Hyperlocal Hate: Introduction

Are public events hosted by hate groups a new trend in Fort Worth?

That's the claim made by Assistant City Manager Jesica McEachern, according to the Fort Worth Report. Speaking in reference to the city's existing policy that prevents community center rentals by groups that discriminate based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, color, or national origin, McEachern characterized three recent incidents as the first time the city has been challenged by discriminatory groups asserting their First Amendment rights:

McEachern, who oversees the park and recreation department, said recent event reservations have challenged the city’s existing policies regulating bookings. It’s a trend Fort Worth hasn’t seen before. 

“This is the first time we’ve truly dealt with this,” McEachern said. “[This policy] has been here a long time. We’ve upheld it how we thought was correct, and we’re just now learning it’s not correct. Hence the reason we’re doing this and making an update.” 

Fort Worth's current policies about community centers have been in place since 1998, though the community center rental policy and procedures were revised in 2002. McEachern has served as Assistant City Manager for Fort Worth since August of 2022, according to her LinkedIn page.

How accurate is her assessment? Is this truly the first time that Fort Worth has had to deal with white supremacist, anti-queer, Christian nationalist, and other hate groups wanting access to public spaces? And how, in mid-2024, did Fort Worth end up as a locus of this recent wave of extremist activism?

Those are the questions I'll try to answer in this miniseries, "Hyperlocal Hate." These articles will explore the past and present of hate in a place once considered so chill that a panther could sleep undisturbed in the street.

That kind of civic myth-making is great for selling billion-dollar gentrification projects, but it hardly captures the reality of over 100 years of hate-motivated rallies, lynchings, bombings, animal mutilations, and other acts of violence—nor does it properly honor the Fort Worth residents who have rallied in opposition to hate.

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For now, I'll end with a track from Fort Worth legend Townes Van Zandt, who rests in a graveyard next to Eagle Mountain Lake.