A Miami-Dade County elementary school banned Amanda Gorman’s 2021 presidential inauguration poem from its library bookshelves, moving the book to the middle school section instead. As more information emerges about the parent who objected to Gorman’s poem, a disturbing picture has emerged about the objecting mother and her radical history.
1.
The Daily Beast reports that the objecting mother, Daily Salinas, is affiliated with Moms for Liberty, an ultra-conservative group that emerged in Florida to oppose masking and other COVID-19 restrictions. The group has since grown into a multi-state organization that has sought to censor content produced for and about minorities from public schools as well as forcefully pushing other conservative causes. Salinas and another Moms for Liberty affiliate were particular was forcibly removed for interrupting a sex ed discussion at a 2022 Miami Dade County School Board meeting, one of many times that Moms for Liberty affiliates have engaged in disruptive or even threatening behavior towards school boards and other officials.
Two women who spoke against the sex ed textbooks began yelling over school board members as they were deliberating. The two women were escorted out of the building by police, as was a man who was sitting elsewhere in the auditorium. pic.twitter.com/VrFyHdzklr
— Kate Payne (@hellokatepayne) July 20, 2022
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In addition to being tied to Moms for Liberty, Salinas has also been linked ot the Proud Boys, the far-right group that recently had several of its members convicted on conspiracy charges for their role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The Guardian documents several instances of Salinas appearing with or praising the Proud Boys, including a picture with now-incarcerated leader Enrique Tarrio.
Yesterday the @MiamiHerald published an article on Miami Lakes parent Daily Salinas who challenged several books such as The ABCs of Black History.
But what they didn’t report & we will reveal is Salinas’ ties to far-right groups like M4L & open support of the Proud Boys. 🧵 1/ pic.twitter.com/2F2e2Eo5CR
— Miami Against Fascism 🌴☕️ (@MIAagainstFash) May 23, 2023
3.
Salinas has also made a series of antisemitic posts on Facebook, spreading old conspiracy theories.
NEW: Months before a Miami-area mother Daily Salinas persuaded a local school to restrict access to an Amanda Gorman poem, she was posting antisemitic memes on her Facebook page. @JTAnews https://t.co/IaOTfVA0Ea
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) May 25, 2023
Salinas later apologized to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for the posts, saying “I’m not what the post says.” She further told the publication that “I love the Jewish community.” Despite apologizing for this specific bigotry, Salinas remains committed to banning Gorman’s book and other Black-themed publications.
With individuals like Salinas succeeding in censoring material in Florida and other states, as well as groups like Moms for Liberty growing in influence around the country, it’s likely that many more book bans and other restrictive policies will pop up.
