Chuck Norris was always the homegrown, “great American hope” to martial arts lovers. The world had Bruce Lee, who came to the United States, but we had Chuck Norris. Even past his prime, I watched him pretty religiously on Walker, Texas Ranger as his character protected Dallas, TX from all types of bad guys. I knew it was a television show but, as a kid, Chuck Norris (aka Cordell Walker) was the epitome of justice obtained the hard way – with your fists, on the street.
Walker, Texas Ranger also had a degree of diversity that I liked. The title character was white but was raised on a Reservation with Native Americans as family. His partner in policing was an African American, played by Clarence Gilyard, Jr., and there was a female Ranger, played by Nia Peeples, to round out the crime-busting cast. There was no question why the show won an NAACP Image Awards during its run.
But Walker, Texas Ranger was only a tv show and the view of the Texas Rangers that it popularized was a farce. Back in 1919, the real Texas Rangers didn’t win any Image Awards because they were responsible for running the NAACP out of Dallas and trampling their civil rights along the way. Their history with Hispanics is much worse based on the recount of the Massacre at Porvenir, TX where 15 unarmed Mexicans were taken to a nearby bluff then shot and killed. The Rangers returned the next day and burned the town.
I didn’t know any of this history when I used to fly into Dallas for work. I usually avoided DFW and flew into the less chaotic Dallas Love Field Airport where I passed a statue of Texas Ranger Banks. Unlike the fictional Walker, Ranger Banks didn’t grow up with Native Americans or partner with African Americans. Ranger Banks grew up with the White Citizens Council and his accomplishments included preventing Black children from entering school, presiding over lynchings and other nefarious activities.
I found all of this out in 2020 in an article about the removal of that famous statue of Ranger Banks following the murder of George Floyd. The article quoted the author of Cult of Glory as saying “the Texas Rangers didn’t invent police brutality, they perfected it.” He goes on to describe the complicated history of the Rangers as not too different from that of other government-sanctioned entities whose actions were always visible but only now are coming into a broader light. The saddest thing that I learned in that article is that Texas Rangers still exist and, more to the point, their role today includes investigating police misconduct.
After being introduced to the real history of the Texas Rangers, I prefer the fictitious version portrayed in Walker, Texas Ranger. I realize it was a fantasy, a tv show to entertain young kids and provide escapism for adults. But, in the spirit of “Everything I Needed to Know in Life I Learned in Kindergarten”, I offer three real life lessons that government-sanctioned entities can learn from Walker, Texas Ranger.
- Sensitivity – Ranger Walker grew up on a Reservation and, as a result, had numerous experiences with both the majority and minority groups in the area he policed. That type of lived experience can’t be mandated and it can’t be gleaned through sensitivity training. It can, however, be made a priority and built into the training that police earn in the academy and on the street BEFORE they’re given guns and the authority to shoot and kill.
- Partnering – Ranger Walker had an African American partner and a female partner. Although every team can’t be a true coalition of rainbows, affirmative effort can be put into finding people who are representative of the areas that are served. Partnering with those groups on policing their communities would earn credibility and gain a valuable resource in the true goal of addressing and ending crime.
- Procedure – There were a lot of fights on Walker, Texas Ranger but I don’t recall a time where Ranger Walker hit first. Maybe my adult mind is misremembering – I can’t possibly recall over 100 episodes – but Ranger Walker wasn’t a bully and he seemed to look for opportunities to de-escalate situations. Today, effective policing (i.e. policing where innocent Black and Brown people don’t die) requires that police are not the aggressor.
In closing this article, let me be clear that it was written to everyone willing to read it. So, if you are not a police officer or FBI agent or Texas Ranger you can still bring the fantasy of Walker, Texas Ranger to life. You can take advantage of every positive, or neutral, opportunity to interact with a police officer. You can attend, or help create, a local Citizen’s Police Academy. And, when you vote, you can let your elected officials know that you demand more than the old “I’m tough on crime, see how many bad guys I’ve prosecuted.” mantra.
P.S. Portsmouth, VA is not a perfect city but check out the programs offered by the Commonwealth’s Attorney.