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This conceptual paper analyzes persistent challenges to racially diversify higher education in Texas, paying special attention to trends at this Southern state’s most selective flagship—University of Texas at Austin. We apply critical race theorist Kimberlè Crenshaw’s frame of race liberalism and her view of equality as either expansive or restrictive to analyze race-neutral approaches intended to remedy longstanding issues of racial diversity. Specifically, we focus on the Texas Top Ten Percent Policy, tracing its trajectory from affirmative action through the recent Abigail Fisher case. This examination clarifies the race-evasive basis of policies designed to improve enduring issues of racial exclusion in higher education.