- The University of Southern California is removing its John Wayne exhibit.
- The change comes after students protested the exhibit.
- The protests came after an interview with John resurfaced where he said he supported white supremacy.
The University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts will remove a John Wayne exhibit from its main building. Some students protested the exhibit last year. They cited that if the exhibit was left up the university would be “endorsing white supremacy.”
The Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Evan Hughes shared a memo on the school’s decision. He wrote, “I am writing to update you on plans for the Wayne exhibit, located in the main building of the School of Cinematic Arts Complex.”
USC removing John Wayne exhibit from its campus
Announcement concerning the John Wayne exhibit: pic.twitter.com/8vg5tUUjCj
— USC School of Cinematic Arts (@USCCinema) July 10, 2020
He continued, “Conversations about systemic racism in our cultural institutions along with the recent global, civil uprising by the Black Lives Matter Movement require that we consider the role our School can play as a change maker in promoting antiracist cultural values and experiences. Therefore, it has been decided that the Wayne Exhibit will be removed.”
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He also said the exhibit items will be moved to the Cinematic Arts Library archives “where other artifacts and papers of influential Hollywood figures reside for the purpose of research and scholarship.”
There is a John Wayne exhibit because he attended USC in the 1920s and was also on their football team. In addition, some California Democrats are calling for renaming the John Wayne Airport. The resolution passed and the name will likely be restored to Orange County Airport.
The reason why people are calling for the changes is because John Wayne once said in a 1971 Playboy interview that he believed in white supremacy. However, his youngest son Ethan Wayne recently released a statement that said his father did not support white supremacy in any way.