American Revolution Museum staffers are fighting to cancel a Moms for Liberty event

Nearly 40 staffers at the Museum of the American Revolution are demanding that museum leadership cancel a scheduled event hosted by Moms for Liberty, a “parents’ rights” group recently classified as an “antigovernment extremist organization” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Museum, located in Old City, has sought to diversify the stories it tells about American history — its current special exhibition, “Black Founders,” is a first-of-its-kind spotlight on James Forten, a prominent Black Revolutionary War-era abolitionist — and staffers said allowing such a group to rent its space undermines the progress the museum has made.

“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,” a petition signed by 39 staffers reads. The museum employs 75 people full time and 37 part time.

Moms for Liberty, an organization that sought control over public education by banning books and removing curriculum related to race, gender, and sexuality, is hosting its national summit in Philadelphia at the end of this month. Featured speakers are to include GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The site of the summit — the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown — has already been protested by queer and trans-led groups.

Moms for Liberty is hosting its “Welcome to Philadelphia” reception at the Museum on June 29. The event has not been canceled, a museum spokesperson said. The group’s meeting in Philadelphia is scheduled to run through July 2.

» READ MORE: Moms for Liberty: What it is and who’s behind the group

“The museum’s mission is to share diverse and inclusive stories about our nation’s history with the broadest audience possible,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We welcome any opportunity to introduce visitors to these stories. In these polarizing times, our best hope to strengthen democracy is through dialogue. We understand that this can be difficult.”

Morris Offit, chair of the museum’s board, called the matter “sensitive” and directed a reporter to the museum’s official statement.

Moms for Liberty cofounders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich said in a statement: “Name calling parents who want to be a part of their child’s education as ‘hate groups’ or ‘bigoted’ just further exposes what this battle is all about: Who fundamentally gets to decide what is taught to our kids in school — parents or government employees? We believe that parental rights do not stop at the classroom door and no amount of hate from groups like this is going to stop that.”

When staffers realized that the museum was renting to Moms for Liberty, they shared the information with colleagues, including on a Microsoft Teams group chat for LGBTQ staff. Several expressed their disappointment to leadership.

“Over the course of six years, literally hundreds of hands have been involved in building this reputation as a source where we are trying to tell the full story,” said Bee Reed, an email marketing manager who is nonbinary and sent a letter to CEO R. Scott Stephenson. “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.”

As exhibit specialist Xander Karkruff, who is queer, put it: “Everything they stand for is in conflict with our mission.”

» READ MORE: Trans and queer-led groups are protesting the Marriott for hosting Moms for Liberty conference this summer

In response, Stephenson held an emergency town hall meeting and a subsequent all-staff meeting last week at which the matter was discussed, according to interviews with five employees. The meetings were emotional and tense, with some staffers openly crying.

During the meetings, employees asked, when it came to renting event space, where’s the line? Would the museum rent to the Proud Boys? The answer was an emphatic no. (A museum spokesperson confirmed this, saying, “We make available after-hours and private rentals to groups that organize legally and safely, including federally recognized 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations.”)

Stephenson said the museum did not discriminate on the basis of politics. Perhaps, he suggested, Moms for Liberty would learn something at the museum.

A museum spokesperson said, “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 no employees were required to work that night if they didn’t feel safe.

But for some employees, the damage has already been done.

“I don’t feel appreciated nor safe anymore,” said assistant curator Trish Norman, who is nonbinary. “I don’t feel the museum necessarily has my back.”

A protest is scheduled for June 9 at 6 p.m. outside the museum.

Last year, facility rentals made up less than 1% of the museum’s total revenue, according to a tax filing.