Racial equity co-chair accused of doxxing resigns from Fort Worth schools committee
A volunteer co-chair on the Fort Worth school district’s racial equity committee resigned Wednesday, after she received dozens of threatening and racist phone and social media messages in November.
“This decision was necessary for the safety of myself and my family, said Garcia-Lopez in a statement Thursday. “But equally important, it was necessary to safeguard the vital work of ensuring racial equity in FWISD.”
In an email to the school board Wednesday announcing her resignation, Garcia-Lopez also resigned from her volunteer position as a member of the district’s redistricting committee.
“The full focus of the District and my fellow committee members must remain on the children and the communities that I love. I cannot allow the vile and relentless attacks on me by white supremacists to distract from or overshadow the continued pursuit of equity in FWISD. That work is too vital,” she said in the email.
The messages followed a report by Fox News that Norma Garcia-Lopez doxxed, or revealed the identifying information of, at least one Fort Worth parent out of several who filed a lawsuit against the school district over its mask mandate this summer.
Shortly after the report, Garcia-Lopez received dozens of racist and threatening messages to her email, phone number and social media pages. Police recommended that she relocate from her home address.
In a statement on Dec. 3, Garcia-Lopez admitted that she released the information of one of the parents and left her an explicit voicemail message before becoming co-chair. In August, she shared on social media the names of the parents who filed the lawsuit and invited the internet to “do your thang.”
But Garcia-Lopez said she didn’t dox anyone.
“It’s not doxxing when you expose someone who filed a public motion in a public court of law that impacts public school children,” Garcia-Lopez said in last week’s statement.
Some of the racial equity committee members came to Garcia-Lopez’ defense last week, citing that the messages she received were an example that the racial equity committee’s work wasn’t over.
Some members drafted a resolution last week asking the school district to express their support for Garcia-Lopez publicly.
Racial Equity Committee chair Quinton Phillips did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But at the committee’s Dec. 3 meeting, he expressed his support for Garcia-Lopez and said he would not ask her to resign.
“If Norma is no longer the co-chair of this committee it’s going to be because a grown woman made a decision that she no longer wanted to be co-chair of this committee for whatever reason she decides,” Phillips said at the meeting. “It will not be because I asked her to step down.”
The district’s racial equity committee has reduced racial disparities in schools’ suspension rates and hired and retained more diverse staff since 2016.
“While I step aside to place my full focus on the well-being of my family, the Racial Equity Committee can return its full focus where it should be — to dismantling institutional oppression,” Garcia-Lopez said in Thursday’s statement.
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 2:36 PM.
