Faith over Facism: Parental Rights

Please welcome lawyer and parents rights activist Hannah Smith and founder of Moms for America Kimberly Fletcher All right, ladies. So good to have you with us today, and I'm really looking forward to this conversation As really the battle for America I believe is happening in our public schools where the radical left they have turned our schools into indoctrination centers Those are the engines I believe driving this change in our culture Hannah you've been having a front-row seat of all of this. You are a school leader now I want you to explain how you got involved in the effort Well, thank you. First of all for having me today. It's great to be back at CPAC and thank you all for being here. I Am from South Lake, Texas, and I am a school board member of Carroll ISD And in the summer of 2020 our school board was voting on a plan called the cultural competence action plan It was a 34 page document that sought to completely revamp our entire school district our curriculum our hiring practices our teacher evaluations our student clubs everything about our district would be changed in the vein of a very radical ideology and There were people in the community that were shocked that this was happening. And so we banded together. We got organized We started researching it. We did open records requests We started showing up at school board meetings and we got the message out that this was not consistent with our community's values See, I I'm shocked because you know when I was a kid God was making little boys and little girls and now you have 78 different varieties and here we live in a country now Hannah where they're banning. Dr. Seuss. They're banning a little house on the prairie and They're giving kids books that would make these citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah blush Well, that's really true. And I should say that in May of 2021 we won our school board election by a 70 to 30 landslide vote And since then I've been on the board for about a year and a half and we've been able to slowly but surely Bring the board back in line with the parents and what the community's values are and at one of our recent meetings We actually just passed a brand new policy that will help us with our book acquisition So library books instructional textbooks all of those things Making sure that they are in line with our community's values that we have a process for Challenging them if a parent is upset about a particular book that's in the library But basically putting back into the hands of parents The responsibility of ensuring that our books are appropriate for our children. I I just love this It's such a great thing that you've done here. This is a great example and Kimberly moms for America I can't think of a more awesome and fierce group of people of Patriots I want you to explain to our CPAC friends what you guys are doing What are we doing specifically in this arena as we are empowering moms because you don't really know what your rights are You know, this is a whole new arena. You're upset you're angry and so you're going into the school board and you're being angry and I know Hannah will Be able to attest to the fact that being yelled at by a parent is not very fun So what we're doing is we're helping these parents realize how they can communicate with their school board members to create a relationship with them So instead of just showing up angry, they're showing up effective We're teaching them the true story of America what their rights are Where they come from and how to effectively exercise them That is incredibly empowering when they're going in and they're talking before people sometimes, you know Sometimes it's just a table with some chairs behind it other times There's this big pedestal with people up there looking down at you that can be really intimidating So now they're able to go in and actually say not just what they're angry about and what they don't want to have happen But what they do want to have happen and that is helping the school board members and the parents become aligned in a partnership So a few days ago Bobby Francis O'Rourke the fake Mexican from Texas and And Kamala Harris that inspirational wordsmith the vice president They both said basically the same thing that parents really don't have a place in the in the classroom Kimberly, I want both of y'all to respond But Kimberly will start with you and then Hannah get your response So one of the things that we have realized is that the school board association Trains these school board members with specific ideas and one of them is the parents don't matter We know better than the parents do where the experts were trained and they teach these school board members this they teach them not to Go into the classroom not to go into the school as it makes them nervous Don't shake the boat, you know, and and you always agree you can disagree behind the door But when you come out in front of the public you must agree So we are actually helping school board members to realize the exact opposite that parents rights are fundamental and supreme Protected in the Constitution of the United States and they are there to support us not replace us or regulate And I would just add to that if you go to the Texas Education Code the very first pillar is that parents are partners with school districts in Educating children so parents are absolutely essential in the process of deciding. What should our curriculum be? What should our textbooks be what library books should be in our shelves? So I think it's really important that parents not feel like they just send their kids to school and they've done their responsibility but that they really get engaged really get involved and really help pass meaningful policies that will guide the direction of your school district and Kimberly I I have to imagine and we saw this in Loudoun County, Virginia Where the fight there which is kind of ground zero we have some Loudoun County people in the house You know, it was like you had these I just imagined these moms and I'm from the South so armed with cast-iron skillets in one hand and Bibles in the other going to Take care of business down at the at the school board meeting. Um, it's you know, it's not this angry thing It's a very winsome argument, but it's also a responsibility that moms and dads have we just can't turn the kids over to the schools Anymore. No, if we do that, then what we're going to get is a lot of government children who the government is the answer There's a great quote It says that you send your children to Caesar schools Don't be surprised when they come home Roman if you want your children to have your values you need to instill those values But there's also another great quote. There's that what a mother writes on their child's heart the world cannot erase So if we are countering what's happening in the school if we are setting that foundation There's nothing that's going outside the home that can't be countered or tell or healed inside the home So parents and children have got to align together and they got to realize we're on the same team And if you see something that's not right in school You come and tell us we'll fight the battles for you because they're intimidating our children And then we will go to the school board and we'll fight for them and hopefully align together And I think most school board members when they realize that their parents are on the side They're not alone because they're also bullied and intimidated and they can attest to that Then we're aligned together and we have a partnership instead of being separated and I would just add you don't have to Run for school board to be effective. You can be part of the committee there are a lot of district committees that actually make very substantive decisions and Recommendations to the school board about very important policies to sign up to be on those committees sign up to be on your PTOs Be the eyes and ears of what's going on on the ground in your school So, you know and you can raise the red flag when there's something that needs attention There's a lot of different ways that you can serve You don't have to run for elected office to do it But just raise your hand and get involved and of course One of the other issues when you do raise a red flag You give us a call like Kimberly You've been a guest to regularly on my national radio show a noon to 3 Eastern and that that again amplifies what you guys are doing there locally so other Conservatives other moms and dads grandmas grandpas can get involved and and really come alongside and fight the good fight I want to talk real quick in our final moments about critical race theory Which I believe is a lie from the pit of hell because basically it's saying God made a mistake and our God doesn't make mistakes but the idea that they're Dividing kids and turning them against each other What are you guys doing about that? You know They're starting with our children because it's a lot easier to do the division to do the program with our children every dictator That's ever lived knows if you start with the children, then you can own the future So they're starting to divide us and you can see it they're doing it they're doing it to adults are doing it to our public right now all through the United States and Divisions from it's just colors and races and genders And it's crazy and when they run out of things to complain about they create things to complain about So it's so much easier to go to our children and start indoctrinating them on these ideas And if you want to conquer a nation you have to divide them first So if you start with our children the innocent then then they will they will jump into this idea So what we're doing is we're teaching parents about the importance of teaching the story of America to their children the true story of America And if we can inspire the mothers of America and convert them to Liberty the nation will follow They will teach their children and within their sphere of influence. We're starting with the moms They will go to the kids and we will be able to turn this around in one generation And you know, I'll just add The main concern that I have with critical race theory is that it really turns on the head the American fundamental premise of color blindness before the law like our society is founded on the fact that everyone is equal before the law that we Don't see color when we are dispensing justice when we are dispensing fairness And so I think these principles of fundamental fairness really resonate with people that critical race theory really attempts to Look at color to make people equal But the American dream and the American promise is that we don't look at color and everyone is already It's also making our children very Unhappy we're teaching our children to hate their country hate their neighbors hate themselves and to completely ignore their parents They're creating divisions between parents and children as well and so we need to take a more active role as parents to realize what our children are being exposed to be a Partner with them and everything that they do. I'm not saying we need a mass exodus from school Although I don't think a mass exodus But we need to fight for what we have at the same time and we can't just walk away from the system We have to be able to empower the parents empower the children and work together with our school board members We don't have to be at odds we can do it together and we can run for school board when we feel we need to but stand up with the school board I think Ronald Reagan said that American exceptionalism doesn't start in in the White House or in Washington, DC It actually starts around the dinner table and ultimately that's what we've got to get back to is the family and moms and dads Got to pay very close attention to what's happening in those classrooms and like these ladies get Involved let's give them both a round of applause Kimberly Hannah, thank you both very much