American Dream Conference in Franklin To Feature Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Carol Swain & Other Prominent National Speakers

By Robin Steenman [Moms for Liberty – Williamson County Chapter] –

Dr. Carol Swain’s Be The People Project (BTPP) and Moms for Liberty  (MFL) will host The American Dream Conference, Jan. 14-15, at Liberty Hall in the Factory, 230 Franklin Rd in Franklin.

This event examines the American Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King and features a number of national speakers who continue to warn about the dangers of Critical Race Theory (CRT) —which is still being taught in Williamson County Schools — and the detrimental effect it has on children.

Speakers include Dr. Ben Carson, Dr. Carol Swain, Dr. James Lindsay, CJ Pearson, and Virginia Lieutenant Governor-Elect Winsome Sears (virtual).

Doors open at 5:30 pm on Friday and 8:30 am on Saturday. Admission is $75 for Friday evening and $35 for the all-day Saturday conference, or $100 for the weekend. Dinner, breakfast and lunch are included in the ticket price. Tickets can be purchased at BeThePeopleNonprofit.com. Ticket sales for the  Friday dinner close this Sunday, Jan 9th.

Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., is Founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute, a new think tank/do tank whose mission is to promote the four founding principles which are cornerstones of our country: faith, liberty, community, and life, as well as pursue common sense solutions that challenge conventional groupthink. He most recently served as the 17th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Dr. Carol Swain is a former tenured professor at Princeton and Vanderbilt Universities and founder of Be The People Project (BTPP), a nonprofit founded in 2011, that educates Americans about conservative values and principles. Dr. Swain has served on the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the 1776 Commission. Her research has won national awards and has been cited in three U.S. Supreme Court cases.She is also an author, commentator, and entrepreneur. 

Dr. James Lindsay is a political commentator, mathematician and author of six books spanning a range of subjects including religion, the philosophy of science and postmodern theory. Dr. Lindsay is the Founder of New Discourses, an organization dedicated to shining the light of objective truth in subjective darkness. Dr. Lindsay has been a featured guest on Fox News, Glenn Beck, Joe Rogan and NPR.

Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor-Elect Winsome Earle Sears is a businesswoman and a conservative politician who won big on the anti-CRT, pro-parental rights tidal wave that swept the Virginia gubernatorial election last November. Sears also served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002 to 2004.

CJ Pearson is the founder and president of The Free Thinker Project. Pearson made headlines in the 2020 Presidential Election when he was nominated by the Republican Party to serve as elector for the state of Georgia, making him possibly the youngest person ever selected for that role. CJ also hosts the iHeart Radio podcast, CJ Pearson UNCENSORED.

Michael Patrick Leahy of the Tennessee Star will emcee the Friday night events. Dr. Carol Swain and Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, will emcee the Saturday events.  

Saturday will feature a morning panel titled “The Public School Crisis in America: Shall We Reform or Exit?” sponsored by the Be The People Project and featuring Dr. Mary Poplin, Rebecca Friedrichs, Alex Newman, Pastor Stephen Broden and Dr. Wenyuan Wu.The afternoon panel, sponsored by Moms for Liberty, is “Teaching The Dream in 2022.” It will feature Terris Todd, Dinesha Merriweather, Paul Rossi and Toni Kinnett.

One of the hallmarks of 2021 was the fierce debate over Critical Race Theory, especially in K-12 education. There was debate over whether it’s even taught in K-12 classrooms, and whether it’s a good idea to present these topics to K-12 children. Much of the debate returns us back to Dr. Martin Luther King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1964. 

While pro-CRT advocates claim that MLK would have been in their camp, those against CRT claim the same. This event will examine the current state of our country against the back-drop of Dr. King’s Dream, and how this affects the education of our children.

“CRT is the civil rights issue of our time,” says Dr. Carol Swain, founder and president of the Be The People Project and former Nashville mayoral candidate.“This event examines its presence and effect on public education.” 

“The national organization of Moms for Liberty, which now has 165 chapters in 33 states and 70,000+ members, is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government,” states Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty. “2022 will be the year of the parent.” 

“Many here in Williamson County like to dismiss claims that CRT is present in our local school system.On the contrary, it is currently being taught to second graders in module three of the Wit and Wisdom curriculum,” said Robin Steenman, chair of the local Williamson County chapter of Moms for Liberty, which filed the first formal complaint against WCS curriculum under the new Tennessee “Anti-CRT” law in the summer of 2021.

For more information about the Be The People Project and to register for this event, visit www.bethepeoplenonprofit.com. For more information about Moms for Liberty, visit www.momsforliberty.org or the local Williamson County chapter website at www.momsforlibertyWC.org. For media inquiries and credentials, contact info@momsforlibertyWC.org.