In Orange County, politicians are calling to change the name of John Wayne Airport following the re-emergence of Wayne’s controversial comments made in a 1971 Playboy interview.
The interview saw Wayne express vocal support for white supremacy, use a homophobic slur to refer to actors in Midnight Cowboy, said he felt no remorse over slavery or the treatment of Indigenous Americans - adding that the latter had “selfishly” kept land for themselves.
Wayne’s son Ethan has since responded and said in a statement to Fox News that his father was “not a racist” and added that his father was “pained” by his Playboy interview, as he “realised his true feelings were wrongly conveyed.”
Democrats in Orange County are calling for the airport to have its original name - Orange County Airport - restored and for John Wayne’s likeness to be removed from the premises. In a statement, chairwoman Ada Briceno of the Democratic Party of Orange County said: “There have been past efforts to get this done and now we're putting our name and our backing into this to make sure there is a name change."
The emergency resolution to change the airport’s name and remove his likeness condemns “racist and bigoted” statements made in Wayne’s interview, expressing “white supremacist, anti-LGBT, and anti-Indigenous views.” The airport was renamed in 1979 in tribute to Wayne, the same year he passed away.
Citing the fact that Orange County is now a more diverse compared to Wayne’s time (Wayne was a resident), the resolution also said it was “widely recognised that racist symbols produce lasting physical and psychological stress and trauma particularly to Black communities, people of colour and other oppressed groups.”
Wayne made a number of controversial comments in his Playboy interview. He said: “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”
His other comments relating to Black people saw him question if the community was “sufficiently equipped scholastically” to attend college, said that slavery was a “fact of life” and continued, “I don't feel guilty about the fact that five or 10 generations ago these people were slaves.”
Wayne also called films such as Midnight Cowboy perverted, using a homophobic slur to describe it as a “story about two f**s.”
Wayne additionally addressed the oppression of Indigenous people in the United States, writing: “I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them if that's what you're asking... There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
John Wayne’s son Ethan released a statement to Fox News yesterday which said his father was “not a racist.”
He said: “I know that term is casually tossed around these days, but I take it very seriously. I also understand how we got to this point. There is no question that the words spoken by John Wayne in an interview 50 years ago have caused pain and anger. They pained him as well, as he realised his true feelings were wrongly conveyed.”
Ethan continued: “Those who knew him, knew he judged everyone as an individual and believed everyone deserved an equal opportunity. He called out bigotry when he saw it. He hired and worked with people of all races, creeds, and sexual orientations. John Wayne stood for the very best for all of us - a society that doesn’t discriminate against anyone seeking the American dream.”
He also claimed that there had been “attempts by some to use [social justice] for political advantage”, saying that it “[distracted] from real opportunities for reform.”
“One thing we know – if John Wayne were here today, he would be in the forefront demanding fairness and justice for all people. He would have pulled those officers off of George Floyd, because that was the right thing to do. He would stand for everyone’s right to protest and work toward change,” he said.
“My father believed that we can learn from yesterday, but not by erasing the past. His name, no matter where it is, will always embody these values, and our family knows the positive impact that he made on the world will never be diminished,” he finished.
The debate around John Wayne Airport is just one of many conversations happening in the United States regarding statues and the legacies of individuals such as slavers, Confederate soldiers and figures who have expressed racist and bigoted views.
A similar debate is taking place in the UK, where a statue of slave trader Robert Mulligan was taken down by Tower Hamlets Council following protests and another statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down by protestors and thrown into Bristol harbour.
