The Democratic Party of Orange County submitted a resolution requesting for John Wayne airport to be restored back to its original name, Orange County Airport. John Wayne lived in Newport Beach where he passed away in 1979, which is the same year the Orange County Board of Supervisors changed the airport's name. The resolution is claiming that John Wayne was racist and bigoted. This comes after his 1971 Playboy magazine interview resurfaced where he gave some of his opinions on race. He said in the Playboy interview,
“With a lot of Blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment, along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so. But we can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the Blacks. 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...I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from the Indians. Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
You can see Orange County Democrat’s statement here!
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