Philly residents pressure Mariott and local museum not to host Moms For Liberty conference

Community members in Philadelphia are pushing back against the plans of a local history museum and the Marriott hotel to host the second annual national conference of Moms For Liberty (M4L), an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.

The so-called “parents’ rights” group, which opposes LGBTQ+ content and transgender-affirming policies in schools, will host its conference at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel, as well as a conference event at the Museum of the American Revolution.

Related:

SPLC names Moms for Liberty an “extremist” group for their anti-LGBTQ+ activism

SPLC said the hate group is “at the forefront” of the “mobilization” of right-wing extremist groups claiming to fight for “parents’ rights.”

The conference speakers include three front-running Republican presidential candidates — former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley. Also speaking are North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (a man who considers LGBTQ+ people “demonic” “filth”), James Lindsay (the second most prolific anti-LGBTQ+ tweeter in the nation), and many other anti-LGBTQ+ conservatives.

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A petition with over 27,800 signatures, started by retired attorney Michael Gottesman, is asking Marriott not to host M4L’s event. In the petition, Gottesman points out that M4L is “supported by well-organized and well-funded entities that [have] spewed hate, racism and intolerance, seeking to turn the clock back 50 to 100 years.”

While M4L styles itself as a “grassroots” parents organization, it has received support from the anti-LGBTQ+ think tank the Heritage Foundation, NPR reported, and public support from numerous anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans and right-wing media figures, according to Media Matters.

“Moms for Liberty is a hate group that is anti-diversity, anti-inclusion and anti-LGBTQIA+,” Gottesman’s petition continues. “They claim that all members of the LGBTQAI+ community are ‘groomers,’ … [and that] teachers are pedophiles seeking to train our children for the sex trafficking industry.”

He noted that the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a measure of companies’ LGBTQ+-inclusive workplace policies, has given Marriott a perfect 100 score for the past nine years. Additionally, Marriott’s own diversity and inclusion policies pledge to “[take] care of people and [prioritize] putting their wellbeing above all else” and to “help shape a better world.”

LGBTQ Nation contacted Marriott for comment. The hotel donates to LGBTQ+ causes and hosted M4L’s first national convention last year in Florida.

As for the Museum of the American Revolution, last Friday evening, pro-LGBTQ+ and anti-racist protesters demonstrated outside of the museum to encourage it not to host M4L’s conference. The protest was organized by Defense of Democracy, a national nonprofit organization advocating for the American public school system, WCAU-TV reported.

Nearly 40 members of the museum’s 112 staffers have signed a letter demanding that museum leaders cancel M4L’s planned “Welcome to Philadelphia” reception scheduled for June 29 at the museum. The staffers say that M4L, a group that supports bans on LGBTQ+- and racially-inclusive educational materials, stands in opposition to the historical progress for racial inclusion that the museum values.

“We do not feel that any dollar amount is worth endangering the safety of the museum staff members in the building on the day of the event, serving as a host to a group that does not stand with our values, and damaging the museum’s reputation that we have all worked so hard to build,” the staffers’ petition reads, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bee Reed, a nonbinary email marketing manager sent a letter to museum CEO R. Scott Stephenson stating, “We’re trying to include stories about Black history and women’s history and queer history. [This event] would compromise all of the work that we’ve done trying to build connections… with these institutions that are being directly targeted by Moms for Liberty.”

Queer exhibit specialist Xander Karkruff told the Inquirer, “Everything they stand for is in conflict with our mission.”

In a statement to WCAU-TV, the museum wrote, “The museum’s mission is to share diverse and inclusive stories about our nation’s history with the broadest audience possible. We welcome any opportunity to introduce visitors to these stories… 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.”

Stephenson said that any employees who feel uncomfortable don’t have to work during the event. At least four Black historical interpreters who work with the museum have also communicated their disapproval of its hosting the event and have cut ties with the museum. The historical interpreters include Cheyney McKnight (who posted a TikTok video about her opposition) as well as Marvin Greer, Joel Cook, Daryian Kelton, and Hugh Goffinet.

@notyourmommashistory

This action was taken along with a group of Black Historical Interpreters: Marvin Greer @Marvin-Alonzo Greer, Joel Cook @Joel, Daryian Kelton @Daryian Kelton, Hugh Goffinet. We encourage others to join us in this boycott. I encourage you all to donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center @SPLC as a direct way of supporting an organization that actively tracks, exposes, and combats extremist organizations such as Mom’s for Liberty.

♬ original sound – NotYourMommasHistory

M4L’s past activities include offering bounties for turning in teachers who discuss “divisive topics,” attacking the Trevor Project for trying to prevent LGBTQ+ teen suicide, trying to get a book about seahorses banned for being too sexy, complaining about a book about the Civil War because it portrays “white people as ‘bad’ or ‘evil,’” trying to get librarians arrested for offering “inappropriate books,” saying that two girls briefly kissing at a school function is “lewd” and “traumatic,” lobbying in Florida for the Don’t Say Gay bill, encouraging schools to ignore LGBTQ History Month, and suggesting that LGBTQ+ students be forcibly isolated from other pupils.