#OTD in 1988, Lee Roy Young became the first African American man to be allowed to join the Texas Rangers.

Young served in the U.S. Navy for four years during the Vietnam war before attending UT Austin and graduating with a degree in sociology with an emphasis on criminology.

After college, Young joined the @TxDPS in 1973, working as a state trooper. He then joined the Texas Rangers in 1988. He says that he was treated the same as everyone else in the Ranger force, despite being the sole African American.

Young made his way to sergeant, and was glad to serve as a role model, but did not want race to define the conversation surrounding his tenure as a Texas Ranger.

The @NAACP and its Texas branch #TxNAACP  had pressed the DPS to diversify its ranks. Young was joined by Earl Pearson and Jesse Mack as Black rangers, and shortly thereafter by Javier de Los Santos as a Hispanic Ranger. https://twitter.com/Refusing2Forget/status/1651229111258427393?s=20

Young retired in 2003 and settled in Mckinney, Texas with his wife, Mary.

Information for this thread is thanks in large part to the article by Brandi Hart, “Living the Life of a Texas Ranger.” https://starlocalmedia.com/mckinneycouriergazette/news/living-the-life-of-a-texas-ranger/article_f50e6e26-8687-56c1-a91b-386cecb9c832.html 

This thread is a part of the #OTD in Ranger history campaign that @Refusing2Forget is running this year. Follow this twitter handle or https://refusingtoforget.org/ranger-bicentennial-project/, and visit our website https://refusingtoforget.org to learn more.

Refusing to Forget members are  @ccarmonawriter  @carmona2208  @acerift  @soniahistoria  @BenjaminHJohns1 @LeahLochoa @MonicaMnzMtz and @Alacranita, another co-founder is @GonzalesT956

.@emmpask @sdcroll @HistoryBrian @LorienTinuviel @hangryhistorian, @ddsanchez432, @elprofeml, and @littlejohnjeff are other scholars working on this project.