WE WON’T GO BACK! A Statement from Pastor. Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.




WE WON’T GO BACK

A Statement from Pastor. Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. | https://vimeo.com/756520277





The statue known as “One Riot, One Ranger” stands as a reminder of a complicated and painful history associated with the Texas Rangers Division. That history did not prevent the local baseball franchise from placing the monument prominently at Globe Life Field. For many Texans, however, the statue raises an important question about what—and whose history—is being honored in a modern, taxpayer-supported stadium (https://youtu.be/u_cXAC5-zto?si=F6PicVgPB4K0XW_h).


As a former state official with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Texas and a past president of the Texas Hill Country Branch, I wholeheartedly endorse the statement issued by the Arlington NAACP regarding the Texas Rangers statue at Globe Life Field.


It should never feel like open season on disrespecting and insulting the Black community. Yet moments like this often send that very message.


The statue represents a chapter of Texas history that should indeed be preserved and studied. But its proper place is in a museum—such as the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin—where history can be examined honestly and in full context. It does not belong in a modern sports venue that should reflect the diversity, equality, and shared future of all Texans.


A world-class facility like Globe Life Field should project the best of who we aspire to be as a state. We cannot speak the language of progress while celebrating symbols that carry the weight and wounds of a darker past.


As the curator of the historical reflections “Before Little Rock: The Constitutional Crisis at Mansfield High School in 1956” and “Every Stone Has a Song: From the Mansfield High School Rejection of 1956 to the Reception of the Superintendent in 2026,” and as the founder of the Black on Base Negro League Project, I am deeply familiar with the role the Texas Rangers Division played during the Mansfield School Desegregation Crisis.


In that moment, Rangers were present while white mobs hung effigies and terrorized the Black community—yet the protection of three Black boys seeking a quality education was not the priority.


That history is not ancient memory. It is lived memory for many Black and white Texans.


Texas is strong enough to tell the truth about its past—and wise enough to place that history where it can be understood rather than glorified.


Let me be clear: we belong here, and we are not going anywhere. And We Won’t Go Back.







 • Texas Rangers Statue: https://www.dmagazine.com/sports/2026/03/rangers-statue-davis-texas/%29 


•  “Before Little Rock: The Constitutional Crisis at Mansfield High School in 1956” https://youtu.be/Pa67cqHSa90


• “Every Stone Has a Song: From the Mansfield High School Rejection of 1956 to the Reception of the Superintendent in 2026,” https://youtu.be/ALIpAZaVnU8?feature=shared


• Black On Base Negro League Project the Positivity with the Texas Rangers Baseball Team: https://www.nbcdfw.com/video/news/call-for-change/celebrating-unity-with-project-the-positivity-night/2727129/


• MLB and the Mansfield Thee: https://www.mlb.com/news/texas-rangers-honor-mansfield-three-of-civil-rights-movement













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