Santa Ana California – In the latest move to rename place names in light of America’s racial history, Orange County Democratic Party leaders are pushing for the name, statue, and other likenesses of the legend of the John Wayne cinema leaving the county airport due to his racist and bigoted comments.
The Los Angeles Times reported that earlier this week, officials passed an emergency resolution condemning Wayne’s “racist and intolerant statements” made in a 1971 interview and calling on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to withdraw its name, statue and other similarities of the international. airport, whose name is simply John Wayne Airport.
The resolution asked the board “to restore its original name: Orange County Airport.”
“Efforts have been made in the past to accomplish this and now we are putting our name and our support behind it to make sure there is a name change,” said Ada Briceño, chair of the Orange County Democratic Party.
According to those who drafted the resolution, the effort to oust Wayne, a longtime Orange County resident who died in 1979, is part of “a national movement to remove the symbols and names of white supremacy (which they are) by reshaping the American institutions, monuments and companies, non-profit organizations, sports leagues and teams. “
In a 1971 Playboy magazine interview, Wayne makes bigoted statements against blacks, Native Americans, and the LGBTQ community.
“I believe in white supremacy until blacks are brought up to a point of responsibility. I do not believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people,” he said.
Wayne also said that although he did not tolerate slavery, “I do not feel guilty about the fact that five or ten generations ago these people were slaves.”
The actor said he had no remorse for the Native American subjugation.
“I don’t think we have done wrong in taking this great country from them … (Our) alleged robbery of this country was only a matter of survival,” he said. “There were a large number of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it.”
Wayne also called movies like “Easy Rider” and “Midnight Cowboy” perverts, and used a gay insult to refer to the two main characters in the latest movie.
Don Wagner, a Republican member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, told the newspaper that he had just learned of the Democratic resolution and was unaware of its wording or merit.
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