The diverse group of Dallas lawyers who came out with a forceful denunciation of white supremacy and antisemitism within days of the violence in Charlottesville had actually been talking about their concerns much longer.

“Race relations has been a signature project of ours this year,” said Robert Crain of Crain Lewis Brogdon, current president of the Dallas Bar Association. “We had been working behind the scenes for a while when 7/7/16 happened.”