The TSHA committee responsible for a nomination to a vacant seat had put forth an academic to fill it, which would have made the balance 12–8 in favor of academics. TSHA backers of a more traditionalist history of Texas (think “Remember the Alamo!”) were upset because they said the meeting’s board election was about to throw the organization’s governance out of whack, in violation of its bylaws. Many in that camp felt that academics often promoted a more progressive version of Texas history that unduly questioned the motives of Texas revolutionaries and overemphasized the shortcomings of other historical figures and groups: for example, blaming Texas Rangers in general for the racist and murderous acts of some of that group’s members, especially during its earlier days.
Executive director J. P. Bryan Jr.—a former TSHA president whose ancestor helped found the association and who leans toward the more traditional take on Texas history—had a wild card to play at the meeting. Bryan told the voting members in attendance that instead of just considering the committee-anointed academic nominee, they should consider a nomination from the floor of Wallace Jefferson, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and a nonacademic, to maintain balance. Jefferson, who is Black, also would help advance the association’s diversity goals.