Dear Supporters of Strong Inclusive Schools for All!
Parents in a small upstate NY town fought against our local Moms for Liberty Chapter who were endorsing candidates running for school board. Like so many of you, our first flag was the fact that none of these candidates had children in the school system.
We quickly and somewhat reluctantly became “Defense of Democracy” - immediately reprioritizing our lives so that we could take a formal stand. We had an outstanding local success where we doubled the turnout in the election, decisively shutting down the Christian Nationalist candidates. In short order we found ourselves mobilizing a national fight to protect much more than our specific school district.
Six months later, in October 2022, we incorporated.
When groups like Moms4LIberty, Awake IL, Parents Defending Education, etc. began pushing an extremist agenda at school boards, we started paying attention. We started doing research.
We learned *a lot*.
These groups are funded with Koch money, and aggressively advocate for elected officials who run on a Christian Nationalist agenda. They have been censoring books in an effort to invalidate our queer families. These bans also focus on books that discuss our country’s complicated history with civil rights- in an attempt to erase entire components of history. This is a slap in the face of black and brown Americans and other minority and marginalized groups.
Defense of Democracy is passionately non-partisan. We stand by our commitment to never endorse candidates and to only supply voters with factual information so that they can make the best choice when they visit the ballot. Defense of Democracy has operated on a shoestring budget, and only now - through the generosity of our supporters- are we able to fund a single full time position.
Lets go over some of the successes that we have had in the short time that we have been active:
1) Doubled the voter turnout in the school board vote in the Wappingers Central School District, defeating Christian nationalist candidates - our first chapter and first huge success.
2) Opened 17 chapters in 14 states, assisting parents and community members in organizing successful awareness campaigns about groups who use terms like “parents rights” and “patriots” and “liberty” to disguise their hateful agenda.
3) Conducted almost 100 online trainings, bringing new volunteers onboard, mobilizing young adults, discussing best practices for advocacy, etc.
4) Engaged volunteers to bring their knowledge to their local boards and expand their networks by state and school district.
5) Assembled a board of national experts to hold us accountable as we grow. Our board members include attorneys, professional advocates, educators, business owners, media specialists, and yes - both Republicans and Democracts, and all in between.
6) Launched a petition to convince Marriott Hotels to abide by their own DEI policy and refuse to allow Moms for Liberty to hold their national summit at their facility this summer. This petition is three days old with over 1,500 signatures.
As always, on behalf of our children, on behalf of our educators, our librarians and of all the good people in this country whose way of life is very much in the crosshairs, we are thankful for your continued support and we promise to work hard to fulfill our mission:
To advocate for legislators, educators, and administrators who will work to maintain communities as well as a public education system that supports and enhances our shared experiences regardless of religious beliefs, cultural background, or sexual orientation.
To join our corps of volunteers please visit www.DefenseofDemocracy.org
Sincerely,
Karen Svoboda
President/Cofounder
Defense of Democracy