NBC Southlake
The town of Southlake, Texas is an idyllic suburb that seems to have it all: stately
homes, manicured lawns and parks, intense civic pride, and above all, terrific
schools. So when a video surfaced in 2018 showing Southlake high school
students chanting the N word—and when Black residents came forward to share
stories of harassment and bullying—the school board vowed to make the town’s
schools a more welcoming place for all. That commitment was the match that lit
the firestorm in Southlake.
Ever since the school board unveiled its “Cultural Competency Action Plan” last
summer, Southlake has been engulfed in a bitter, neighbor-versus-neighbor feud
over how to talk about race, culminating in a dramatic school board election this
spring. Along the way, Southlake became the poster child for the new
conservative crusade against so-called “critical race theory” and the supposed
threat of “wokeness” in schools.
Hosted by NBC News national reporter Mike Hixenbaugh (host of the hit podcast
Do No Harm) and NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton, Southlake follows
students and families trying to figure out the painful new reality in the place
they called home—and what it truly means to belong.
Hosts
Mike Hixenbaugh
Antonia Hylton