UPDATED A dozen African American lawyers met privately for two hours Saturday afternoon via Zoom with State Bar of Texas President Larry McDougal to hear his explanation for a series of Facebook posts that negatively targeted Black Lives Matter, including calling the organization a terrorist group.
McDougal, according to those who attended the meeting, apologized to the leaders of the state bar’s African American Law Section and promised that he could use this situation to be a “change agent” for more diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.
While AALS leaders say they appreciated McDougal’s comments and apology, they think he did not go far enough.
The AALS issued a two-page statement Monday stating that McDougal’s “inability to sincerely understand the impact of his statements … cannot and should not be overlooked or tolerated in the leader of the state bar.”
AALS leaders, in the announcement, issued a series of demands for McDougal to accomplish or they would “call on his immediate resignation.”
Dozens of other Texas lawyers posted comments Sunday and Monday demanding that McDougal stepdown.
“He needs to resign,” Houston lawyer Reginald McKamie wrote on Facebook. “You cannot separate the message from the office he holds. He has lost the trust of many members of the bar because he cannot possibly have the best interests of Black Lawyers in any of his actions.”
McDougal, a Fort Bend criminal defense attorney who was sworn in as state bar president in late June, is being roundly criticized for a Facebook post last week about the legality of wearing a Black Lives Matters T-shirt to election polling sites and a Sept. 7, 2015, post on Facebook blasting BLM as a legitimate organization.
“Groups like Black Lives Matter has [sic] publicly called for the death of not just police officers but also White Americans. This is a terrorist group,” McDougal wrote in 2015.
On Saturday evening, McDougal posted a 3-minute and 8-second video on YouTube apologizing and promising to do better.
The Texas Lawbook has requested an interview with McDougal, but he has not yet responded to the request.
AALS Chair Rudy Metayer, in an interview Monday with The Texas Lawbook, said McDougal called him late Friday evening to personally apologize for his Facebook posts and asked to speak with the section’s leadership.
“It was a very respectful meeting and he was allowed to tell his side and he said he thought his intent behind his comments were not meant to be hurtful,” Metayer said.
When a member of AALS asked McDougal if he was “willing to resign if asked,” the bar president said he was not, but he declined to discuss the matter further, according to another individual who was involved in the 20-minute Zoom meeting.
In today’s statement, AALS said McDougal’s Facebook posts “were inaccurate and misinformed at best, were hateful and harmful at worst, but were unequivocally divisive.”
“During the course of the conversation … it became clear that the SBOT President does not understand the extreme hurt and pain that his comments inflicted upon the entire bar,” Metayer said in the written statement.
The AALS called upon McDougal to issue a “formal written apology” that should be distributed to the Texas Bar members and the public and that he should “publicly acknowledge the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and WHY it is important.”
The group also stated that McDougal should “explain what has caused him to change his viewpoint to understand why the Black Lives Matter is an important movement for not just African Americans, but for all Americans.”
In his video apology posted on YouTube on Saturday, McDougal said his view of BLM has evolved since his 2015 Facebook post.
“I understand that my comments, although not how I intended them, have been hurtful to many members of our bar,” McDougal said. “For that, I am truly sorry. I sincerely regret that my words reflected negatively in anyway on our state bar leadership, its volunteers and staff and to any of you.
“I apologize and I pledge to do better and I am sincere when I say that,” he continued. “Let me be clear: As a Texas attorney who is sworn to uphold the constitution of this state and the United States, I denounce racism in any and all forms.”
The AALS also challenged McDougal to participate in educational courses to help him better understand racism and implicit bias, to use his bar presidency to “review and change policies and procedures with the bar that perpetrate systemic racism and a lack of inclusion,” and “champion the cause” of making two hours of implicit bias training mandatory CLE.
“The AALS does not take comfort in stating that its confidence in President McDougal is diminished due to his comments,” AALS stated. “If the ‘Call to Action’ items do not occur, the AALS will formally state its lack of confidence in the leadership of President McDougal and will call on his immediate resignation.”
Metayer said he has not heard back from McDougal since the AALS demands were issued.
For a more in-depth discussion about McDougal’s comments and response, please read this article.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include the correct length of the meeting. A participant described the meeting as having lasted 20 minutes. That was incorrect.