Texas Ranger Statue Removed From Dallas Love Field

On Thursday, June 4, 2020, the city of Dallas removed the statue of a Texas Ranger at Dallas Love Field, citing the history of the man it embodied as the reason for removal. Ranger Captain Jay Banks was commemorated in the 12-foot bronze statue in 1963. Officials stated that the Office of Arts and Culture as well as the airport made the decision together and that the statue was removed to be placed into storage until such time as a larger community discussion could be had about its future display. Banks is an element of a book on the history of the Texas Rangers which is soon to be released and it’s said to feature passages on his involvement in trying to stop integration in North Texas public schools in the late 1950s.

Reports have surfaced alleging that Banks failed to prevent the lynching of a black man in 1930. When excerpts of the pending book about the historic law enforcement group were published in D Magazine, city officials learned of incidents involving the Texas Ranger, causing a growing concern which led to the “One Riot, One Ranger” statue’s removal.

Photo: envato elements

Feelings about the removal of the Texas Ranger statue appear to be mixed. A Facebook post dated June 4, 2020, identifies a personal distaste for the manner in which the decision to remove the statue was made, the reasoning given behind it, and the timing for its removal. “At approximately 8:00 this morning the City of Dallas removed the Texas Ranger monument from the entry way of Dallas Love Field. The epitome of Law Enforcement, Professionalism, and Texas. The finest Law Enforcement organization on the planet, by far,” the post reads. As a public social media comment, it currently has over nine thousand shares, more than 2.6K reactions, and several readers who shared similar sentiments. Doug J. Swanson, author of the pending book entitled “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers,” commented with respect to the statue’s subject saying, “Jay Banks was involved in efforts in 1957 to keep black children out of a white school… Ranger Banks was only following orders but he was the face of resistance to integration in Mansfield in 1957.” His book is scheduled to be released next week.