To the Editors:

Spring is almost here and with it comes the media blitz by Oberlin trustee Larry Dolan’s baseball team. Their latest TV commercial features a young boy exclaiming “love that tribe” while wearing a pair of sunglasses with the racist caricature of an American Indian on the lenses.

But of course Mr. Dolan, who is a lawyer, is quick to assert that “people love Chief Wahoo.” It is interesting to note that Mr. Dolan is a member of the trustee’s student life committee.

Oberlin students, faculty and staff have continued to raise awareness about the dangers of perpetuating racist caricatures and stereotypes.
Our position is affirmed by official statements from the NAACP, NCAA, NEA and most recently by the United States Commission on Civil Rights that denounce the use of Native Americans as sports mascots.

To learn more about these issues, visit the American Indian Sports Team Mascots web site:
www.AISTM.org.

If you want to experience the “people who love Chief Wahoo,” join the opening day protest at Jacobs Field (Gate C on East 9th St.) on April 12th starting at 1p.m.

–Peter Dominguez
Professor of Jazz Studies and
Double Bass