to requests for comment. Despite lacking an active chapter in Manhattan, the organization has a presence in other areas, including Queens, Westchester County, and Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties.