Protect Our Community Against Hate and Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric
A coalition of 44 local organizations has united to denounce the group Moms for Liberty and similar organizations, which came to Watsonville for a meeting in September.
As members of the California Central Coast, we cherish the richness and diversity of our community. We respect and value everyone from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. We value schools as places of safety, inclusion and belonging, alongside learning, for all students.
We therefore condemn the so-called ‘non-partisan gathering of parents’ in Watsonville on Sunday, September 17th, which spread hate and misinformation–particularly against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) youth, and also attacked our public schools and teachers’ unions. Headlining the program was “Moms for Liberty,” seeking to recruit parents to forward their agenda, which at the local level includes stripping rights from students, banning books, and spreading false and inflammatory information.
Moms for Liberty, and groups like them, do serious harm and have no place in our counties. The Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union have each labeled Moms for Liberty an extremist organization. Learn more about them and their agenda which seeks to dismantle the public education system and undermine decades of progress achieved at the local, state and national levels
Unite in solidarity with us to support our LGBTQ+ youth, our schools, and our teachers, to keep our community strong and to celebrate our diversity.
Please share this statement far and wide.
Endorsed by 44 Organizations:
Pajaro Valley Pride, Santa Cruz Pride, Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations, Monterey Peninsula Pride, Raíces y Cariño Family Center, Rainbow Defense Coalition, Bitter Cotyledons, Cabrillo College, Center for Spiritual Living Santa Cruz, Chadeish Yameinu Jewish Renewal, Community Bridges, Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County, County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency, Cradle to Career Santa Cruz County, Family Service Agency of the Central Coast, GLBT Alliance of SC County, Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County, Indivisible Santa Cruz County, Kweens Kounsel, Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center at UCSC, Missio Dei Community, Moment of Truth radio & podcast team, Monarch Services, Motion Pacific Dance Company, NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch, NAMI Santa Cruz County, Pajaro Valley Prevention & Student Assistance, Peace United Church of Christ - Santa Cruz, Positive Discipline Community Resources, Prophets of Hope, Regeneración - Pajaro Valley Climate Action, Resource Center for Nonviolence, Safe Schools Project, SafeRx of Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz Area Radical Faeries (SCARF), Santa Cruz Black, Santa Cruz Chapter of California Association Of Marriage and Family Therapists, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Santa Cruz County, Temple Beth El Jewish Community Center, Aptos, The Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County, The Neighbor's Pub, Trans Families of SC County, Walnut Avenue Family & Women's Center, YWCA of Watsonville
More Information:
Pajaro Valley Pride, 2023. “Protect our Community Against Racist and Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric”
Southern Poverty Law Center, 2022. Moms for Liberty.
GLAAD Accountability Project, June 2023. Moms for Liberty.
NPR, June 2023. “Moms for Liberty among conservative groups named 'extremist' by civil rights watchdog”
Maya Hensen Carey, Southern Poverty Law Center, Sept. 2023. “When Moms for Liberty flips a school board.”
ABC News/Associated Press, July 2023. “Moms for Liberty’s focus on school races nationwide sets up political clash with teachers unions.”
Katherine Joyce, Salon, July 2022. “Moms for Liberty ‘Joyful Warriors’ in the fight to demolish public school.”
