Several civil rights groups are reigniting a push to remove a statue from Globe Life Field.
Reported by CBS News, activists from the Dallas Muslim Peace Society and the South Dalworth Historical Society, alongside other North Texas civil rights groups, publicly appealed to the Texas Rangers to remove a 12-foot statue of a Texas Ranger officer. The statue was previously located at Dallas Love Field Airport, but was removed in 2020 at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Critics believe the statue represents law enforcement that previously enforced segregation in the state. It is reportedly inspired by Ranger Jay Banks. Throughout the 1950s, Banks enforced unlawful segregation in public high schools in both Mansfield and Texarkana, in violation of the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Pictures of him circulated in front of an effigy depicting violence towards a Black man.
Under his tenure, Black students could not register at public high schools in Mansfield until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the schools were at risk of losing federal funding due to the lack of desegregation.
The Arlington chapter of the NAACP reports that they previously reached out to Rangers’ representatives regarding the statue prior to its installation. At the unveiling, however, the Rangers made no mention of the statue’s relation to Black history.
“For the Arlington NAACP, the concern is not merely historical-it is deeply connected to the present,” said the NAACP in a public statement. “The stadium sits within the broader Arlington-Mansfield community, and the legacy of the individual who inspired the statue is closely tied to events that adversely impacted the progress of public education and civil rights in what is now served by Mansfield Independent School District.”
In its place, activists are advocating for a new statue depicting Jackie Robinson. The push to remove the statue was reinvigorated on Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration commemorating the MLB legend.
First celebrated in 2004, the national event honors the debut of Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. With his debut, Robinson broke barriers as the first Black baseball player in the MLB.
His records throughout his career included 137 home runs, a .311 batting average and 197 stolen bases. Robinson is also credited with giving the Dodgers their first World Series Championship. His performances earned him a Rookie of the Year award, a Most Valuable Player Award and an induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson’s inclusion made him the first Black baseball player to be inducted into the Hall.
Alongside his athletic career, Robinson had a significant impact on the civil rights movement. As a member of the NAACP, he was a speaker at several significant events and participated in multiple marches, including the 1963 March on Washington.
Through “The New York Post” and “New York Amsterdam News,” Robinson regularly spoke out on social issues, encouraging community members to take a more active role in politics.
