4. The Cold Case

White Hats

One year after the Porvenir massacre, the Texas Rangers are a subject of an inquiry at the Texas capitol led by state representative J. T. Canales. In this episode, we hear testimony from the hearings about the Rangers’ violence, as well as attempts by Rangers backers to discredit Canales and his effort. After the hearings, the Rangers only become bigger heroes in popular movies and TV shows. But the stories of their violence against Mexican Americans live on in South Texas, in oral histories and corridos, and resurface during the civil rights movements of the sixties and seventies. For more on this story please visit https://www.texasmonthly.com/podcasts/series/white-hats/