TAMPA, Fla. — Tia Bess carried a dog-eared copy of the graphic novel “Gender Queer” in her purse as she stood in line to hear Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speak Friday morning.
Bess, a Clay County mom of three, came to the inaugural Moms for Liberty summit at the Tampa Marriott Water Street to commiserate with hundreds of others from around the nation about their concerns that sexually explicit books, lessons on race and gender identity, and other things they find objectionable have infiltrated public schools.
She, like other moms and grandmothers at the event, also wanted to hear ideas about how to make change. She quickly connected with Michelle Beavers, a Brevard County mom who has fought to remove dozens of titles from that district’s school libraries.
“I want to take my knowledge back, to be able to educate more parents,” Bess said.
That’s the goal Tina Descovich had in mind when she co-founded Moms for Liberty less than two years ago in the midst of the pandemic. She and a handful of other current and former Florida school board members, all conservative politically, said they wanted to create a movement to empower parents to overcome what they considered to be a leftward push on curriculum and other aspects of public school.
On Friday, Descovich said she was thrilled with the turnout from across the nation for the group’s first major event, which featured DeSantis as its introductory keynote speaker.
“We have a great opportunity in this election in August with the primaries in the school boards ... and then in November in my election and all these other elections, to really solidify the state of Florida as this country’s citadel of freedom,” DeSantis told the crowd.
The group has grown quickly. It has more than 200 chapters and 95,000 members in 38 states, and has gained political clout in local school board races as well as larger campaigns, including DeSantis’ reelection bid. It’s also become a target for critics, who have blasted the “parental rights” movement as code for intolerance to ideas like LGBTQ student rights and a full teaching of the nation’s racist past.
Members have led outreach campaigns at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference and often broadcast their message on conservative media, which has helped the group grow.
Merianne Jensen, a mother of four who launched a chapter in Virginia just two months ago, said she was “praying to get involved” in a bigger way when she was fighting a mask mandate at her kids’ schools. She learned about Moms for Liberty when her father-in-law sent her a Breitbart news article that said the group was “saving America by empowering parents.”
“I am coming here to help and be rejuvenated,” Jensen said before heading into the auditorium to hear DeSantis, who she said was a “hero for children.”
About 500 people attended the event. After the DeSantis speech, they headed into hourlong strategy sessions on subjects such as “Are You Ready to Run?” and “Gender Ideology in Our Schools,” which reporters were not allowed to attend.
“It’s mostly mothers that have really struggled with their own children in their communities,” Descovich said. “They have all come to this place feeling their voices haven’t been heard. They are here to be trained and empowered.”
Nicole Donahue of Vero Beach is one of those parents. The stay-at-home mom of a 4-year-old, Donahue said she recently joined Moms for Liberty to become more informed about the rights she and her child have as they prepare to enter the schools. She also hoped to meet other parents who can provide insights and ideas.
“Ultimately I think the education system is flawed,” Donahue said, “and it needs to be given back to our children.”
Located at the same hotel complex as the Florida Democratic Party’s Leadership Blue event this weekend, the Moms for Liberty summit also drew opposition.
Pinellas County high school history teacher Brandt Robinson, wearing a “no hate in my state” T-shirt, stood outside the hotel with a handful of others to protest the organization and DeSantis.
“It’s important that we let the public know that there are citizens who are standing up to the governor and to Moms for Liberty’s false claims that we are indoctrinating our students.”
Inside the main ballroom, the mood was more celebratory. Attendees mingled and visited booths with swag, including books for sale called “Counter Wokecraft” and buttons saying “No matter what my teacher says I’ll always love America.”
When DeSantis took the stage, the group presented him with a “liberty sword” modeled after the type given to gladiators. The event has adopted the phrase “joyful warriors” to describe its members.
Jensen, the Virginia mom, views herself as that. She gets teary-eyed when she talks about her second-grader describing her as such after being bullied for not wearing a mask in school.
“My kids will know that their mom fought for them,” she said.
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(Tampa Bay Times staff Writer Emily L. Mahoney and Miami Herald reporter Bianca Padró Ocasio contributed to this report.)
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