Noah Gittell

I recently went through a list of all my Facebook friends, and it's remarkable how many of them are dead. Pretty soon, that thing will be just one big digital graveyard.

That statue, which was cast back in 1961, was modeled on 1950s Texas Rangers – as in the law enforcement Texas Rangers – Captain Jay Banks. Since it's unveiling 65 years ago it has spent most of its life at Love Field in Dallas. But then in 2020 it was removed and placed in storage. Why? Because Captain Jay Banks was a racist cop who made it his mission to stop schools from integrating. This is an excerpt from the 2020 book, Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers by Doug Swanson, which describes' Banks' role in efforts to keep schools in Texas racially segregated in defiance of the United States Supreme Court's 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education: Then there is the form and face of the statue itself. This dates to 1956, when the NAACP, backed with a court order, attempted to integrate the high school in Mansfield, about 30 miles southwest of Dallas. White residents erupted in fury, so Gov. Allan Shivers dispatched the Rangers. But unlike state police in other Southern racial hotspots, the Rangers in Mansfield did not escort black students past howling mobs of white supremacists. They had been sent instead to keep the black children out of a white school.

The commanding Ranger on the scene was Sgt. E.J. “Jay” Banks. A wire service photo showed him casually leaning against a tree outside Mansfield High. To his left, above the school’s entrance, was a dummy in blackface, hanging from a noose. Nearby a white mob had assembled. Some carried signs that threatened death for anyone attempting to integrate the school. Banks saw no need to remove the effigy or disperse the mob. “They were just ‘salt of the earth’ citizens,” he later wrote. “They were concerned because they were convinced that someone was trying to interfere with their way of life.” Blacks were so intimidated that none attempted to enroll at Mansfield. Several days later, Gov. Shivers ordered Banks and a few other Rangers to Northeast Texas, because African-Americans wished to take classes at all-white Texarkana Junior College, a public institution. Again the Rangers’ job was to stop black students from enrolling. As at Mansfield, a mob of white men gathered outside the school. An 18-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy, both black, arrived by cab and began to walk toward the college. The mob blocked their path. Some surrounded the 17-year-old and kicked him, while others threw gravel. The Rangers watched it happen and did nothing except threaten to arrest the two students. That wire service photo of Banks in front of the school with the Black person hung in effigy can be seen at the top of today's newsletter.

The statue was removed from public view in 2020 in the wake of that book about the Rangers being published. This occurred at the same time that statues of Confederates, Klansmen, racists, and segregationists were removed all over the country following the murder of George Floyd. But now the Texas Rangers Baseball Club, knowing full well the history of the statue, its subject, and its removal, and knowing that multiple municipal institutions decided it was inappropriate for public display, is happy to put that statue up in a public concourse at a major league baseball stadium. When I learned of this yesterday afternoon I contacted Major League Baseball and asked the following questions: Is Major League Baseball aware of the history of the "One Riot, One Ranger" statue and its subject, Jay Banks? Is Major League Baseball aware that Love Field and the City of Dallas removed the statue and put it in storage in 2020 after Banks' involvement in attempting to keep schools segregated in the 1950s came to light? Does Major League Baseball condone one of its Clubs erecting a previously-removed statue of a staunch segregationist at its ballpark?; and Does Major League Baseball have any comment regarding the discomfort that will be felt by Black fans when confronted with the statue of a segregationist at Globe Life Field? I did not receive a response. I'm going to assume that the league's silence on this means that it wholly condones the Rangers putting up the "One Riot, One Ranger" statue despite its sordid and extraordinarily well-reported history.

Yesterday the Texas Rangers erected a statue of a segregationist cop at Globe Life Field. A statue that was removed from public property in 2020 because of its racist history. @mlb.com has refused to comment. www.cupofcoffeenews.com/cup-of-coffe...

U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for “Armageddon,” Return of Jesus Advocacy group reports commanders giving similar messages at more than 30 installations in every branch of the military

EXCLUSIVE: At more than 30 installations, U.S. commanders told troops the war on Iran is a Christian war.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been “inundated” with more than 110 complaints.

One NCO said they were told the U.S. war is to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus…

I've watched this about a dozen times, and it makes me laugh each time.

A Complimentary Profile Of Jason Lee That Was Surprisingly Difficult To Publish | Defector If you walked down Colorado Boulevard in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles at some point in the past three years, you might have noticed a modest, pueblo-style beige building with “PHOTO” pai...

As someone who has seen Mallrats more times than I care to admit, this is a fascinating profile that has a couple twists along the way. Crazy how even mentioning the word "Scientology" to a former Scientologist provokes a Pavlovian response of hostility and near-immediate legal action.

Can't argue with that. Chau is always great.

THE MENU is definitely the dumbest movie that I can't stop watching clips of on youtube

we finally reached the end of this calendar event i accidentally made 12 years ago

It's from the movie Paul (2011)

I can't stop watching this

Now that I have some distance from the world of film criticism, I am baffled as to why we talk about the Oscars as if they're the arbiter of anything.

There are no "snubs," "oversights," or "mistakes." An "Oscar winner" just represents the plurality opinion of 12,000 people in the film industry.

You kinda cracked a code there.

I know this is a rhetorical question, but the answer is....because it doesn't sound good. Stuff has to sound good for us to want to say it.

Or just rip off The X-Files but call it something new. That'd be fine, too!

I know. I was just poking gentle fun at your thoroughness. It is very clear. And I am very convinced.

Is this still all your first point???

25 years ago, I would drive to a 7-11 parking lot in the Bronx, call a guy named "Shake" on a payphone, and hope that he showed up. If he did, I would then spend an hour pulling the seeds and stems out of the bag.

If I told that to a young person today, I'm not sure they would believe me.

Incredible threat to the integrity of the public comment process

My early 2026 ranking of pitchers who sound most like early 70's British lead guitarists:

1) Mick Abel
2) Ian Seymour
3) Hunter Greene
4) Hunter Brown
5) Paul Skenes

I did a BBC piece on COOL RUNNINGS for the summer Olympics a while back, and I vividly remember interviewing @justinpeters.bsky.social, who had this incredible line.

"Calling COOL RUNNINGS a cult movie is an insult to movies and, frankly, to cults."

🤣

You're the what now

This is the thing. There's nothing he can do to them that he hasn't already done. What's the harm in standing up for yourself against his bullying?

I don't laugh with my friends anymore. Not the kind of big, whole-hearted laughs that I used to share with friends.

Now it's only YouTube videos that get that joy out of me. This is a problem.

Glen Powell is trying to be an old-fashioned movie star, but his recent failures are demonstrating the system is no longer set up to create or support old-fashioned movie stars.

Man, I'd write the shit out that essay if I were still writing that sorta thing.

This is so fucking wrong. This should never happen in this country.👇

having a "googling could the movie The Core actually happen" kinda day over here

Not in the mood for that? 10-4

I just think gratitude is a useful practice when the world seems like a big flaming poo

Right. But I'm talking about practicing gratitude. It's good news that so many of your favorite artists are alive and doing great work, no? Every day PT Anderson doesn't die is a good day.