WINTERSET, Iowa (KCCI) – California lawmakers are calling for the name and statue of John Wayne to be removed from an airport in Orange County.
They said it’s because of some comments the Iowa native made that they consider themselves racist and bigoted.
The actor made the comments in an interview with Playboy magazine in 1971.
Brian Downes is the executive director of the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset.
He also worked as a newspaper reporter who spent time with Wayne. He says he wishes the actor hadn’t made the comments, adding that this is not the first time that the interview has resurfaced.
“I think we all would have preferred that it hadn’t happened, but that’s not the same as saying ‘we apologize, you didn’t mean it.’ That would be untrue,” Downes said.
Patricia Barker works at the museum and said it was hard for her to believe that some of the things that were said came out of Wayne’s mouth, but she is not surprised that people felt that.
“What happened on the day is part of our history. We have to know where we come from to improve, “said Barker.
For that to happen, Barker is not sure that the place to start is to rename an airport.
“Tearing down a statue or tearing down a name is not going to change anything. We have to change as people, ”said Barker.
Downes said that if a decision is made to rename the airport, there is a place for the statue in the museum.
See the full story, including the quote from John Wayne’s 1971 interview, on the KCCI website.
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