Refusing to Forget
@refusing2forget.bsky.social
An award-winning public history project committed to sharing the history of state-sanctioned violence against Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Texas.
In 1956, Ranger Jay Banks declined to protect Black students attempting to enroll in high school at Mansfield and junior college in Texarkana from white mobs. /10 refusingtoforget.org/mansfield-sc...
October 20, 2025 at 2:20 PM
In 1956, Ranger Jay Banks declined to protect Black students attempting to enroll in high school at Mansfield and junior college in Texarkana from white mobs. /10 refusingtoforget.org/mansfield-sc...
Lish noticed similarities between the Texas Lopez and the Utah Lopez. He concluded that the two men were the same. In 2003 the state agreed and Utah closed the case, thus ending Utah's greatest manhunt. /13
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Lish noticed similarities between the Texas Lopez and the Utah Lopez. He concluded that the two men were the same. In 2003 the state agreed and Utah closed the case, thus ending Utah's greatest manhunt. /13
By the early 1920s the Texas Rangers had had several encounters with Lopez, failing to apprehend him. Ranger Frank Hamer learned in late Sept or early Oct 1921 that Lopez was scheduled to meet with some compatriots near El Paso. /10
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
By the early 1920s the Texas Rangers had had several encounters with Lopez, failing to apprehend him. Ranger Frank Hamer learned in late Sept or early Oct 1921 that Lopez was scheduled to meet with some compatriots near El Paso. /10
Lopez did not die in the mine. Instead he escaped and fled to Texas, became Red Lopez, participated in the Mexican Revolution, likely fighting with the forces of Pancho Villa. He also engaged in banditry, contributing to his legacy as an outlaw. /9
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Lopez did not die in the mine. Instead he escaped and fled to Texas, became Red Lopez, participated in the Mexican Revolution, likely fighting with the forces of Pancho Villa. He also engaged in banditry, contributing to his legacy as an outlaw. /9
Sorenson, Bingham Chief Marshal John Grant, and deputies George Witbeck and Nephi Jensen attempted to arrest Lopez in Nov 1913. He fled, the officers gave chase, and Lopez opened fire from a distance. He killed Grant, Witbeck, and Jensen. Only Sorenson survived the encounter. /6
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Sorenson, Bingham Chief Marshal John Grant, and deputies George Witbeck and Nephi Jensen attempted to arrest Lopez in Nov 1913. He fled, the officers gave chase, and Lopez opened fire from a distance. He killed Grant, Witbeck, and Jensen. Only Sorenson survived the encounter. /6
But some sources show that Lopez was himself the victim of police abuse. For example, the "eyewitness" account "Utah's Greatest Manhunt" tells of how Lopez aided Mexican women who were being accosted by other miners. When police arrived they arrested him, not the aggressors. /3
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
But some sources show that Lopez was himself the victim of police abuse. For example, the "eyewitness" account "Utah's Greatest Manhunt" tells of how Lopez aided Mexican women who were being accosted by other miners. When police arrived they arrested him, not the aggressors. /3
Little is known of Lopez's early life, but in 1912 he was probably in his late teens and worked as a miner in Bingham Canyon, Utah. According to popular accounts he became a wanted man after allegedly killing another Mexican man. /2
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Little is known of Lopez's early life, but in 1912 he was probably in his late teens and worked as a miner in Bingham Canyon, Utah. According to popular accounts he became a wanted man after allegedly killing another Mexican man. /2
#OTD sometime in October of 1921 Texas Ranger Frank Hamer killed Mexican revolutionary and outlaw Rafael "Red" Lopez. His death marked the end of a years long tale that law enforcement would only fully come to understand in the early 2000s. /1
October 15, 2025 at 6:22 PM
#OTD sometime in October of 1921 Texas Ranger Frank Hamer killed Mexican revolutionary and outlaw Rafael "Red" Lopez. His death marked the end of a years long tale that law enforcement would only fully come to understand in the early 2000s. /1
The annual Crystal City Pilgrimage honors the memory of the men, women, & children imprisoned in the WWII DOJ Crystal City Family Internment Camp.
"The pilgrimage is an invitation to step into the past...
To feel rage and grief but also love & community & solidarity." www.crystalcitypilgrimage.org
"The pilgrimage is an invitation to step into the past...
To feel rage and grief but also love & community & solidarity." www.crystalcitypilgrimage.org
October 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
The annual Crystal City Pilgrimage honors the memory of the men, women, & children imprisoned in the WWII DOJ Crystal City Family Internment Camp.
"The pilgrimage is an invitation to step into the past...
To feel rage and grief but also love & community & solidarity." www.crystalcitypilgrimage.org
"The pilgrimage is an invitation to step into the past...
To feel rage and grief but also love & community & solidarity." www.crystalcitypilgrimage.org
#OTD in 1921, future Texas Ranger Red Burton, a sheriff’s deputy at the time, and Waco sheriff Bob Buchanan had a run-in with the Lorena Ku Klux Klan in Lorena, Texas. /1
October 1, 2025 at 3:08 PM
#OTD in 1921, future Texas Ranger Red Burton, a sheriff’s deputy at the time, and Waco sheriff Bob Buchanan had a run-in with the Lorena Ku Klux Klan in Lorena, Texas. /1
Texas’ state government then moved aggressively against the NAACP. A Ranger piloted a plan that carried an assistant attorney general to 8 cities in 3 days to raid NAACP offices and seize records. A state judge then issued an injunction against the org. /8
September 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Texas’ state government then moved aggressively against the NAACP. A Ranger piloted a plan that carried an assistant attorney general to 8 cities in 3 days to raid NAACP offices and seize records. A state judge then issued an injunction against the org. /8
Rangers and other state agents took most of the plaintiffs in the NAACP school desegregation case to a Justice of the Peace in Dallas where they were interrogated about their roles in the suit./6
September 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Rangers and other state agents took most of the plaintiffs in the NAACP school desegregation case to a Justice of the Peace in Dallas where they were interrogated about their roles in the suit./6
Marshall complained that Rangers and other state agents interviewed Black parents and threatened them with imprisonment and “economic pressure” while NAACP attorneys were out of town. /3
September 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Marshall complained that Rangers and other state agents interviewed Black parents and threatened them with imprisonment and “economic pressure” while NAACP attorneys were out of town. /3
#OTD in 1956, legendary civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall wrote to J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, complaining of Ranger intimidation of Black citizens who had sued Dallas over school segregation. /1
September 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
#OTD in 1956, legendary civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall wrote to J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, complaining of Ranger intimidation of Black citizens who had sued Dallas over school segregation. /1
The Texas Historical Commission rejected the marker in 2014, and again in 2015, but finally approved it in 2015. The RTF team collaborated on the marker and its unveiling with descendants. /16 refusingtoforget.org/historical-m...
September 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
The Texas Historical Commission rejected the marker in 2014, and again in 2015, but finally approved it in 2015. The RTF team collaborated on the marker and its unveiling with descendants. /16 refusingtoforget.org/historical-m...
For generations, the Bazán and Longoria families lovingly tended the gravesites and kept alive memories of their fallen ancestors. /13
September 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
For generations, the Bazán and Longoria families lovingly tended the gravesites and kept alive memories of their fallen ancestors. /13
Reportedly, Bazan and Longoria left and began making their way home on horseback. Ransom and two civilians followed by car, and then a man reached out and shot both men in the back. /7
September 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reportedly, Bazan and Longoria left and began making their way home on horseback. Ransom and two civilians followed by car, and then a man reached out and shot both men in the back. /7
Did you know Reverberations of Racial Violence (2021) is available in Spanish and FREE to download?
¿Sabías que Rebrotes de Violencia Racial está disponible en español y se puede descargar gratis?
➡️Download: libros.uanl.mx/index.php/u/...
➡️Learn more: refusingtoforget.org/1919-canales...
¿Sabías que Rebrotes de Violencia Racial está disponible en español y se puede descargar gratis?
➡️Download: libros.uanl.mx/index.php/u/...
➡️Learn more: refusingtoforget.org/1919-canales...
September 22, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Did you know Reverberations of Racial Violence (2021) is available in Spanish and FREE to download?
¿Sabías que Rebrotes de Violencia Racial está disponible en español y se puede descargar gratis?
➡️Download: libros.uanl.mx/index.php/u/...
➡️Learn more: refusingtoforget.org/1919-canales...
¿Sabías que Rebrotes de Violencia Racial está disponible en español y se puede descargar gratis?
➡️Download: libros.uanl.mx/index.php/u/...
➡️Learn more: refusingtoforget.org/1919-canales...
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September 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM
🚨Join us in supporting higher education and democracy. Take action using the links below:
While the television series does not credit any inspiration for the show, it is suspected that an escaped slave named Bass Reeves was the true “lone ranger.” /3
September 15, 2025 at 1:38 PM
While the television series does not credit any inspiration for the show, it is suspected that an escaped slave named Bass Reeves was the true “lone ranger.” /3
Villareal was traveling with his two nephews to the wedding, when he was stopped by a Ranger at one o’clock in the morning who asked him to drive him a mile or so up the road to get water. /2
September 3, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Villareal was traveling with his two nephews to the wedding, when he was stopped by a Ranger at one o’clock in the morning who asked him to drive him a mile or so up the road to get water. /2
