Parent’s outburst over critical race theory at Fort Worth school board sparks outcry
When Fort Worth resident Malik Austin stepped up to the podium for public comment during a Nov. 9 school board meeting, instead of using his time to address the board of trustees, he turned and directed his comments to the crowd sitting to his left.
The public comment sections of Fort Worth’s board meetings have consistently become a battleground for parents and residents to wrangle over issues like a recent bond election, multiple mask mandates and the alleged teaching of critical race theory.
At this meeting, Austin sparked an argument between himself and the attendees in the crowd.
“How dare you come off in here and challenge me on critical race theory,” Austin said. “Look at the word racism — this is something deliberately done to people of African descent, to shackle us down. This hate, fear, money ain’t gonna work no more.”
As Austin’s time on the podium ran out, the microphone cut off, but he and the crowd continued to engage.
“I got over 1,000 soldiers ready to go... locked and loaded,” he said as officers escorted him out of the room.
Austin’s comments have since sparked outcry as video of the meeting began circulating on social media sites and was covered by some news organizations.
And a protest against critical race theory and a counter-rally supporting racial equity are planned at Tuesday’s board meeting.
While CRT has become a buzzword flung in the faces of school board members across the country, the actual theory is an academic framework taught in graduate-level courses. It contends that racism is structural — that is, that racism is built into American culture and entrenched in American institutions.
But a contingent of parents and politically active residents have begun talking about “critical race theory” as an expansive worldview. To them, “critical race theory” can refer to a wide range of actual or perceived work that schools are doing to achieve racial equity and inclusion.
They say it is racist against white children and that it teaches Black and brown children to see themselves as victims. They argue that educators should instead be teaching “unity,” which has become an anti-CRT buzzword in its own right.
The recent incident is just the latest example of the district’s contentious school board meetings since they returned to in-person in May, filled with verbal spats and security escorts that mirror the political tensions at school boards across the country.
During a June 22 meeting, when hundreds of anti-CRT protesters filled the district building, the more than two-hour public comment section had adults shouting insults as others spoke, and saw a verbal altercation outside the building between protesters and district students.
Tension between two male attendees also escalated during a Sept. 28 meeting, which turned into a shouting match just outside the conference room.
The public comment section of board meetings has included people calling out others when allotted times have expired, speaking over their time until they’re escorted out or showing up in tactical gear, including Austin himself, who has previously identified as a member of the Brotherhood Movement.
A YouTube video of the Nov. 9 meeting has garnered hundreds of comments and more than 60,000 views, compared to other district videos ranging from 600 to 2,000 views, and Austin’s comments have been covered by Fox News.
A week after the meeting, Fox and Friends interviewed Fort Worth resident Ladonna Meyers, who said she was at the meeting and filed a report with the FBI office in Fort Worth against Austin. “It’s their job to check in on terrorism, and this was a terrorist threat,” Meyers said.
Austin told Fox News that he was not threatening anyone. He said “locked and loaded” is “a term I used when I coached football. It means, ‘Prepare and get ready.’”
Board president Tobi Jackson said when there’s unacceptable behavior during the public comment section of the board meeting, she will cut the microphone and ask the officer in attendance to remove the individual, which happened on Nov. 9.
Jackson said there’s always emotion when the topic of children and their futures is involved. She said she appreciates passion and when more parents are engaged, but she wants people to keep in mind that students are watching.
“Adults need to model appropriate behavior,” she said. “And for the most part they do.”
This report includes information from the Star-Telegram’s archives.
