It seemed only a matter of time that the hottest political potato making the rounds on social media and 24-hour cable news channels would find its way into the hallowed halls of Fort Worth’s schools.

To critics, critical race theory (CRT) will doom the nation-state to the dividing lines of Balkanization — of Black versus White — and a gross violation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to live in a country in which his children would be judged by their character, not the color of their skin. To proponents, CRT is a framework to research and analyze the continued inequity of political and social systems in this country and how people of color, and Blacks in particular, have been treated in this system and the barriers that exist because of it — as well as an instrument to remedy it. Both groups were in attendance for the board meeting in June. “We all want the same thing. We all want good things for our kids,” says Missie Carra of both groups, pro and con. Carra, director of the Texas chapter of Parents’ Rights in Education, along with Carlos Turcios, organized those with concerns of CRT in the district. “It’s just the manner in which it’s done that we don’t agree. Their ultimate concern is kids. We’re all on the same page with that. How can we best do that is the question.” The objective of Carra’s group, she says, is not to deny history or the reality of racism in America.

The liberalism of the 20th century, which gave America critical advances in Civil Rights, were not enough, critical race theorists contend.

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