North Carolina education officials worked to eliminate “red flag” words such as “whiteness” when discussing a program that would have trained teachers on how to incorporate critical race theory in lessons for preschoolers with disabilities, newly released emails revealed.

A lengthy report from parent activist organization No Left Turn in Education revealed that state public education officials openly discussed in emails the need to avoid “terminology that would create red flags” while discussing a planned contract with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that would have trained teachers on how to incorporate aspects of critical race theory into preschool classes. The parent group obtained the emails through public records requests.