Wow, this is wild, but thanks for sharing. My mom’s high school in a rural part of NC, but now really considered a joint Raleigh and Durham and Greensboro area suburb, was the Confederates until integration in 1972 and then the Patriots. The imagery and icons shifted, but some of the sentiment remains.
So many of us who are Black kids of promise in these environments were encouraged to explain it away or put our heads down and ignore it on the train to progress. However, progress is really creating the institutions and spaces we need, especially for our children and all youth in our communities.
Thank you for sharing you and your family's experience, Kristen! I'm sorry that you and your mother both had to endure environments like that growing up.
It's heartbreaking to think of how many students like yourself were taught to keep your heads down and just get through it, and equally how many students like me were taught to overlook something so blatantly racist and not speak out against it.
Great essay Heath! Graduating from Willoughby South in 1976 I didn’t think much of our rebel mascot and Confederate flag. Looking back on it today I’m appalled that it wasn’t banned sooner. Thanks for discussing these important topics. I loved your podcast with Saira Rao. I’ve shared it along with her book and documentary with several people. Thanks Heath!
Thanks for your comment, Becky! It really is wild how long the mascot/flag debate went on for and how many people believed it was only about Willoughby pride and nothing more.
I'm glad the Saira episode inspired you and that you're sharing her work- I am a big fan of hers!
Heath, thanks again for the great essay. And your timing couldn't be better. Just last week, a the coach at Brooklyn H.S., about 40 mi SE of Willoughby, just got fired for using "Nazi", as an on-field call. He didn't understand why people found it offensive. He's been using it for years and it only came to light because they were playing a school with a large Jewish population. Oh, it was during the Jewish High Holy Days. Worst yet, his attorney says that the community reaction was an example of political correctness, gone amok. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/09/nazi-is-by-no-means-an-antisemitic-slur-attorney-for-former-brooklyn-high-school-football-coach-argues-after-controversial-play-call.html
I hadn’t heard about this- thank you for surfacing it, Harry. There is seemingly a lot of training that needs to happen, not just in NE Ohio, but across the country.
Wow, this is wild, but thanks for sharing. My mom’s high school in a rural part of NC, but now really considered a joint Raleigh and Durham and Greensboro area suburb, was the Confederates until integration in 1972 and then the Patriots. The imagery and icons shifted, but some of the sentiment remains.
So many of us who are Black kids of promise in these environments were encouraged to explain it away or put our heads down and ignore it on the train to progress. However, progress is really creating the institutions and spaces we need, especially for our children and all youth in our communities.
Thank you for sharing you and your family's experience, Kristen! I'm sorry that you and your mother both had to endure environments like that growing up.
It's heartbreaking to think of how many students like yourself were taught to keep your heads down and just get through it, and equally how many students like me were taught to overlook something so blatantly racist and not speak out against it.
Great essay Heath! Graduating from Willoughby South in 1976 I didn’t think much of our rebel mascot and Confederate flag. Looking back on it today I’m appalled that it wasn’t banned sooner. Thanks for discussing these important topics. I loved your podcast with Saira Rao. I’ve shared it along with her book and documentary with several people. Thanks Heath!
Thanks for your comment, Becky! It really is wild how long the mascot/flag debate went on for and how many people believed it was only about Willoughby pride and nothing more.
I'm glad the Saira episode inspired you and that you're sharing her work- I am a big fan of hers!
Heath, thanks again for the great essay. And your timing couldn't be better. Just last week, a the coach at Brooklyn H.S., about 40 mi SE of Willoughby, just got fired for using "Nazi", as an on-field call. He didn't understand why people found it offensive. He's been using it for years and it only came to light because they were playing a school with a large Jewish population. Oh, it was during the Jewish High Holy Days. Worst yet, his attorney says that the community reaction was an example of political correctness, gone amok. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/09/nazi-is-by-no-means-an-antisemitic-slur-attorney-for-former-brooklyn-high-school-football-coach-argues-after-controversial-play-call.html
I hadn’t heard about this- thank you for surfacing it, Harry. There is seemingly a lot of training that needs to happen, not just in NE Ohio, but across the country.